Belgian Federal Parliament

2022-12-26T12:54:13Z

109.255.207.154:

{{Short description|Bicameral national legislature of Belgium}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name = Federal Parliament
| native_name = {{Name in official languages
|nl = Federaal Parlement
|fr = Parlement fédéral
|de = Föderales Parlament
}}
| transcription_name =
| coa_pic = Emblem of the Belgian Senate.svg
| coa_caption = Emblem of the [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]]
| coa_res = 65px
| coa_alt =
| logo_pic = Emblem of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.svg
| logo_caption = Emblem of the [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]]
| logo_res = 135px
| logo_alt =
| house_type = {{ubl|[[Bicameral]] (''[[de jure]]'')|[[Unicameral]] (''[[de facto]]'')}}
| houses = • [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]]<br />• [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]]
| house1 = [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]]
| leader1_type = [[List of Presidents of the Belgian Senate|President of the Senate]]
| leader1 = [[Stephanie D'Hose]]
| party1 = [[Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|Open VLD]]
| election1 = 13 October 2020
| house2 = [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber]]
| leader2_type = [[List of Presidents of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives|President of the Chamber]]
| leader2 = [[Eliane Tillieux]]
| party2 = [[Parti Socialiste (Belgium)|PS]]
| election2 = 13 October 2020
| leader3_type =
| leader3 =
| party3 =
| election3 =
| members = '''Senate''': 60 <br />'''Chamber of Representatives''': 150
| chamber1 = [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]]
| chamber2 = [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber]]
| structure1 = Belgium Senate 26032022.svg
| structure1_res = 260px
| structure2 = Belgium Chamber of Deputies 26032022.svg
| structure2_res = 260px
| political_groups1 = '''[[De Croo Government|Government]] (37)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|Parti Socialiste (Belgium)}}|border=silver}} [[Parti Socialiste (Belgium)|PS]] (7)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Mouvement Réformateur}}|border=silver}} [[Mouvement Réformateur|MR]] (7)
**{{Color box|{{party color|Mouvement Réformateur}}|border=silver}} [[Mouvement Réformateur|MR]] (6)
**{{nowrap|{{Color box|#6D7B8D|border=silver}} [[Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt|PFF]] (1)}}
*{{Color box|{{party color|Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams}}|border=silver}} [[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]] (5)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Ecolo}}|border=silver}} [[Ecolo]] (5)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten}}|border=silver}} [[Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|VLD]] (5)
*{{nowrap|{{Color box|{{party color|Groen (political party)}}|border=silver}} [[Groen (political party)|Groen]] (4)}}
*{{Color box|{{party color|Socialistische Partij Anders}}|border=silver}} [[Forward (Belgium)|Vooruit]] (4)
'''Opposition (23)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|New Flemish Alliance}}|border=silver}} [[New Flemish Alliance|N-VA]] (9)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Vlaams Belang}}|border=silver}} [[Vlaams Belang|VB]] (7)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Workers' Party of Belgium}}|border=silver}} [[Workers' Party of Belgium|PVDA-PTB]] (5)
*{{Color box|#02e5d2|border=silver}} [[Les Engagés (political party)|LE]] (2)

| political_groups2 = '''[[De Croo Government|Government]] (87)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|Parti Socialiste (Belgium)}}|border=silver}} [[Parti Socialiste (Belgium)|PS]] (19)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Mouvement Réformateur}}|border=silver}} [[Mouvement Réformateur|MR]] (14)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Ecolo}}|border=silver}} [[Ecolo]] (13)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams}}|border=silver}} [[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]] (12)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten}}|border=silver}} [[Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|Open Vld]] (12)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Socialistische Partij Anders}}|border=silver}} [[Forward (Belgium)|Vooruit]] (9)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Groen (political party)}}|border=silver}} [[Groen (political party)|Groen]] (8)
'''Opposition (63)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|New Flemish Alliance}}|border=silver}} [[Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie|N-VA]] (24)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Vlaams Belang}}|border=silver}} [[Vlaams Belang|VB]] (18)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Workers' Party of Belgium}}|border=silver}} [[Workers' Party of Belgium|PVDA-PTB]] (12)
*{{Color box|#02e5d2|border=silver}} [[Les Engagés (political party)|LE]] (5)
*{{Color box|{{party color|DéFI}}|border=silver}} [[Democratic Federalist Independent|DéFI]] (2)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] (2)

