the Flemish community has jurisdiction over Flanders and over the Dutch language institutions in Brussels.

The term Flemish Community has two distinct, though related, meanings: File links The following pages link to this file: Flanders Flemish Community Categories: Images with unknown source ... File links The following pages link to this file: Flanders Flemish Community Categories: Images with unknown source ...

1. Culturally and sociologically, it refers to Flemish organizations, media, social and cultural life; alternative expressions for this concept might be the "Flemish people" or the "Flemish nation" (in a similar sense as the Basque, Catalan, Galician, Scottish, Welsh, or Quebec nations);
2. Politically and institutionally, it refers to one of three communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilities. Unlike in the French-speaking half of Belgium^[1], the competencies of the Flemish community have been unified with those of the Flemish Region and are exercised by one directly elected Flemish Parliament based in Brussels.

Flemings (Dutch: Vlamingen) are inhabitants of Flanders in the widest sense of the term, i. ... Administrative division. ... The French Community area of Belgium The French Community of Belgium (French: , Dutch: , German: ) is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. ... The Flemish region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium (alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region). ... The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Vlaams Parlement, and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural and linguistic community of Belgium. ... Nickname: The Capital Of Europe, Comic City City of a 100 Museums[] Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 979 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989  - Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area    - City 162 (Region) km²  (62. ...

Legal Authority

Under the Belgian constitution, the Flemish Community has legal responsibility for the following:

• education (except for degree requirements, and for more than 95% of its financing);
• culture and language matters (except for all its economic aspects, which remain on the federal level);
• certain aspects of health care (a minor part of the entire public health policy);
• international development cooperation in all areas of the competency of the Community (not yet operational).

As the Flemish Community's institutions (parliament, government and ministry) absorbed all competencies of the Flemish region, they became also competent for the following areas:

• agriculture (although the bulk of this policy is determined by the European Union);
• public works and regional economic development;
• energy (although more than 95% of actual competencies in this area remain on the federal level).

The Flemish Community has almost no financial autonomy. It receives more than 95% of its budget from Belgian national funds. Federal rules also restrict taxation and spending. In addition, the Flemish Community, like the Flemish Region, has no Court of Auditors, nor any judicial courts.

Members of the Flemish Parliament who were elected in Brussels region, have no right to vote on Flemish regional affairs. They can only vote on community affairs, since affairs concerning their region are governed by the Brussels Parliament. The Council of the Region of Brussels-Capital, or Brussels Regional Parliament (French: Conseil de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale or Parlement Bruxellois, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement or Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Raad), is the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. ...

Language

Dutch is the official language of the Flemish community. Minorities speak French, Yiddish, Turkish, Arabic, Berber, Italian, Spanish, English and German. Though most of these groups are recent immigrants, since the Middle Ages, Jews have formed the oldest minority to retain its own identity. Yiddish (Yid. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

In certain municipalities along the border with the Walloon and Brussels regions, French-speakers enjoy "linguistic facilities". Similar facilities are enjoyed by Flemings in some Walloon municipalities, by German-speakers in Wallonia, and by French-speakers in the German-speaking territories. These cover rights such as those of minority language speakers to receive official documentation in their own tongue. The municipalities with linguistic facilities or municipalities with facilities (Dutch: faciliteitengemeenten, French: communes à facilités) are Belgian municipalities with special law provisions to protect rights of their (historic) linguistic minorities. ... Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonien, Walloon: Walonreye, Dutch: Wallonië) or the Walloon Region (French: Région Wallonne, Dutch: Waals Gewest) is the predominantly French-speaking region that constitutes one of the three federal regions of Belgium, with its capital at Namur. ...

Historically, dialects tended to be very strong and particular to locality. However, since the Second World War, the influence of radio and television, and the trend towards a more mobile population, has resulted in a sharp decline in the use of traditional dialects. Differences between the regional dialects have been eroded and new intermediate dialects have appeared. In Dutch, these are often called tussentaal ('in-between language') or, rather derogatorily, verkavelingsvlaams (Flemish as in a newly built-up suburban area with people influenced by different dialects). Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

In Brussels, the local dialect is heavily influenced by French, both in pronunciation and in vocabulary. However, most Flemings in Brussels do not speak the local dialect. This is due in part to the large numbers of young Flemings coming to Brussels, and others moving out.

Flemish institutions in Brussels

Where responsibilities of the Flemish Region can be devolved to provincial government, no such equivalent exists in the Brussels area. Most provincial competencies were assigned to the Brussels-Capital Region, for territorial tasks, and to the two affected communities for community competencies (education, culture and social welfare). The Flemish community therefore established a local elected council and executive (the Flemish Community Commission or 'VGC') to cater for intermediate-level decision making & public services. The VGC then recognised local, municipal institutions to take care of the purely local public service in these community areas (called gemeenschapscentra or community centres). The Brussels-Capital Region (French: R gion de Bruxelles-Capitale, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, German: Region Br ssel-Hauptstadt) or Brussels Region (French: R gion Bruxelloise, Dutch: Brusselse Gewest) is one of the three regions of Belgium. ... The Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (or VGC, or, in English, the Flemish Community Commission) is the local representative of the Flemish authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. ...

