Encyclopedia
The
Kingdom of Belgium is a country in
northwest Europe bordered by
the Netherlands,
Germany,
Luxembourg and
France and is one of the founding and core members of the
European Union. Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 30,000 square kilometres .
Straddling the cultural boundary between
Germanic and
Romance Europe, it is linguistically divided. Mainly two languages are spoken in Belgium:
Dutch is spoken by the 6 million people in
Flanders to the north,
French by the 3.3 million
Walloons in the south. The capital,
Brussels, is officially bilingual, while the majority of its residents speak French. Around 70,000 people live in the
German-speaking Community in the east of the country. This linguistic diversity often leads to political and cultural conflict and is reflected in Belgium's complex
system of government and
political history.
Belgium derives its name from the
Latin name of the most northern part of
Gaul,
Gallia Belgica, named after a group of mostly
Celtic tribes,
Belgae. Historically, Belgium has been a part of the
Low Countries, which also include the Netherlands and Luxembourg and used to cover a somewhat larger region than the current
Benelux group of states. From the end of the
Middle Ages until the seventeenth century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the sixteenth century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, Belgium, at that time called the
Southern Netherlands, was the site of many battles between the European powers, and has been dubbed "the battlefield of Europe" or "the cockpit of Europe". More recently, Belgium was a founding member of the
European Union, hosting its headquarters, as well as those of many other major
international organisations, such as
NATO.
History
Over the past two millennia, the area that is now known as Belgium has seen significant demographic, political and cultural upheavals. The first well-documented population move was the conquest of the region by the
Roman Republic in the 1st century BC, followed in the 5th century by the
Germanic Franks. The Franks established the Merovingian kingdom, which became the
Carolingian Empire in the 8th century. During the Middle Ages, the Low Countries were split into many small
feudal states. Most of them were united in the course of the 14th and 15th centuries by the house of
Burgundy as the Burgundian Netherlands. These states gained a degree of autonomy in the 15th century and were thereafter named the
Seventeen Provinces.
The history of Belgium can be distinguished from that of the Low Countries from the 16th century. The
Eighty Years' War , divided the Seventeen Provinces into the
United Provinces in the north and the
Southern Netherlands in the south. The southern provinces were ruled successively by the
Spanish and the
Austrian Habsburgs. Until independence, the Southern Netherlands were sought after by numerous French conquerors and were the theatre of most
Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the , the Low Countries—including territories that were never under Habsburg rule, such as the
Bishopric of Liège—were overrun by France, ending Spanish-Austrian rule in the region. The reunification of the Low Countries as the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the end of the
French Empire in 1815.
The 1830
Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of an independent, Catholic and neutral Belgium under a provisional government. Since the installation of
Leopold I as king in 1831, Belgium has been a
constitutional monarchy and
parliamentary democracy. Between independence and
World War II, the democratic system evolved from an oligarchy characterised by two main parties, the Catholics and the Liberals, to a universal suffrage system that has included a third party, the Belgian Labour Party, and a strong role for the
trade unions. Originally, French, which was the adopted language of the
nobility and the bourgeoisie, was the official language. The country has since developed a bilingual Dutch-French system.
The
Berlin Conference of 1885 agreed to hand over
Congo to
King Leopold II as his private possession, called the
Congo Free State. In 1908, it was ceded to Belgium as a colony, henceforth called the
Belgian Congo. Belgium's neutrality was violated in 1914, when Germany invaded Belgium as part of the
Schlieffen Plan. The former
German colonies Ruanda-Urundi—now called
Rwanda and
Burundi—were occupied by the Belgian Congo in 1916. They were mandated in 1924 to Belgium by the
League of Nations. Belgium was again invaded by Germany in 1940 during the
blitzkrieg offensive. The country was occupied until the winter of 1944-45 when it was liberated by Allied troops. The Belgian Congo gained its independence in 1960 during the
Congo Crisis, and Ruanda-Urundi became independent in 1962.
After
World War II, Belgium joined NATO and, together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, formed the
Benelux group of nations. Belgium is also one of the six founding members of the 1951 established
European Coal and Steel Community, and the 1957 established
European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community. Belgium hosts the headquarters of NATO and a major part of the
European Union's institutions and administrations, including the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the extraordinary and committee sessions of the
European Parliament, as well as parts of its administration.
During the 20th century, and in particular since World War II, the history of Belgium has been increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main communities. This period saw a rise in intercommunal tensions, and the unity of the Belgian state has come under scrutiny. Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalisation of the unitary state had led to the establishment of a three-tiered system of federalism, linguistic-community and regional governments, a compromise designed to minimise linguistic tensions. Nowadays, these federal entities uphold more legislative power than the national bicameral parliament.
