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Sixth Belgian State Reform
The sixth State reform in Belgium, state reform in the federal kingdom of Belgium 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 Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams, CD&V and Centre démocrate humaniste, cdH, social-democratic Socialistische Partij Anders, sp.a and Parti Socialiste (Belgium), PS, liberal Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, Open Vld and Mouvement Réformateur, MR and ecologist Groen (political party), Groen! and Ecolo, 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 Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance, which became the largest after the Belgian general election, 2010, 2010 elections, was notably not part of the agreement nor of the government coalition. It is also called Butterfly Agreement ( ...
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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 Flanders and the French-speakers of Wallonia. In general, Belgium has evolved from a unitary state to a federal state with communities, regions, and language areas.''"Belgium is a federal State composed of Communities and Regions."'' – Article 1 of the Belgian Constitution Short overview *First state reform (1970) – Cultural communities established (Flemish demand). Constitutional foundations for territorial regions (Walloon demand). *Second state reform (1980) – Cultural communities become communities, with more competences related to personal matters. Territorial Flemish and Walloon regions established (Brussels Region later). Communities and regions get their own parliaments and governments. *Third state reform (1988 ...
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Bow Tie
The bow tie or dicky bow is a type of neckwear, distinguishable from a necktie because it does not drape down the shirt placket, but is tied just underneath a winged collar. 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 (clothing), collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that the two opposite ends form loops. There are generally three types of bow ties: the pre-tied, the clip-on, and the self-tie. Pre-tied bow ties are ties in which the distinctive bow is sewn onto a band that goes around the neck and clips to secure. Some "clip-ons" dispense with the band altogether, instead clipping straight to the collar. The traditional bow tie, consisting of a strip of cloth that the wearer has to tie by hand, is also known as a "self-tie", "tie-it-yourself", or "freestyle" bow tie. Bow ties may be made of any fabric material, but most are made from silk, polyester, co ...
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2011 In Belgium
Events in the year 2011 in Belgium. Incumbents *List of Belgian monarchs, Monarch: Albert II of Belgium, Albert II *Prime Minister of Belgium, Prime Minister: Yves Leterme (until 6 December), Elio Di Rupo (starting 6 December) Events *January 18 - List_of_quiz_channels#Belgium, Quiz channels are removed from Flemish television after an exposé by TV programme ''Basta (TV series), Basta''. *February 2 - Didier Reynders appointed lead negotiator in ongoing attempts to form a governing coalition *February 26 - Flemish sitcom F.C. De Kampioenen stops after 21 seasons. *April 5 - 101 Air Unit, a documentary mini-series is first broadcast. *May 17 - KRC Genk win the Belgian Pro League after a home draw against Standard Liège. *June 1 - Belgium breaks the world record for length of time taken to form a government. *July 4 – Jagers te Paard Battalion formed. *August 18 - The 26th edition of music festival Pukkelpop is canceled after heavy weather leaves 5 people dead and 140 wounded. ...
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Politics Of Belgium
The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy. The King of the Belgians is the head of state, and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government, in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The federation is made up of (language-based) communities and (territorial) regions. Philippe is the seventh and current King of the Belgians, having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013. Since around 1970, the significant Belgian national political parties have split into distinct representations for each communities' interests, besides defense of their ideologies. These parties belong to three main political families, though all close to the centre: the right-wing Liberals, the social conservative Christian Democrats and the Sociali ...
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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 district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV). Parties from the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community are in general strongly in favour for a devolution of powers to the communities and regions, and the splitting of the unconstitutional BHV district, while French-speaking French Community of Belgium is generally in favour of retaining the status quo. After the 2010 elections, the topics of public debt, deficit cuts and socio-economic reform were added to the debate, with most Flemish parties in favour of finding money by strongly reducing spending, whilst the proposals supported by most French-speaking parties also included a significant raise in taxes. The crisis came to an end in December 2011 with the inauguration of a new federal government ...
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Communities, Regions And Language Areas Of Belgium
Belgium is a federation, federal state comprising three communities and three regions that are based on four language areas. For each of these subdivision types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country; in other words, the types overlap. The language areas were established by the History of Belgium#The rise of the federal state, Second Gilson Act, which entered into force on 2 August 1963. The division into language areas was included in the Constitution of Belgium, Belgian Constitution in 1970. Through state reform in Belgium, constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalism (politics), regionalisation of the unitary state led to a three-tiered federation: federalism, federal, regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social, and economic tensions. Schematic overview This is a schematic overview of the basic federal structure of Belgium as defined by Title I of the Belgian Constitution. Ea ...
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Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (; ) is a judicial arrondissement encompassing the bilingual— French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the administrative arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvoorde, which in turn coincides with the administrative arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde. Halle-Vilvoorde contains several municipalities with language facilities, i.e. municipalities where French-speaking people form a considerable part of the population and therefore have special language rights. The arrondissement is the location of a tribunal of first instance, enterprise tribunal and a labour tribunal. Prior to the sixth Belgian state reform in 2012, the area also formed the electoral arrondissement of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV), which, as part of the same 2012 reform, was completely split into a Brussels electoral district and, together with the electoral district of Leuven, into the electoral district of ...
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German-speaking Community Of Belgium
The German-speaking Community (, , DG), also known as East Belgium ( ), is one of the three Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, federal communities of Belgium. The community is composed of nine municipalities in Liège Province, Wallonia, within the Eupen-Malmedy region in Eastern Belgium. The primary language of the community is German, making this one of the three official languages in Belgium. Traditionally the community and the wider area around it forms an intersection of various local languages and/or dialects, namely Limburgish language, Limburgish, Ripuarian language, Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian dialects, Moselle Franconian varieties. The community has an area of , and has a population of around 79,000 (as of January 2024)about 7.0% of Liège Province and about 0.7% of the national total. Bordering the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg, the area has its own parliament and government at Eupen. The German-speaking Community of Belgium was Treaty of V ...
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Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country. It is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, and is separate from the Flemish Region (Flanders), within which it forms an enclave, and the Walloon Region (Wallonia), located less than to the south. Brussels grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to become an important city-region in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been a major centre for international politics and home to numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the '' de facto'' capital of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, including i ...
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Wallonia
Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily Geographical distribution of French speakers, French-speaking. It accounts for 55% of Belgium's territory, but only a third of its population. The Walloon Region and the French Community of Belgium, which is the political entity responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, are independent concepts, because the French Community of Belgium encompasses both Wallonia and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region but not the German-speaking Community of Belgium, which administers nine municipalities in Eastern Wallonia. During the Industrial Revolution, Wallonia was second only to the United Kingdom in industrialization, capitalizing on its extensive deposits of coal and iron. This brought the regio ...
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Flemish Region
The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch language, Dutch-speaking. With an area of , it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 58% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around . The Flemish Region is distinct from the Flemish Community: the latter encompasses both the inhabitants of the Flemish Region and the Dutch-speaking minority living in the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. It borders the Netherlands and France. Politics Immediately after its establishment in 1980, the region transferred all its constitutional competencies to the Flemish Community. Thus, the current Flemish authorities (Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government) repre ...
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Belgian Senate
The Senate ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the Bicameralism, bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament, Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to the Chamber of Representatives, the Senate has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The Belgian federal election, 2014, 2014 elections were the first without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is composed of members of community and regional parliaments and Co-option, co-opted members. It is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between these federated entities. The Senate today plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. However, the Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legi ...
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