Flemish Parliament - History

History

From 1830 until 1970 Belgium was a unitary state with a single two chamber parliament and a single government. The laws issued by Parliament applied to all Belgians, and government ministers exercised their authority across the length and breadth of the country. Between 1970 and 2001 the Belgian Parliament approved five successive constitutional reforms. Slowly they changed Belgium from a unitary into a federal state. Part of this was to give the communities and later the regions their own parliamentary assemblee.

On December 7, 1971, the Cultural Council for the Dutch-speaking Cultural Community held its first meeting, later followed a parliament for the Flemish Region. Flanders decided as early as 1980 to merge the Flemish Community with the Flemish Region. As a result, Flanders now has a single parliament and a single government with competence over community as well as over regional matters. This Parliament was called the Vlaamse Raad until it was officially renamed Vlaams Parlement (Flemish Parliament) on June 13, 1995. Over the last thirty years, Flanders has thus developed into a separate state within the federalised Belgium.

Members are called "Vlaamse Volksvertegenwoordigers". In English, they will be referred to as "Members of the Flemish Parliament" (MFPs), like the MSPs in Scotland and the MEPs in the European Union. The title "Flemish Representative" is also used in English. Since 1995 members of the Flemish Parliament are directly elected.

Currently, many voices in the Flemish Movement would like the Flemish Parliament to acquire certain sovereign powers in addition to those concerning language, culture and education. Furthermore, among the broader Flemish population a consensus has emerged that the Flemish Parliament should also acquire much larger financial and fiscal autonomy.