Belgian Institutions

Belgium is a federal state composed of 3 Communities:

Flemish Community
French Community (CFB) (also known as Wallonia-Brussels Federation)
and German-speaking Community (named Ostbelgien)

and 3 Regions

Flemish Region,
Walloon Region,
and Brussels-Capital Region

Map of Belgium showing the three communities

Given the bilingual (French/Dutch) character of the Brussels-Capital linguistic region, the country’s two main Communities (French and Flemish) are authorised to exercise their powers there within the bounds of their remit.

Except for Flanders, which has merged its Regional and Community components into a single body, each federated entity has the sovereign power to exercise its powers and remit by means of its own parliamentary and governmental institutions.

The powers and areas of competence of the Communities are:

culture(fine arts, performing arts, radio and television, and sport),
education(from nursery school to higher education),
social affairs (assistance for young people, infancy, health promotion, social assistance for prisoners),
and the use of languages (in administrative and social matters).

It should be noted that in all these matters, the Federal Authority retains certain specific competences. In addition, since 1 January 1994, the Federation Wallonia-Brussels has made several transfers to the Walloon Region and the French Community Commission of the Brussels-Capital Region (COCOF), mainly for personal affairs.

The Parliament adopts the decrees, which are implemented by the Government’s. It has an administration, the Ministry of the French Community, within which the Budget and Finance Department carries out the budgetary, accounting and financial tasks.