Belgium and Flanders

Review of Public Administration

Study Visits

Study visit to Belgium and Flanders

Background

Belgium is a Constitutional, representational and hereditary monarchy and a Federal State composed of communities and regions. With a population of 10.25 million it is sub-divided into the three geographical regions of, Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels-Capital, and for education and culture into three linguistic ‘Communities’ for the Dutch, French and German language groups.
Historical tensions between the country’s two major communities, the Dutch-speaking Fleming’s and the French speaking Walloons have contributed to a movement towards a gradual devolution of powers, culminating in constitutional amendments that have granted these regions formal recognition and autonomy. The five successive constitutional reforms between 1970 and 1999, approved by the Belgian Parliament to address the linguistic, economic and political differences have essentially changed Belgium from a unitary into a fully federalised state.
The existing complex political arrangements in Belgium and the balances of power between the different levels of administration are complicated. It is clear however that these constitutional arrangements have developed gradually over the past thirty years and changed through a continuous focus on reform, in order to achieve a system that takes account of the specific socio-economic fabric of the country, its constituent regions and the needs of the communities.

History of reform in Belgium

There have been repeated drives towards change and the reform of administration in Belgium. The Belgium constitution promulgated in 1831 has been amended on a number of occasions most recently in 1993. Civil demonstrations in the early 1960’s led, in 1962 to the establishment of a formal linguistic border, designed to protect minorities in linguistically mixed border areas. In 1970, Flemish and Francophone cultural councils were established with authority in matters of language and culture for the two main language groups. In addition each of the three economic regions, Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels were granted a significant measure of political autonomy. It was these wide-ranging reforms of the 1970’s and the transfer of greater powers and real political autonomy to the three economic regions that began Belgium’s transformation into a Federal State.
Since 1984, the German language community, based mainly in the eastern part of Liege Province has had its own legislative assembly and executive, which have authority in cultural, language and subsequently educational affairs. In 1988-89, the Constitution was again amended to give further responsibilities to the regions and communities. The most sweeping change was the devolution of educational responsibilities to the community level. As a result, the regions and communities were provided additional revenue, and Brussels was given its own legislative assembly and executive.
Whilst the devolution of powers to the regions and communities has improved relations between the Government and the citizen, through greater customer orientation, it has appeared to hamper attempts to improve administrative efficiency in Belgium as a State and has in particular complicated the government’s efforts to reform the police and judicial systems.

Constitutional arrangements and structures of government: Belgium

Three main tiers of authority exist within Belgium: the Federal State, the regions and the linguistic communities are considered the highest tier, the provinces are the intermediate tier and the municipalities or communes are the lowest tier.
Belgium Government and Administrative structures:
Federal State Government
Linguistic Communities (3)
Geographical Regions (3)
Provinces (10)
Municipalities (589)
It could be argued that the Federal State, dealing with matters of National interest, actually provides a higher, fourth tier in the structure of government, separate from the regional and linguistic levels of administration. However whilst the State and the Regions clearly have different areas of responsibility, from a legal and a constitutional position they share the same level of authority and are considered equal.
The complex governmental structures create the potential for an overlap of responsibilities between the Federal, Regional and Linguistic authorities so that separate authorities may have jurisdiction over different aspects of the same issue at the same time; this is most noticeable with education and land-use planning. For example a school building will be under the jurisdiction of the Regional government but as an institution it will fall under the regulations of whichever linguistic Community is the primary language used for teaching. This is particularly noticeable in the bi-lingual capital of Brussels.
This ‘shared authority’ is clearly an issue and in an attempt to address this, the principle of ‘Federal loyalty’ was enshrined in recent institutional reform. This means effectively that the Federal authority, the Communities and the Regions not only adhere to their respective areas of responsibility but in order to ensure that the various institutions function as a balanced whole they must also act in a way as to avoid all conflict of interest among themselves.