| committees1 =
| committees2 =
| joint_committees =
| voting_system1 = [[Indirect election]]
| voting_system2 = [[Open list]] [[proportional representation]] within eleven constituencies, with 5% constituency [[electoral threshold]]s
| last_election1 =
| last_election2 = [[Belgian federal election, 2019|26 May 2019]]
| session_room = Palais de la Nation (DSC01812).jpg
| session_res = 300px
| meeting_place = Palace of the Nation, [[Brussels]]
| website = [http://www.fed-parl.be/index.html www.fed-parl.be]
}}
The '''Federal Parliament''' is the [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[parliament]] of [[Belgium]]. It consists of the [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]] ([[Dutch language|Dutch]]: {{Audio|Nl-Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers.ogg|''Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers''}}, {{lang-fr|Chambre des Représentants}}, {{lang-de|Abgeordnetenkammer}}) and the [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]] ([[Dutch language|Dutch]]: {{Audio|Nl-Senaat.ogg|''Senaat''}}, {{lang-fr|Sénat}}, {{lang-de|Senat}}). It sits in the '''Palace of the Nation''' ({{lang-fr|Palais de la Nation}}, {{lang-nl|Paleis der Natie}}, {{lang-de|Palast der Nation}}). The Chamber of Representatives is the primary legislative body; the Senate functions only as a meeting place of the federal [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|communities and regions]].

The Constitution does not mention the Federal Parliament as such; it stipulates that the federal legislative power is exercised by the King and the Chamber of Representatives (and exceptionally the Senate), and defines when the United Chambers convene.

==Chamber of Representatives==
{{main|Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)}}

The Chamber of Representatives holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels. Eligibility requirements for the Chamber are a minimum age of 21, [[citizenship]], and residency in Belgium.

The number of seats in the '''Chamber''' is constitutionally set at 150 elected from 11 electoral districts. The districts are divided along linguistic lines: 5 [[Flanders|Flemish]] (87 seats), 5 [[Wallonia|Walloon]] (48 seats), and the [[bilingual]] district of [[Brussels]] (15 seats).
The districts are the provinces and the Brussels Capital Region. Each district is given a number of seats proportional to its population (not the number of voters) ranging from 4 for [[Luxembourg (province of Belgium)|Luxembourg]] to 24 for [[Antwerp (province)|Antwerp]].

All districts have an electoral threshold of 5%, except for [[Brussels]] and [[Leuven]]. After the dissolution of the former [[Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde]] district in 2013, which encompassed both the 19 bilingual municipalities from the [[Brussels-Capital region]] and some 35 Dutch-speaking municipalities in [[Flemish Brabant]], incl. 7 with [[Municipalities with language facilities|language facilities]] for [[French language|French]]-speakers, voters in the 6 municipalities with language facilities surrounding Brussels have been given the right to vote in the Brussels district instead.

The current composition was elected at the [[2019 Belgian federal election|federal elections of 2019]].

{{Politics of Belgium}}

==Senate==
{{main|Senate (Belgium)}}

Since 2014, the '''Senate''' consists of 60 members. There are two categories of senators: co-opted senators and senators of community and regional parliaments.

50 senators are elected by and from the [[Politics of Belgium#Regional and community governments|community and regional parliaments]]: 29 by the [[Flemish Parliament]], 10 by the [[Parliament of the French Community]], 8 by the [[Walloon Parliament]], 2 by the French-language group of the [[Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region]], and 1 by the [[Parliament of the German-speaking Community]].

The 10 other senators are co-opted: elected by the 50 other senators. Eligibility requirements for the Senate are identical to those for the Chamber.

Before 2014, the Senate consisted of 71 senators, only 21 of which were elected by the community parliaments. 25 were directly elected by the Flemish-speaking constituency and 15 by the French-speaking constituency. The last direct election of these 40 members occurred in the [[Belgian federal election, 2010|2010 federal elections]]. The [[Belgian federal election, 2014|2014 elections]] are the first one with the reformed Senate.

The President of the Senate since 2014 has been [[Christine Defraigne]] ([[Mouvement Réformateur|MR]]). The Senate holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels.

