
Belgium

Belgium is a high performing democracy across almost all observed indicators of democratic performance. Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union, and it boasts an open and competitive economy. Over the last five years, GSoDI data reveals that the country has been marked by overall stability with regard to democratic performance, with no significant changes.
Belgium is characterized by its complex federal and linguistic environment, including three distinct cultural and linguistic communities (French, Flemish and German) and three distinct political communities in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. This unique political composition has frequently rendered the necessary coalition negotiations difficult. - as evident by the country being left without an elected government for more than 500 days in 2019-2020. It has also led to the pillarization of the state into largely asymmetric party systems. The latter are notably highly fragmented in their own right – particularly along church-state, socio-economic and identity fault lines. As a result, Belgium features a high number of parties. This factor, along with the electoral system, lead some to describe the country as a particracy. Yet, following perceptions of a widening gap between politicians and citizens in such discordant representative relations, citizens have become increasingly active in politics, as illustrated by the gradual expansion of citizen assemblies, and the vitality of recent anti-racist, climate change, and Covid-19 protests. Other key issue-areas for the population have been employment rates below the EU average, pensions, regional inequality, migration, and the Flemish separatist movement. Additionally, while the country’s colonial legacy has remained comparatively muted in domestic discourse, there has recently been a growing movement seeking to confront the past, particularly regarding narratives of the mass violence conducted in the Congo Free State, as well as remnants of colonial triumphalism in street names, statutes, and sites of memory. These efforts have resulted in a sizable return of Congolese artefacts, and the formation of a parliamentary commission tasked with issuing concrete recommendations on how to best address the country’s colonial legacy.
Three developments are important to watch in the years ahead. The first relates to Gender Equality – herein, the 200 measures embedded into the National Acton Plan Against Gender Violence will be critical to assess, particularly as gender-based violence has for several decades been rather invisible within domestic policies. The second is connected to Effective Parliament, which has been impacted by corruption scandals. A final area relates to Civil Liberties. As Belgium is set for a seventh state reform, following successive efforts that began in 1970, it is likely that this will have some impact on the sub-attribute (and beyond) in the medium-term. While the precise contours of the 2024 state reform are not yet known, one of six key thematic for citizen consultations on the reform was focused upon fundamental rights, including in relation to their scope and whether new constitutional rights should be introduced. Thus, it will be important to watch how constitutional changes could affect Civil Liberties in the medium term.
Monthly Event Reports
August 2023 | Government suspends places for single male asylum-seekers in reception facilities
The government imposed a temporary ban on the provision of shelter to single male asylum-seekers, arguing that women, children and families should be prioritised for access to shelter in overstretched reception facilities. Despite efforts to boost capacity, including the opening of new reception centres, shelters for asylum-seekers have been overwhelmed for the past two years, with arrivals of asylum-seekers expected to increase over the winter, according to the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor. The decision has been criticised by the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner and human rights NGOs, as well as by Belgian public officials. In June, a Brussels court ruled that Belgium has violated commitments binding EU member states to guarantee asylum-seekers’ rights to an adequate standard of living and protect the applicants’ physical and mental health.
November 2022 | Government approves bans on conversion practices and adopts femicide law
A new law banning conversion practices was approved by the Belgian Cabinet, introducing a maximum punishment of two years in prison. Conversion practices involve attempts to force a change in a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, with methods ranging from psychotherapy, electroshock therapy, medication, and physical violence. Conversion practices are condemned by the European Union, and the European Parliament has called on member states to implement bans. The Council of Ministers also adopted a framework law which defines femicide as a crime and establishes a system for the official collection and analysis of data related to femicides. State Secretary for Gender Equality Sarah Schlitz, who sponsored the law, has said that it intends to create “effective tools to better understand the phenomenon and protect the victims.”
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