Federal/State level

At the Federal or State level, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives have four-year parliamentary terms. Elections to the Chamber (150 members) are by proportional representation. There are 11 electoral districts, with each district given a number of seats proportional to its total population. Election to the Senate (71 members) is by a mixture of direct election, appointments by the communities, and co-option, this includes the children of the king aged over 18.
The Belgium federal government deals with matters of national interest including the military, foreign affairs, justice and social security. The Executive branch of government consists of ministers and secretaries of state (junior ministers) drawn from the government coalition. The number of ministers is limited to 15, and they have no seat in parliament. This Cabinet or Council of Ministers is chaired by the Prime Minister and consists of the ministerial heads of the executive government departments. No single party holds an absolute majority of seats in parliament and consequently the cabinet reflects the weighting of political parties that constitute the governing coalition for the chamber. The Parliament enacts legislation and appropriates funds.
The Chamber of Representatives is the ‘political’ body that votes on motions of confidence and budgets. The Senate deals with long-term issues and votes on an equal footing with The Chamber on a limited range of matters, including constitutional reform bills and international treaties.
Legislative power is exercised by the Federal Parliament, through; the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, and by the Government, in other words the King and the Ministers. The King does not exercise any personal authority but is seen as playing a symbolic unifying role, representing a common national Belgian identity. His Ministers bear full responsibility by jointly signing the draft laws that are enacted by Parliament and Royal Decrees.

Intermediate tiers of authority

A two-tiered system of regional government exists to help to address political and cultural differences; the three federal Regions and the three Communities.

The linguistic communities

The Flemish community, the French community and the German community were set up in the 1980’s. The 1980 devolution bill amended the Constitution, establishing:
  • In Flanders, a Flemish legislative assembly or Council and Flemish government competent for both cultural and regional economic matters:
  • In Wallonia, a francophone community legislation council and government competent for cultural matters; and
  • A Walloon regional legislative assembly and government competent for regional economic matters.
Subsequent constitutional reform established similar regional and community councils for the German cantons in 1983 and for Brussels in 1989.
This series of constitutional changes have resulted in the current regional arrangements of government, so that the Flemish Community now comprises all inhabitants of the Dutch-language area of Belgium, as well as the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the bilingual area Brussels-Capital. The French Community is made up of all inhabitants of the French-language area together with the Francophone inhabitants of Brussels. The German Community, in the eastern Liege Province, comprises all inhabitants of the German speaking area. Each community has its own parliament, which in designated areas of competence can approve decrees possessing force of law, and its own government, which is charged with the implementation and application of these decrees.

The powers of the communities

Since the Communities are based on the concept of "language", a number of other powers are obviously associated with the Communities. The Community has powers for culture (theatre, libraries, audiovisual media, etc.), education, the use of languages and matters relating to the individual which concern both health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, etc.) They also have responsibilities in the field of scientific research and international relations associated with their powers. The French-speaking Community, the Walloon Council and the Flemish Council have constitutive autonomy and so can independently amend key features of their own composition, election and internal procedures. The Brussels-Capital Regional Council and the Council of the German-speaking Community do not have these powers.

The federal regions

The names of the three regional institutions are based on the territories they represent: the Flemish Region, the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region. The Flemish Region consists of the Dutch-language area of Belgium. The Walloon Region comprises both the French –speaking and the German-speaking areas, while the Brussels-Capital Region is made up of the nineteen communes of the bilingual capital Brussels.
Each of the three federal Regions elects its own parliament known as a Council, which is responsible for territorial matters such as planning, transportation, water, energy, municipalities and regional development.
These Councils are in addition to the three independent language Councils for the Communities. The reality of this has meant that from the reforms of the 1980’s there have been six governments, each with their own individual legislative assembly of parliament and executive to govern at the regional level. However uniquely in Flanders, the Community and Regional institutions were merged so that in Flanders, there is one Flemish Council or Parliament and one Flemish Government with competence over community as well as over regional matters.
The Council and the Regional Government are the legislative and executive organs of the Regions. The population directly elects the members of the Regional Council every five years.