Government and politics
Belgium is a
constitutional popular monarchy and
parliamentary democracy that evolved after World War II from a
unitary state to a
federation. The
bicameral parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives. The former is a mix of directly elected senior politicians and representatives of the communities and regions; while the latter represents all Belgians over the age of eighteen in a proportional voting system. Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting, thus having one of the highest rates of
voter turnout in the world.
The federal government, formally nominated by the king, must have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives. It is led by the
Prime Minister. The numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers are equal as prescribed by the Constitution. The King or Queen is the
head of state, though he has limited prerogatives. Actual power is vested in the Prime Minister and the different governments, who govern the country. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the
Napoleonic code. The Court of Appeals is one level below the Court of Cassation, an institution based on the French Court of Cassation.
Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organized around the need to represent the main language communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian
political parties has split into distinct components that mainly represent the interests of these communities. The major parties in each community belong to three main political families: the right-wing
Liberals, the centrist
Christian Democrats, and the left-wing
Social Democrats. Other important younger parties are the Green parties and, especially in Flanders, the
nationalist and far-right parties. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as
trade unions and business interests in the form of the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium.
The current king,
Albert II, succeeded King
Baudouin in 1993. Since 1999, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from the
VLD has led a six-party Liberal-Social Democrat-Greens coalition, often referred to as 'the rainbow government'. This was the first government without the Christian Democrats since 1958. In the 2003 elections, Verhofstadt won a second term in office and has led a Liberal-Social Democrat coalition of four parties. In recent years, there has also been a steady rise of the Flemish far right nationalist separatist party Vlaams Blok, meanwhile superseded by Vlaams Belang amidst allegations of racism promoted by the party.
A significant achievement of the two successive Verhofstadt governments has been the achievement of a balanced budget; Belgium is one of the few member-states of the EU to have done so. This policy was applied by the successive governments during the 1990s under pressure from the
European Council. The fall of the previous government was mainly due to the
dioxin crisis, a major food intoxication scandal in 1999 that led to the establishment of the Belgian Food Agency. This event resulted in an atypically large representation by the Greens in parliament, and a greater emphasis on environmental politics during the first Verhofstadt government. One Green policy, for example, resulted in
nuclear phase-out legislation, which has been modified by the current government. The absence of Christian Democrats from the ranks of the government has enabled Verhofstadt to tackle social issues from a more
liberal point of view and to develop new legislation on the use of soft drugs, same-sex marriage and
euthanasia. During the two most recent parliaments, the government has promoted active diplomacy in Africa, opposed a military intervention during the
Iraq disarmament crisis, and has passed legislation concerning war crimes. Both of Verhofstadt's terms have been marked by disputes between the Belgian communities. The major points of contention are the nocturnal air traffic routes at Brussels Airport and the status of the electoral district of
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde.
Administrative divisions
The country's constitution was revised on 14 July 1993 to create a unique federal state, based on three levels:
- The federal government, based in Brussels.
- The three language communities:
...
;
- The three regions :
Because of how the federalisation was handled in Belgium, the public institutions in Brussels of...
.
Conflicts between the bodies are resolved by the Court of Arbitration. The setup allows a compromise so distinctly different cultures can live together peacefully.
The Flemish Community absorbed the Flemish Region in 1980 to form the government of
Flanders. The overlapping boundaries of the Regions and Communities have created two notable peculiarities: the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region is included in both Flemish and French Communities, and the territory of the German-speaking Community lies wholly within the Walloon Region. Flemish and Walloon regions are furthermore subdivided in administrative entities, the provinces.
At the highest level of this three-tiered setup is the federal government which manages
foreign affairs, development aid, defence, military, police, economic management, social welfare, social security transport, energy, telecommunications, and scientific research, limited competencies in education and culture, and the supervision of taxation by regional authorities. The federal government controls more than 90 per cent of all taxation. The community governments are responsible for the promotion of language, culture and education in mostly schools, libraries and theatres. The third tier is the Regional governments, who manage mostly land and property based issues such as housing, transportation etc. For example, the building permit for a school building in Brussels belonging to the public school system would be regulated by the regional government of Brussels. However, the school as an institution would fall under the regulations of the Flemish government if the primary language of teaching is Dutch, but under the French Community government if the primary language is French.
