Transcript Diapositive 1

Local
participative democracy
in
Belgium
Identity card of Belgium
 Surface : 30.528 km2
 Population : 10,7 Million inhabitants
 Federal Capital : Brussels
 National Festival : Political July 21
 System : Constitutional monarchy constitutional
 Structure : Federal State
 Federate Entities : Wallonia, Flandres and Brussels Capital
 Languages : German, French, Dutch
Belgium,
a federal state in crisis
Recall : The federate entities wish to obtain their cultural and
economic autonomy
Historic context :
 Will of Flemish to link itself institutionnal with French of Brussels and
will for the Walloons to also link itself with French of Brussels
 Three great successive phases of institutional reforms
History of decentralization :
 It is explained by the cultural, political and economic aspects
Historical source of the conflicts :
 Country divided into French-speaking and German-speaking
community, separated by social statuses (elites, middle-class….)
Belgium,
a federal state in crisis
Linguistic context :
 The French language is the official language considered as factor of
union between the communities
 Pb : Minority French language in the country
Claims :
 Cultural autonomy of the Flemings
 Economic Autonomy of the Walloons
Chronology :
 Constitution of 1831: Decentralized unit State
 After 1970 : Federal State moving
 1980 : Federal State made up
 1992 : Total revision of the Belgian constitution
 28 September 92 : Belgium is a federal state
 1994 : New constitutional reform. The federal state is organized
according to various qualification levels.
Belgium, federal state
Operating mode :
 Three great communities : Flemish, German-speaking and Frenchspeaking
 Three great administrative areas: Flanders, Wallonia, BrusselsCapital
Flemish
community
French
community
Germanspeaking
community
Flanders
Wallonia
BrusselsCapital
Belgium, federal state
Common characteristics of the federate entities :
The communities and the areas are each one controls by legislative
bodies and executive: a Parliament and a government
→ The Parliament :
 Elected for 5 years
 Have the legislative power: it votes the decrees (they are ordinances in the Area
of Brussels-Capital), which has the force of law on the territory of competence of
the federate entity. It votes the budget, and elects the Government (except in the
French-speaking Community) not inevitably in its centre, and controls it.
 The Parliament elects in its centre a President.
→ Le Governement :
 Is responsable before the Parliament
 Is responsable for the execution for the decrees and daily management. share
with the Parliament the capacity of initiative of the decrees.
 The treaties are negotiated and concluded by the Government but they acquire
legal effect only after having obtained the approval of the Parliament, ratified by
Belgium, a local authority decentralized
authorities
1- Towns (589)
Legislative body : the communal council
Executive body : the college burgomaster and of the aldermen
(or communal college)
→ commune council :
 The aldermen and the burgomasters are appointed differently
according to the Area
 It chaired by the Burgomaster (or an adviser in Flanders)
 It lays out from 6 to 55 communal Advisers elected officials with
proportional for six years according to the size of the commune
 It meets at least 10 times per annum at public sittings
 The Council Decision is made in the majority
 The lists of elections respect the principle of parity
 There is a right of participation and vote from abroad with the
communal elections
.
Belgium, a local authority
decentralized authorities
2- provinces (10)
Each province is divided into districts where is named representatives by
list system proportion
• Province council :
 It is the Parliament of the province and meets 10 times per annum
 The number of advisers, elected for 6 years, varies from 56 to 84
according to the population
 To be able of the provinces : any decision-making power in the interest
of the province
 It votes the provincial payments
 It draws up the provincial budget
.
Local authority in Belgium
decentralized authorities: Provinces
The local public action :
Competences of the Areas
The Areas have in load :
- economy, employement
- agriculture,
- the policy of water, environment, nature conservation
- housing,
- public works, of energy, transport, regional planning and town planning
- the credit, foreign trade
- the supervision on the provinces, the communes and the intercommune ones.
The local public action :
competences of the Communities
The Communities have in load :

the culture (theatre, library, audio-visual .... ),

teaching, use of the languages

matters known as “personnalisables”
1) the policy of health (preventive medicine and curative)
2) assistance with the people (the protection of youth, social assistance,
assistance with the families, the reception of the immigrants,…)