The Regions have powers relating to the economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport (except Belgian Railways), the environment, town and country planning, modernisation of agriculture, nature conservation, credit, foreign trade, supervision of the provinces, communes and intercommunal utility companies. They also have powers relating to scientific research and international relations in those fields.

Distribution of responsibilities:

Federal level

Community level

Regional level
Economic union
Monetary unity
Taxation
Foreign affairs
Justice
National defence
Policing
Social security
Federal culture and scientific institutions
Pensions
Public health
Public debt
Law and order
Public service
Scientific policy
Foreign trade
Federal authority retains some jurisdiction over matters attributed to the Regions e.g.
Economic expansion,
Environmental policy,
Energy policy,
Public works,
Transport.
Cultural matters:
Promotion of language
Training of researchers
Fine arts
Cultural heritage
Libraries & record collection
Radio/television
Youth policies
Sport& physical education
Recreation & tourism
Pre-school training
Adult education
Social promotion
Occupational training and redeployment
Education (except for setting of age limitations for compulsory schooling, education pensions and min. requirements for degrees which come under Federal jurisdiction)
Major aspects of health care &social welfare policies
Use of languages
Land use
Planning
Environment and water policy
Rural renewal
Conservation of nature
City planning and housing
Agricultural policy
Energy policy
Subsidiary powers
Administrative jurisdiction
Employment policy
Public works and transport
Supervision of local authorities has transferred from Federal to Regional level.
Based on information detailed in ‘Managing across levels of Government: Belgium’, OECD, 1997.

Finance

The Belgian Constitution does allow Communities and Regions to have tax-raising powers (mostly surcharges) of their own and contract loans. This power has however only been used by the Regions and not the Communities. The Regions raise taxes on activities within the remit of their powers, e.g. refuse collection, office size etc. The taxation of water and waste is exclusively within the taxing powers of the regions. The Federal State of Brussels also reimburse the Regions, from a number of taxes. The Communities and Regions have exclusive treaty-making power for those issues coming under their respective jurisdictions. Of total public spending more than 40% is authorised by the Regions and the Communities.

Provincial and local government

Provinces

Below the regions and communities there are ten Provinces which each have a Council of 50-90 members, chosen by direct vote. Five of these provinces are within the region of Flanders; Antwerp, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Limburg and West Flanders. The remaining five are within the Wallonia Region: Walloon Brabant, Namur, Liege, Hainaut and Luxembourg. The third federal region, Brussels Capitol is in addition to this. The Provinces are primarily administrative units and are considered to be politically weak. A governor appointed by the King presides over each province, and is supported by the elected provincial Council. The Provincial Council sits for four weeks of the year.

Municipalities

The Provinces are further sub-divided into administrative districts, called Communes or Municipalities; these are normally based around cities or towns and as the local authority they are the level of administration closest to the citizen. When the Belgian State was created in 1831, there were 2739 communes. The amalgamation of communes in 1975 resulted in 589.Of Belgium’s 589 Communes or Municipalities, 308 are within the five Flemish provinces, 262 are within the five Walloon Provinces and the Brussels-Capital Region covers the remaining 19 communes. Elections at both the Province and the Municipal or Commune level take place every six years.
The municipalities already existed before the Belgian State and were officially recognised by the 1831 Constitution. Their organisation was originally laid down in the law of 1836 and revised through the 1988 new Communal Act. From the time they were set up, reference was made to "communal autonomy", this means that local politicians have extensive autonomy in the context of the powers that they exercise, under the supervision of higher authorities.
The key powers exercised by the municipalities include population registry, electoral matters, the issuing of driving licenses and the granting of social assistance. Municipalities are also responsible for religious facilities and carry out certain civil functions.

Each Region exercises its supervision over the municipalities in its territory. The supervision over the municipalities by other authorities, i.e. the Linguistic Communities and the Federal State, is limited to the fields for which the Communities and the State hold powers.

