Accommodation in Belgium and the Belgian Model

Accommodation in Belgium

• The Belgian leaders recognized the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities
• They amended their constitution four times between 1970 and 1993

Elements of Belgian Model

• Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French–speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government
• Some special laws require the support of majority of members from each linguistic group
• The state governments are not subordinate to the central government
• Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation
• The French speaking people accepted equal representation in Brussels because the Dutch-speaking community has accepted equal representation in the Central Government.
• Apart for the central and state government there is a third kind of government elected by people called as “community government“
• This ‘community government’ is elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where they live.
• This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.