Flemish Parliament

From 1830 until 1970 Belgium was a unitary state with a single government and a bicameral national parliament. The laws issued by Parliament applied to all Belgians, and government ministers exercised their authority across the length and breadth of the country. Between 1970 and 2001 the Belgian Parliament approved five successive constitutional reforms. Slowly they changed Belgium from a unitary into a federal state. Part of this was to give the communities and later the regions, their own parliaments.

On 7 December 1971 the Cultural Council for the Dutch-speaking Cultural Community held its first meeting; later followed a parliament for the Flemish Region. Flanders decided as early as 1980 to merge the Flemish Community with the Flemish Region. As a result, Flanders now has a single parliament and a single government with competence over community as well as over regional matters. This Parliament was called the Vlaamse Raad until it was officially renamed Vlaams Parlement (Flemish Parliament) on 13 June 1995. Over the last thirty years, Flanders has thus developed into a separate state within the federalised Belgium.

Members are called "Vlaamse Volksvertegenwoordigers". In English, they are referred to as "Members of the Flemish Parliament" (MFPs),[1] like the MSPs in Scotland and the MEPs in the European Union. The title "Flemish Representative" is also used in English. Since 1995 members of the Flemish Parliament have been directly elected.

Currently, many voices in the Flemish Movement would like the Flemish Parliament to acquire certain sovereign powers in addition to those concerning language, culture and education. Furthermore, among the broader Flemish population a consensus has emerged that the Flemish Parliament should also acquire much larger financial and fiscal autonomy.

Flemish Parliament building seen here at a distance, at the intersection of Hertogsstraat & Drukpersstraat, formerly the headquarters of Belgian Post until 1987

The Flemish Parliament enacts decrees, which are Flemish laws, either as a decree of the Flemish Community or as a decree of the Flemish Region (or often as a decree combining provisions for both entities). Regional legislation is only applicable to all persons in the Flemish Region whereas community legislation also applies to Flemish institutions or services in Brussels (and thus to persons in Brussels who choose to make use of these institutions or services, such as schools).

No hierarchy exists between (federal) laws and Flemish decrees, as each level is supposed to have clearly defined subject-matter jurisdiction. The basis for the community subject-matter jurisdiction is defined in the Belgian Constitution, but the Special Law on Institutional Reform defines all matters in high detail. They can be summarised as follows:

A regular legislative session starts in September, when the Government presents its "September Declaration" (Septemberverklaring), a kind of State of the Union. Plenary sessions are usually held on Wednesdays.

The Flemish Parliament largely functions like its federal, community and regional counterparts, mutatis mutandis. Bills are usually introduced by the Government (ontwerp van decreet), but members of parliament can also propose bills (voorstel van decreet or private member's bill). Bills are first considered in committee, after which they are put to a vote in the plenary. Votes are usually recorded electronically. For example during the 2009–14 legislature, 407 government bills were adopted, while only 102 private member's bills were made law.

Number of seats per constituency in Flanders

118 members are directly elected in the Flemish Region. They have voting rights for both regional and community competencies. 6 members are directly elected in the Brussels-Capital Region by those voters who voted for a Dutch-speaking party in the Brussels regional elections. They have no voting rights for the regional competencies.[2]

The elections take place every five years, simultaneously with the elections for the other regional and community parliaments and for the European Parliament. Thus, de facto the European decision-makers determine when the Flemish Parliament elections occur.

This table shows the distribution of seats following the 2019 regional election:

Previous legislative terms

The following table lists each legislative term since 1995, when the Flemish Parliament was first directly elected following the fourth state reform.

The parties are ordered by size in the respective term. Green coloured parties indicate the government majority, whereas red parties form the opposition.