Municipal co-operation

Municipalities may band together for the joint delivery of certain services such as supplying water, gas or electricity. Municipalities will therefore form into as many as 5 or 6 different inter-municipal associations for example for energy/water distribution, economic development, hospitals etc. These inter-municipal associations are corporate bodies governed by public law. They have a board of directors and joint auditors and are purely voluntary. Inter-municipal associations normally consist of public sector authorities but can also include private sector bodies, however their purpose must be of municipal interest. The fire Brigade and policing are run on an inter-municipal structure and although financed mainly by the municipalities they are regulated on a federal level.

The structure of the Federal State and the distribution of power:

Under the reform programmes, the pyramid structure of the Unitarian state made way for a more complex three-level structure.
The Federal State, the Communities and the Regions, are equal from a legal viewpoint.
The Laws of the Federal Belgian State and the Decrees of the Region share the same level of authority. Whilst legislatively they are equal the Belgian State and the Regions have different areas or sets of powers and responsibilities. The Federal State has no oversight role over the Regions.
The Communities and Regions as political authorities are no longer involved in a process of delegation or decentralisation. They are autonomous from the Federal State and have their own institutions and powers. Regulations they adopt have the force of law. Since the 1993 Constitutional Reform the Regions have exercised supervisory authority over the provinces and municipalities. As well as the supervisory role over local authorities, Regions also hold administrative control over urban areas and federations of municipalities.
The Provinces, which were under the sole supervision of the central state before the state reform of 1993, are now supervised by all of the higher government authorities, in the context of the federal, community or regional powers.
The Municipalities, are similar to the provinces in that they are under the supervision of the higher authorities. Depending on the powers exercised, they are supervised by the Federal State, the Community or the Region. In general, they are financed and audited by the Regions.

Mechanisms for co-ordination

Numerous formal and informal mechanisms exist to aid and ensure coherence between the different levels of authority.
In particular the balance between the three autonomous regions and the Federal State and between them and their individual powers must be carefully regulated.
The Court of Arbitration is key to solving inter-regional disputes. There are also special institutions and procedures in place to deal with conflicts of interest without negatively affecting political life.
At each level, financial inspectors oversee the advisability of expenditure. The Court of Auditors oversees the accounts of the State, the autonomous Communities, the Regions and the Provinces but not those of the Municipalities.
The High Finance board is responsible for monitoring the economic and monetary union of Belgium. It is made up of representatives from the various authorities and financial and monetary experts. It recommends the financial requirements authorised for each authority and tracks development.
The Co-ordination Committee aims to find political responses to any disputes of consensus. It comprises political representatives from the various authorities.
Inter-ministerial conferences can also be held between ministers from different authorities who exercise powers in the same or related areas; in order to co-ordinate actions at field level. Initiatives often include co-operation agreements.
The Council of State is an administrative jurisdiction exercising over all authorities, to ensure uniform interpretation of the law. It also ensures that no authority exceeds its own powers.

