The sixth
state reform in the federal kingdom of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
is the result after the
2010–2011 Belgian government formation, with 541 days of negotiations, the longest ever in Belgium and possibly the world. The agreement was made among the Christian-democratic
CD&V
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
and
cdH, social-democratic
sp.a
Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...
and
PS, liberal
Open Vld
french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts
, abbreviation = Open Vld
, logo =
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert
, foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld)
, predecessor = Pa ...
and
MR and ecologist
Groen!
Groen (English: Green; nl, Groen, ), founded as Agalev (see Name below), is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
Party history
Before 1 ...
and
Ecolo
Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...
, each respectively a Flemish and French-speaking party. The first six parties, therefore not including the green parties, then formed the
Di Rupo I Government
The Di Rupo Government was the federal cabinet of Belgium sworn in on 6 December 2011, after a record-breaking 541 days of negotiations following the June 2010 elections. The government included social democrats ( sp.a/ PS), Christian democrats ...
. The Flemish nationalist party
New Flemish Alliance
The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU).
T ...
, which became the largest after the
2010 elections, is notably not part of the agreement nor of the government coalition.
It is also called Butterfly Agreement ( nl, Vlinderakkoord; french: Accord papillon), referring to the
bow tie
The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that th ...
which
Elio Di Rupo
Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politician who has served as the minister-president of Wallonia since 2019. He is affiliated with the Socialist Party (Belgium), Socialist Party. Di Rupo previously served as the prime minister of ...
nearly always wears.
Contents
Political reform
* The
Belgian Senate
The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parlia ...
will no longer be directly elected, but will instead become an assembly of regional parliaments, with fewer members.
* After
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and
Wallonia
Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
as the Flemish and French-speaking Communities, the
Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
German-speaking Community
The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...
will also have constitutive autonomy.
Brussels and
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
The area within Belgium known as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde encompasses the bilingual— French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvo ...
* The electoral constituency of
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
The area within Belgium known as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde encompasses the bilingual— French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvo ...
will be split.
* The judicial district of Brussels will be reformed.
Transfer of competences from the federal level to the
communities and regions (competences in total worth € 17 billion per year)
* Regions will receive economic and employment competences, communities will be responsible for family policy.
Reform of the financing law
* The communities and regions will be financed differently and will have more fiscal autonomy.
Changes to the Powers of the Royal Family
*The children of the King will no longer be entitled to a seat in the Senate.
See also
*
2007–2011 Belgian political crisis
The 2007–2011 Belgian political crisis was a period of tense communal relations and political instability in Belgium, which was rooted in the differing opinions on state reform, and in the continued existence of the controversial electoral dis ...
*
2010–2011 Belgian government formation
*
Di Rupo I Government
The Di Rupo Government was the federal cabinet of Belgium sworn in on 6 December 2011, after a record-breaking 541 days of negotiations following the June 2010 elections. The government included social democrats ( sp.a/ PS), Christian democrats ...
*
State reform in Belgium
State reform, in the context of Belgium, is the ongoing process of seeking and finding constitutional and legal solutions to the problems and tensions in the different segments of the Belgian population, mostly between the Dutch-speakers of Flande ...
External links
* Original text in Dutch
Institutioneel akkoord voor de zesde staatshervorming or French
Accord institutionnel pour la sixième réforme de l'état
The sixth Belgian state reform of October 2011: analysis & next steps whyte
The Butterfly Agreement, a milestone rather than the end game of State Reform{Dead link, date=November 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes , Interel Belgium
Politics of Belgium
2011 in Belgium
Reform in Belgium