Geography, climate, and environment
Belgium, with an area of 30 528 square kilometres , has three main geographical regions: the coastal plain in the north-west, the central plateau, and the
Ardennes uplands in the south-east. The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and
polders. Polders are areas of land, close to or below sea level that have been reclaimed from the sea, from which they are protected by dikes or, further inland, by fields that have been drained with canals. The second geographical region, the central plateau, lies further inland. This is a smooth, slowly rising area that has many fertile valleys and is irrigated by many waterways. Here one can also find rougher land, including caves and small
gorges.
The third geographical region, called the Ardennes, is more rugged than the first two. It is a thickly forested plateau, very rocky and not very good for farming, which extends into northern France. This is where much of Belgium's wildlife can be found. Belgium's highest point, the
Signal de Botrange is located in this region at only 694
metres
The climate is maritime temperate, with significant precipitation in all seasons .
Because of its high population density and location in the centre of Western Europe, Belgium faces serious environmental problems. A 2003 report suggested that the water in Belgium's rivers was of the lowest quality in Europe, and bottom of the 122 countries studied.
Economy
Densely populated, Belgium is located at the heart of one of the world's most highly industrialised regions. Currently, the Belgium economy is heavily service-oriented and shows a dual nature with a dynamic
Flemish part with
Brussels as its main multilingual and multi-ethnic centre and a GNP/person which is one of the highest from the
European union, and a
Walloon economy that lags roughly one quarter behind .
Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the
Industrial Revolution, in the early 1800s. Liège and Charleroi rapidly developed mining and steelmaking, which flourished until the mid-20th century. However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis and there was famine in Flanders . After World War II,
Ghent and
Antwerp experienced a fast expansion of the
chemical and
petroleum industries. The
1973 and 1979 oil crises sent the economy into a prolonged recession. The Belgian steel industry has since experienced serious decline. This has been responsible for inhibiting the economic development of
Wallonia. In the 1980s and 90s, the economic centre of the country continued to shift northwards to Flanders. Nowadays, industry is concentrated in the populous Flemish area in the north.
By the end of the 1980s, Belgian macroeconomic policies had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120% of
GDP. Currently, budget is in balance and public debt is equal to 94.3 % of GDP . In 2004, the real growth rate of GDP was estimated at 2.7% but is expected to fall to 1.3% in 2005.
Belgium has a particularly open economy. It has developed an excellent transportation infrastructure of ports, canals,
railways and highways to integrate its industry with that of its neighbours. Antwerp is the second-largest European port. One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate the member economies. In 1999, Belgium adopted the
euro, the single European currency, which replaced the
Belgian franc in 2002. The Belgian economy is strongly oriented towards foreign trade, in particular of high value-added goods. The main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. The main exports are automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. Since 1922, Belgium and
Luxembourg have been a single trade market within a customs and currency union—the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union. Its main trading partners are Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States and Spain. Belgium ranks ninth on the 2005
United Nations Human Development Index.
Demographics
The
population density of Belgium is one of the highest in Europe, after that of the Netherlands and some smaller countries such as
Monaco. The areas with the highest population density are around the Brussels-
Antwerp-
Ghent-
Leuven agglomerations, also known as the Flemish Diamond, as well as other important urban centres as Liège, Charleroi,
Mons,
Kortrijk,
Bruges, Hasselt and
Namur. The Ardennes have the lowest density. As of 2005, the Flemish Region has a population of about 6,043,161, Wallonia 3,395,942 and Brussels 1,006,749. Almost all of the population is urban . The main cities and their populations are Brussels , Antwerp , Ghent , Charleroi , and Liège . about 47 percent of the population identify themselves as belonging to the Catholic Church. According to these figures, the Muslim population is the second-largest religious community, at 3.5 percent . Since independence, Catholicism, counterbalanced by strong
freethought and especially
freemason movements, has had an important role in Belgium's politics, in particular via the Christian trade union and the Christian Democrat parties .
The vast majority of Belgians are
Flemish and Walloon. Together, they constitute a little over 85 percent. Other ethnic groups from Western Europe, including
Italian,
French, and
German people, number 11.1 percent.
North African immigrants, mostly Arabs from
Morocco,
Algeria, and
Turks, number over 3 percent of the total population.
An estimated 98 percent of the adult population is
literate. Nevertheless, in recent years, concern is rising over functional illiteracy. In the period 1994–1998, 18.4 percent of the population lacks functional literacy skills. Mirroring the historical political conflicts between the freethought and Catholic segments of the population, the Belgian educational system in each communities is split into a
laïque branch controlled by the communities, the provinces, or the municipalities, and a subsidised religious – mostly Catholic – branch controlled by both the communities and the religious authorities – usually the
diocese 