Regional government: Flanders

The region of Flanders and the Flemish linguistic community governments have been merged so that in Flanders, there is one Council and one government known as the Flemish Council. This assembly exercises both community and regional competencies. The Region of Flanders covers approximately 44% of Belgium, an area of 13.512km and has a population of 5.9 million representing 58% of Belgium’s total population.
The Parliament of Flanders, which is elected every five years, consists of 124 members. The people of the Region of Flanders directly elect 118 members and the Flemish population of the Regional Council of the Brussels Capitol elects the remaining 6 members. The Parliament holds legislative powers for the region of Flanders itself, through the approval of decrees and is responsible for appointing the ministers of the Government of Flanders.
The core task of the Flemish Parliament or Council is to approve decrees in the following areas:
  • Culture – including tourism and the media.
  • Language use – including language use in schools, in the administration and in relations between employers and employees.
  • ‘Matters relating to the person’ – including youth protection, family policy and childcare, equal opportunities and the integration of migrants.
  • Education.
  • Economy, employment and energy policy.
  • Town and country planning, housing, land development and nature conservation- including regional planning, housing policy and urban renewal.
  • Environment and water- including reduction of air, land and water pollution and waste disposal policy.
  • Public works and transport – including roads, seaports, regional airports and urban and regional transport.
  • Communes, provinces and interurban organisations – including the allocating of financial resources to the 308 Flemish towns and communes and to the Flemish provinces, and administrative supervision of communes and provinces.
  • International affairs - For areas within its sphere of competence the Flemish state can conclude international treaties with other states.
  • Science and research policy.
The decrees of the Flemish Parliament regarding education, cultural issues and ‘matters relating to the person’ also apply to the Flemish institutions in Brussels.
The Flemish Community/Region Government is the executive power of the Flemish state and consists of eleven members at most, including one president; at least one minister must be living in the bilingual Brussels-Capital area. Elected by the Council, Ministers are no longer required to be actual members of the Council to be elected. Elections are held by direct universal suffrage and voting is compulsory.
The Government of Flanders is headed by the Minister President. It is responsible for the implementation of the decrees issued by the Flemish parliament and oversees both regional, that is everything to do with the territory of Flanders and its administration, and community matters that affect the lives of the people of Flanders. The Government of Flanders holds Executive power and is the driving force behind policy. The Government of Flanders is normally made up of a coalition.
The Flemish government is assisted in its task by the Ministry of the Flemish Community, with its 11,000 civil servants. Certain public tasks have been entrusted to specialised public institutions, notably The Flemish Public Transport Company, Public Waste Disposal Company, Radio and Television Company and the Flemish Employment and Vocational Training Office.
The Flemish Government is made up of seven Departments. Each Minister is responsible for a specific administration as part of the Ministry of Flanders and several public institutes:
The Flemish Parliament appoints and supervises the Flemish government. Within six months after its appointment the Flemish Government presents policy documents, in which each department of the Ministry of the Flemish Community indicates its long-term aims. In the annual policy formulations, presented together with the budget by the Flemish ministers, they emphasise their concrete policy measures.

Scrutiny

Parliament has several means of exercising control and scrutiny over the Government; weekly question time, committees ‘call for explanation’, and written questions. The Parliament also has the right to set up inquiries, which have judicial force. The annual debates on the budget are another major aspect of political control.

The Flemish Ombudsservice

Established in 1998 the Flemish Ombudsservice examines complaints about the procedures and the activities of the Flemish Administration and formulates proposals and recommendations on the basis of its findings.

Finance

Each year the Flemish Parliament decides how the financial resources of the Flemish state will be used. To this end it approves budget decrees containing full details of all revenue and expenditure. The Flemish State has limited power to raise its own taxes and depends largely on the Federal State to finance its activities. Since 1989, Community and Regional finances have been governed by law.
The majority of Flemish Government funding is sourced from the Central Federal Government (raised through e.g. Tax on income). The Flemish administration can raise funds through tax on property and waste management.
In 2002 the annual budget for the Flemish government amounted to EUR 17,269 billion. The vast majority originates from taxes collected in Flanders and transferred from the Federal Government. A growing share of Flemish revenues originates from regional taxes.

Sources of finance for Flemish administration

In Euro
Combined and shared taxes        12.881.000.000
Specific subsidies and refunds
739.000.000
Regional taxes
2.718.000.000
Radio and television licence fee                                             
33.000.000
Allocated revenues
70.000.000
Other revenues
278.000.000
Loans
550.000.000
Total
17.269.000.000