scientific research in the field of their competences
The local public action :
competence of the Provinces
The Provinces have a capacity of initiative out of matter :
 teaching,
 social and cultural infrastructures,
 of preventive medicine and social policy.
They are also occupied :
 of environment, or of roads and river
 of economy,
 of transport,
 of public works,
 of housing,
 of use of languages.
They are autonomous but exert their competences under supervision of
the higher authorities. Example :
 A provincial school will be under the control of the community
 The regional planning will be under the authority of the Area.
The local public action :
Competence of the Communes
Competences of common concerns “the communal interest”, i.e.
collective needs for the inhabitants.
- Installation of the commune under supervision of the higher authorities
(adjustment of the roadway systems, constructions of sporting hall .....)
- All missions ordered by the higher authorities
- They are in charge of the maintenance of law and order, of the
management of the marital status, the behaviour of the registers of the
population, the residences, public works and teaching
- The burgomaster is the chief of the communal police force in the
exercise of his missions of administrative police force.
- The commune is in load of the social assistance and created the public
Center of Assistance.
The participative democracy in
Belgium
The local authority in Belgium is mainly founded on
The representative democracy
Question :
What happen does citizen participation?
How is the participative democracy in
Belgium organized?
An unfavourable political context
the political crisis
June 2007 : Federal elections - In Flanders, Yves Leterme (Christian
democrat) is elected. Leterme wants a greater autonomy of the areas.
But savage opposition of the Walloon elected officials who refuse to
make a governmental coalition.
June – December : The incumbent government is in charge with limited
powers
December 2007 : Installation of a transitory government directed by Guy
Verhofstadt (5 parties are in agreement with this decision).
March 2008 : Yves Leterme becomes 1st Minister - it lends oath on
March 20, 2008.
15 July 2008 : Announce its resignation for lack of consensus between
the communities - but refusal of the king of his resignation.
22 December 2008 : New resignation of Yves Leterme, accepted by the
king.
30 December 2008 :. New Belgian government - Hermann Van Rompuy
An unfavourable political context
the refusal of the participative democracy
The Referendum lived like an obstacle with the Belgian
democracy
- Historical causes :
- 12 March 1950 : Referendum on the “royal question” - that
revealed divisions between communities (a majority in Flanders
backs the return of King Leopold III but only a minority in
Wallonia shares this standpoint)
- 10 March 2003 : Bill aiming at submitting the European draft
treaty to Referendum.
- 11 March 2005 : The Chamber of the representatives rejects
the constitutional,
preliminary revision necessary to the
- Political
causes :
organization of a popular consultation.
- Fear of the policies of an ignorance of the subject by the
population.
- Fear of a division - Reinforcement of cleavages.
The Belgian Participative
Democracy
the commune like level of predilection
Law of April 10, 1995 : Addition of title 15 of the communal law
relating to the popular consultation.
The popular consultation or consultative referendums requires
certain rules :
- The popular consultation can take place is on the initiative of the
communal Council or at the request of the voters
- The communal electorate is thus only the ability to be taken part.
- It is necessary to be 16 years old completed, to domicile in the
commune and not to be deposed voting rights.
- The questions of this consultation must be formulated so that
one can answer it by yes or by not.
- The interrogations concerning the accounts, the budget, the
taxes and the remunerations communal are prohibited.
The Belgian Participative
Democracy
the commune like level of predilection
Many fields are the subject of these participative practices:
- culture, youth and the sport
- environment and sustainable developement
- housing…
However, the participative practices are not identical of a communal
territory to another. The Belgian participative practices take degrees
different of consultation
Successively :
- the information
- the consultation
- the dialogue
- the coproduction
The Belgian Participative
Democracy
The information
Information - without being a precise form of participation - is a
precondition necessary to any participation.
Information is a base necessary to take part in a civic spirit of
knowledge of the businesses of the commune...
Several institutional texts point out this requirement of information:
- Law of November 12, 1997 - relating to the publicity of the
administration in the provinces and the communes - obliges to set up
an organized policy of communication and information.
- This same law also envisages that the citizens can consult the
administrative documents of the communal authority, to receive
explanations on their subjects and to obtain a copy from it.
- The Code of the Local Democracy and Decentralization (CDLD)
stipulates that the meetings of meeting of the communal council must
be indicated to the inhabitants by way of posting. It is also specified
there that the council must respect “the listening and the information
of the citizen”.
The Belgian Participative
Democracy
The consultation
The principle of the consultation is to consult the population of a commune
on a precise subject so that the commune makes a decision in adequacy
with the needs for the residents without however that this consultation is
constraining force for the commune.
Several forms of indexed consultations:
- Advisory councils : To allow a regular dialogue between the commune
and the inhabitants without constraining force.
- Communal popular councils : Practical strongly institutionalized which
approaches the referendum except the decision taken does not have
obligatory force - if it is not moral.
-Panels or conferences of citizens : To allow a group of citizens selected
to give an opinion lit using information and of experts
- Public investigations : Mode specific to the field of town planning and
the environment.
- Briefings - consultation.
The Belgian Participative
Democracy
The dialogue
The purpose of the dialogue - contrary to the consultation - is to seek
near the fellow-citizens, a consensus. This practice rests more on cooperative values.
Several forms of dialogue can be identified :
- Conciliation meetings : To allow to confront its opinion on a
project, but not of a binding nature for the commune.
- Committees of accompaniment of projects : To support the
dialogue between the public authorities, the persons in charge for the
project and the citizens to build a consensus on the basis of
enlightened opinion.
- The dialogue with associations : To include associations in the
processes of dialogue. The commune does not neglect this essential
actor of the life citizen. Associations represent many residents in
general. Associations are thus integrated into the decision-making
process.
The Belgian Participative
Democracy
The coproduction
The coproduction is a advanced stage of the participative democracy.
This form of participation requires a step of negotiation and
contractualisation of an agreement.
Several means to reach that point:
- The coproduction of a strategic development tool : The programs
communal of rural development (PCDR) or Diary 21 integrate this step
aiming at structuring the interests according to the citizen participation.
The research of the agreement of the citizens is of primary
importance.
- The participative budget : To allow the citizens to deliver his opinion
- even its downstream - on the budget of the commune. To integrate
priorities, to express claims. A requirement of decision of the citizens is
required in this step.
The coproduction reaches the paroxysm of the citizen
participation while making constraining the decision citizen.
Thank you
for
your attention…