Legislative term	Inaugural composition									Government
2019–2024 (elected in 2019)		N-VA 35 / 124	Vlaams Belang 23 / 124	CD&V 19 / 124	Open Vld 16 / 124	Groen 14 / 124	sp.a 13 / 124	PVDA 4 / 124	—	Jambon (2019–present) (Homans) (2019) (N-VA, CD&V, Open Vld)
2014–2019 (elected in 2014)		N-VA 43 / 124	CD&V 27 / 124	Open Vld 19 / 124	sp.a 18 / 124	Groen 10 / 124	Vlaams Belang 6 / 124	UF 1 / 124	—	Bourgeois (N-VA, CD&V, Open Vld)
2009–2014 (elected in 2009)		CD&V 31 / 124	Vlaams Belang 21 / 124	Open Vld 21 / 124	sp.a 19 / 124	N-VA 16 / 124	LDD 8 / 124	Groen 7 / 124	UF 1 / 124	Peeters II (CD&V, sp.a, N-VA)
2004–2009 (elected in 2004)		CD&V/N-VA 35 / 124	Vlaams Belang 32 / 124	VLD-Vivant 25 / 124	sp.a-Spirit 25 / 124	Groen! 6 / 124	UF 1 / 124	—	—	Peeters I (2007–2009) Leterme (2004–2007) (CD&V/N-VA, sp.a-Spirit, VLD-Vivant)
1999–2004 (elected in 1999)		CVP 30 / 124	VLD 27 / 124	Vlaams Blok 22 / 124	SP 20 / 124	Agalev 12 / 124	VU-ID 12 / 124	UF 1 / 124	—	Somers (2003–2004) Dewael (1999–2003) (VLD, SP, Agalev, VU-ID)
1995–1999 (elected in 1995)		CVP 37 / 124	VLD 27 / 124	SP 26 / 124	Vlaams Blok 17 / 124	VU 9 / 124	Agalev 7 / 124	UF 1 / 124	—	Van den Brande IV (CVP, SP)

1995–1999

7	26	37	27	9	17	1
Agalev	SP	CVP	VLD	VU	VB	UF

1999–2004

12	20	30	27	12	22	1
Agalev	SP	CVP	VLD	VU-ID	VB	UF

2004–2009

6	25	35	25	32	1
Groen	SP.A + Spirit	CD&V + N-VA	Open VLD + Vivant	VB	UF

2009–2014

7	19	31	21	8	16	21	1
Groen	SP.A	CD&V	Open VLD	LDD	N-VA	VB	UF

2014–2019

10	18	27	19	43	6	1
Groen	SP.A	CD&V	Open VLD	N-VA	VB	UF

2019–present

4	14	13	19	16	35	23
PVDA	Groen	SP.A	CD&V	Open VLD	N-VA	VB

At the beginning of each parliamentary year, on the fourth Monday in September, the Flemish Parliament elects its Speaker. The Speaker chairs the plenary sessions of the Flemish Parliament and acts as its official representative. The speaker determines whether a certain initiative is admissible and thus can be put to parliament at all. The Flemish Ministers take the oath before the Speaker of the Flemish Parliament. Only the head of the Flemish government, the Flemish Minister-President, takes the oath before the King.

The current Speaker of the Flemish Parliament is Liesbeth Homans of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA).

The Speaker of the Flemish Parliament is assisted by the Bureau, which consists of the Speaker, four Deputy Speakers and three Secretaries. The Bureau is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the Flemish Parliament and meets at least once every two weeks. The Extended Bureau, which consists of the Bureau and the floor leaders of the recognised political fractions in the Flemish Parliament coordinates the political activities of the Flemish Parliament and sets the agenda for the plenary session. It usually meets every week on Monday.

Timeline

Much of the work of the Flemish Parliament is done in committee. The Flemish Parliament currently has eleven standing committees. Each committee is specialised in a particular subject area and consists of 15 Members of the Flemish Parliament. The primary task of the committees is to examine the texts of decree proposals and organise hearings and discussions on decree proposals. There are usually also ad hoc committees, such as the Digital Flanders Committee and the Flemish Constitution Committee.

• Flemish Community Commission
• Flemish Council for Science and Innovation (VRWI)
• Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO)
• Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region
• Parliament of Wallonia
• Politics of Flanders
• Resolutions of the Flemish Parliament of 1999

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flemish Parliament.

• Official website