Local government in Flanders

Flemish provinces

Since the State Reforms of 1993, the provinces have no longer been under the sole supervision of the central State, all the higher government authorities that is the Federal, community and the regions supervise them. Seats are allocated on both the municipal and the provincial councils on the basis of proportional representation.
The Flemish Provinces themselves have been reconstituted since January 1995 to the present arrangement of 5 provinces, with Brussels itself as a separate entity not subject to provincial authority, known as ‘extraprovincialisation’. The five provinces within the region of Flanders are; Antwerp, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Limburg and West Flanders.
Provinces have a provincial council whose membership depends upon the size of the population of the province. The provincial council, which sits for the normal 4 weeks a year consists of, a Governor, appointed by the crown from outside the provincial council and six permanent deputies, who are elected by the municipal councillors. The Provincial Governor is responsible for enforcing all statutes, orders and acts of general administration, and the decrees of the executives or government of the communities and regions. The Governor also exercises public order functions such as maintaining order, issuing regulations, meeting vital needs and administrative functions as well as enforcing laws and general regulations.
The Council is responsible for all matters of exclusive concern to the province and issues law enforcement orders and public order ordinances. Other responsibilities include appointing provincial employees, drawing up the budget and accounts, managing public property within the provinces and co-ordinating the action of municipalities in road maintenance, etc.
Provincial Councillors are paid attendance allowances, and, where applicable a travelling allowance. The Permanent Delegation of the provincial council receives remuneration, as set by the Provincial Council. This remuneration is in accordance with the Provinces Act.
A variety of competences of general interest have been entrusted to the provinces by the Federal State including, the nomination of candidates to various judicial posts, the exercise of jurisdictional measures and the implementation of laws and regulations in the province itself.

Flemish municipalities/communes

The Commune is the level of government closest to the people and with a tradition of strong local politics in Flanders it is the 308 Municipalities that are regarded as the foundation of the political system.
The current situation of the Flemish municipalities is as a result of the reorganisation of municipalities, through Acts of the Constitution passed by the Belgium Houses of Parliament in 1961 and again in 1971. This series of amalgamations of municipalities was in order to create adequate units for the local management of public affairs and was guided by considerations of a geographical, economic, social, cultural and financial nature such as the demands of the infrastructure, to secure adequate resources and to rationalise administrative activity.
The 308 Flemish municipalities have an average population of 20,000; the smallest municipality has 90 inhabitants whilst the largest of Antwerp has 450,000 inhabitants.
The deliberative body of the municipality council consists of between seven and fifty-five councillors (always an odd number) depending upon the size of the population of the municipality. Seats are allocated on the basis of proportional representation. The Council is responsible for all matters of concern to the municipality and must meet at least ten times a year.

Executive body of the municipality

The executive body of the municipalities is The Corporation of Mayor and Aldermen. The Corporation exercises everyday management of the municipality and consists of a mayor plus between two and ten aldermen. The mayor, who chairs the municipal council, is appointed by the Crown from among the elected members or, in exceptional cases with the approval of the corporation from among non-councillors who are registered voters in the municipality. In practice this appointment is actually made by the Flemish Government and so this post serves as a representative of central Government in the municipality. The aldermen are elected by the municipal councillors from among their number. The mayor is the highest legal officer of the municipality but is able to delegate responsibility and some powers to one of the aldermen.
As representative of central government in the municipality the mayor is responsible for enforcing all statutes, orders, ordinances and decrees of the State, Regions, Communities, community commission, the provincial council and the permanent delegation of the provincial council. Due to coalition government the mayor is normally a representative of the majority party. In rare cases the mayor will be a representative of the minority party in order to complete the coalition.
Municipalities have a great deal of autonomy, however municipal autonomy is not automatically municipal independence. Autonomy is clearly limited by legislation. Many national politicians however originate from municipal political bases and many continue to double as mayor or aldermen in addition to their federal political positions.
Municipalities employ 100-105,000 people (though a large proportion of these are in Education i.e. teaching profession). This method of local and low-level employment is not perceived to be conductive to efficiency.

Municipality structures

  • Council (seats allocated by proportional representation).
  • College of Mayor and Aldermen (executive organ, elected by Council).
  • Mayor appointed by Flemish Government to be representative of Central government in the municipality.
  • Each municipal council establishes its own statute. This limits mobility from one municipality to another. There is no formal or established way to compare or measure the service delivery of different municipalities apart from an audit of finances.

Municipality finance

20% of Municipality income is from Central Government funds. 55% is raised by their own local taxes meaning the municipalities have greater fiscal autonomy than the Region of Flanders itself. The remaining 25% is from retribution, that is the costs that the public pay for local services provided.
Variation in taxes between municipalities leads to movements in population often from cities to more rural areas – leading to suburban growth.