Legally speaking, in Brussels, the Flemish Community is responsible not for individual people, but for Flemish institutions such as schools, theatres, libraries and museums. The reason for this is that no distinct sub-national status exists in Brussels.

Media

Flanders has an official radio and television broadcasting company, the Vlaamse Radio en Televisieomroep or VRT in Dutch. Private radio and television broadcasting companies were established two decades ago. The written press is dominated by a number of 'quality' dailies (such as De Tijd, De Morgen and De Standaard), several 'popular' dailies (such as Het Laatste Nieuws and Het Nieuwsblad) and a huge number of general and specialised magazines. The Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep, or VRT, is a publicly-funded broadcaster of radio and television in Flanders (northern part of Belgium). ... De Tijd, formerly De financieel-economische Tijd, is a Belgian newspaper with much content on economics and business. ... De Morgen (English: The morning) is a Belgian newspaper. ... De Standaard (The Standard) is a Flemish daily newspaper with a circulation of 80,696 [1]. The first edition appeared on 4 December 1918. ... Het Laatste Nieuws is a Flemish language newspaper based in Brussels. ... Het Nieuwsblad is a belgian newspaper. ...

Notes

1. ^ The Parliament of the French Community and that of the Walloon Region are distinct

The French Community area of Belgium The French Community of Belgium (French: , Dutch: , German: ) is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. ... Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonien, Walloon: Walonreye, Dutch: Wallonië) or the Walloon Region (French: Région Wallonne, Dutch: Waals Gewest) is the predominantly French-speaking region that constitutes one of the three federal regions of Belgium, with its capital at Namur. ...

External links

• Flemish authorities (Dutch: Vlaamse overheid), in English
• Flemish authorities (Dutch: Vlaamse overheid), in Dutch
• Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Vlaams Parlement)
• Flemish government (Dutch: Vlaamse regering)
• Flemish Community Council in Brussels (Dutch: Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (VGC))
• Public radio & television (Dutch: Vlaamse radio en Televisie)
• Flanders on line (actual information in English, French, German and Dutch)

v • d • e

Subdivisions of Belgium

Communities: Flemish • French • German
Regions and provinces:
      Brussels-Capital Region
      Flemish Region: Antwerp • East Flanders • Flemish Brabant • Limburg • West Flanders
      Walloon Region: Hainaut • Liège • Luxembourg • Namur • Walloon Brabant
Arrondissements: Administrative • Judicial • Electoral
Municipalities: of the Brussels-Capital Region • in the Flemish Region • in the Walloon Region Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium. ... Administrative division. ... Administrative division. ... Belgium is divided into three regions, two of them are subdivided into five provinces each. ... The Brussels-Capital Region (French: R gion de Bruxelles-Capitale, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, German: Region Br ssel-Hauptstadt) or Brussels Region (French: R gion Bruxelloise, Dutch: Brusselse Gewest) is one of the three regions of Belgium. ... The Flemish region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium (alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region). ... Antwerp is the northernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ... East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... Limburg is the easternmost province of Flanders (which is one of the three regions of Belgium), and is located west of the Meuse river. ... West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ... National motto: Walon todi ! (Walloon forever!) Official languages French, German Capital Namur Minister-President Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe Area  - Total 16,844 km² Population  - Total (2002)  - Density 3,358,560 inhabitants 199. ... Hainaut (French; English traditionally Hainault, Dutch: Henegouwen, German: Hennegau, Walloon: Hinnot) is the westernmost province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... Liège is the easternmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. ... Namur (Dutch: Namen) is a province of Wallonia and of Belgium. ... Walloon Brabant is a province of Wallonia and of Belgium. ... This is a list of Belgian administrative arrondissements or districts. ... This is a list of Belgian administrative arrondissements or districts. ... This is a list of Belgian administrative arrondissements or districts. ... Belgium comprises 589 municipalities (Dutch: gemeenten, French: communes, German: Gemeinde) grouped into five provinces in each of two regions and into a third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, comprising 19 municipalities that do not belong to a province. ... The Brussels-Capital Region is divided into 19 municipalities: Seven municipalities have only one official name which are usable in Dutch and French although the name is Ducth; the other twelve officially have both a Dutch and a French name. ... The Flemish region has 308 municipalities. ... The alphabetical list of the 262 communes of Belgium being in the Walloon Region. ...