Local and Regional Governments in Europe

Community level 3 communities (Flemish-, French- and German-speaking)
The community parliament
(Parlement de la Communauté française
and Parlament der Deutschsprachigen
Gemeinschaft/Vlaams Parlement) is the
legislative body of the community. It
is composed of members elected by
universal suffrage for five years (next
elections in 2019). The community
parliament has legislative powers,
monitors the government of the
community and votes the budget.
The government of the
community (Gouvernement de la
Communauté française/Regierung
der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
/Vlaamse regering) is the executive
body composed of ministers
appointed by the parliament for five
years. It also has legislative powers
(right of initiative).
The minister-president (Ministre-
Président de la Communauté française/
Ministerpräsident der Regierung der
Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaf/
Minister-president van de Vlaamse
regering) is appointed for a fiveyear
term among members of the
government of the community over
which he/she presides. He/she is
responsible for the coordination
of community policies led by the
government of the community.
The Flemish community and the
Flanders region have merged. Flanders
has thus one parliament (Vlaams
parlement) and one government
(Vlaamse regering), presided over by
the minister-president, all of which are
competent for both community and
regional matters.
For Brussels Region, the community
competences are exercised by, on the
one hand, the French and Flemish
communities and, on the other hand,
by the three community commissions
(GGC/COCOM, COCOF and VGC). The
common community commission
(GCC/COCOM) regulates and
manages matters common to the two
communities in the Brussels-Capital
region and has recently been assigned
a large number of competences for
matters such as health and assistance
to citizens, following the sixth State
reform.
Depending on the community, it’s the
COCOF (Commission communautaire
francophone for the French speaking
community) and the VGC (Vlaamse
gemeenschapscommissie for the
Dutch speaking community) which
are competent for the community
level. COCOF and VGC can form and
fund institutions or take initiatives
within the scope of community
responsibilities.
Competences
• Education
• Culture
• Social affairs
• Tourism
• Sports
• International relations
• Health
• Assistance to citizens
CEMR in Belgium – Union of Belgian Cities and Municipalities (www.uvcb-vbsg.be), Association of the City and the Municipalities
of the Brussels-Capital Region (www.avcb-vsgb.be), Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (www.vvsg.be),
Union of cities and municipalities of Wallonia (www.uvcw.be)
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