Municipalities responsibilities

Competencies are delegated to the municipalities by a higher authority i.e. the Federal State or the Region. Municipal tasks include; population services, spatial planning, public hygiene, environment, public library and primary schools (these last 3 are subsidized by Central Government). Competencies also include notably: civil statutes, population register, electoral matters etc.
The fire Brigade and policing are run on an inter-municipal structure but are regulated on a federal level.

Reform of Flanders

A first wave of Public Sector Reform from 1992 to 2000 modernised the Flemish administration but due to the limited scope and lack of performance management systems it is difficult to gauge relative success. The changes, which included greater supervision and scrutiny of the provinces, came generally to be regarded as a failure due to the lack of a clear overall strategy.
A second wave of public sector administrative reform began in 2000 and is set to last until 2004. The ‘Better Governance’ report published in 2002 clarified the aims of the reform; to develop a more transparent, accountable and efficient administration and a better policy framework.
Source: Civil Service Policy Memorandum for the 1999–2004 term of office. Submitted to the Flemish Parliament on 27 March 2000.
Structural changes recommended through this reform process have been implemented in stages since 2001.

The role of autonomous public agencies

Autonomous agencies are employed by the Flemish government to take care of certain tasks of public interest at some distance from the political level; these include Public agencies, scientific institutions and advisory councils. They come under the remit of the current reorganisation of the Flemish administration through the aim to create a clear demarcation of tasks between the department (policy support) and the autonomous agencies (policy implementation). Reorganisation focuses on the need for a clearer relationship between politics and autonomous agencies, specifically political responsibility, steering and supervision and the role of the board of directors.

Key Issues

Improving services

  • There is evidence of flexibility within and between municipalities and their organisation, in an attempt to better co-ordinate and deliver services. This enabling of structures to be flexible allows the municipalities to have a greater focus on service delivery.
  • The establishment of formal structures and bodies to aid greater co-ordination between and within the existent complex structures has in some way addressed issues of cohesion and joined-up-government.

Enhancing democracy

  • The implementation of subsidiarity means not only that citizens are close to the level at which administrative decisions are taken but also that politicians have a greater awareness of local needs and concerns.
  • The retention of a large number of the municipalities, which are regarded as important both historically and in recognising local identity, have maintained a high degree of democracy.
However the considerations given to the traditional structures and organisation of government especially at a local level has appeared to hamper attempts to improve administrative efficiency in Belgium as a State and has in particular complicated the government’s efforts to reform the police and judicial systems at a national level.
  • The ongoing focus on reform at both a national and regional level has aided political stability however this may have contributed to greater public confusion regarding administration and government structures in Belgium.
  • There are close political links between the lowest level of government, the municipalities and the national State government through the practice of Politicians transferring from one system to another and in some cases holding political posts within both systems. This however raises the issue of a dual mandate.

Involving communities

  • The devolution of powers in Belgium to the regions, communities, provinces and municipalities brings decision-making ever closer to the people and has improved relations between the Government and the citizen.
  • There is a strong emphasis on involving all communities and in particular recognising linguistic identity and culture, however this emphasis does not appear to have been balanced against the need for efficiency or long-term effectiveness.

Better governance

  • The complexity of the governmental system in Belgium has resulted in both the need and the growth of the number of bodies to aid co-ordination and coherence.
  • The continuing process of governmental reform and in particular the current reform in Flanders is committed to openness and transparency with all reports and progress available via the internet. There is also a website dedicated to the region of Flanders.
  • Segregation of policy development and the management of the delivery of services: As part of the current reform and reorganisation in Flanders, a Flemish ministry will be created for each homogenous policy domain. Each Flemish ministry will now consist of one department and one or more internally autonomous agencies (IAA). External autonomous agencies (EAA) may also be set up within each homogenous policy domain; these have their own legal personality and operate under a board of directors. Key features of this proposed model include a clear demarcation of responsibilities between the policy and management cycle, including minister, public manager and board of directors and that management and supervision are all carried out with openness, integrity and accountability in the policy and management cycle.