==Legislative procedure==
Since the elections of 21 May 1995, there has been a breakdown of powers between the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, which resulted in the latter having fewer competencies than the Chamber of Representatives. Prior to that, the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate did the same parliamentary work on an equal footing, but now there are three different legislative procedures that can be followed: the one-chamber procedure, the optional two-chamber procedure, and the mandatory two-chamber procedure.

In certain matters, both Chambers have equal power. These include constitutional revisions, laws requiring a qualified majority, laws on the basic structure of the Belgian State, laws approving agreements of cooperation between the [[Politics of Belgium|Federal State]], the [[Communities and regions of Belgium|Communities]] and the [[Communities and regions of Belgium|Regions]], laws on the approval of international treaties, and laws on the organization of the judiciary, the [[Council of State (Belgium)|Council of State]], and the [[Constitutional Court of Belgium|Constitutional Court]]. In this case, the mandatory bicameral procedure applies, which means that both Chambers must pass exactly the same version of the bill.

For most other legislation, the Chamber of Representatives takes precedence over the Senate and the optional bicameral procedure applies. This means that the Senate may still intervene as a chamber of consideration and reflection. It has the opportunity to, within specific time limits, examine the bills adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and, if there is a reason to do so, make amendments. The Chamber may subsequently adopt or reject the amendments proposed by the Senate or make new proposals. The Senate can also submit a bill it has adopted to the Chamber, which can approve, reject or amend it. Whatever the case, the Chamber has the final word.

The one-chamber procedure applies in cases where the Chamber of Representatives has the sole power to legislate. It means that the Senate cannot intervene and that the Senate's approval is not required for the bill to pass. The matters for which the Chamber of Representatives is exclusively responsible include [[naturalization]]s, ministerial liability, State budget, and accounts and military quotas.

=== National drug commissioner ===
In February 2023, the Belgium government appointed their first national drug commissioner, Ine Van Wymersch, to fight the rising issue of drug trafficking and organized drug crimes in Belgium.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Preussen |first=Wilhelmine |title=Belgium names first national drug czar in fight against narco-terrorism |language=en |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-names-ine-van-wymersch-first-national-drug-commissioner-in-fight-against-narco-trafficking/|access-date=2023-02-13}}</ref> It was part of the federal government’s measures to fight narco-terrorism, which included increased police forces in ports, screening of infrastructure, ramping up fines or imposing rehab for cocaine users to €1,000, auditing port workers, shutting down businesses being used to launder drug money, etc.<ref>{{Cite news |title=National drug commissioner and more police in the port of Antwerp in the fight against drug mafia |language=nl-be |work=Premier.be |url=https://www.premier.be/nl/nationale-drugscommissaris-en-meer-politie-antwerpse-haven-strijd-tegen-drugsmaffia|access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref> The government was also to put pressure on the UAE to extradite people involved in drug crimes, including Nordin El Hajjioui, who was living in Dubai and was charged of coordinating cocaine trafficking in Antwerp.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cokelaere |first=Hanne |title=Belgian government presents plan to fight drug violence that’s become ‘narco-terrorism’ |language=en |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-port-antwerp-government-plan-drug-violence/|access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news |title=United Arab Emirates refuse to extradite Antwerp drug criminal |language=en |work=Brussels Times |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/202584/united-arab-emirates-refuse-to-extradite-antwerp-drug-criminal|access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref>

==United Chambers==
{{Expand section}}
The United Chambers ({{lang-nl|Verenigde Kamers|link=no}}, {{lang-fr|Chambres réunies|link=no}}, {{lang-de|Vereinigten Kammern|link=no}}) is the name given to the body created when both chambers of the Federal Parliament meet in [[joint session]]. The United Chambers are convened only on certain occasions enumerated in the [[Constitution of Belgium|Belgian Constitution]]: the [[Belgian monarchy|King]] must take the constitutional oath before the United Chambers, in accordance with article 91 of the Constitution, and the United Chambers must provide for the [[Regent|regency]] if the successor to the Crown is a minor or the King is unable to reign, in accordance with articles 92 and 93 of the Constitution. The last session of the United Chambers took place on 21 July 2013, when King [[Philippe of Belgium]] took the constitutional oath.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www3.dekamer.be/digidoc/ANHA/K0098/K00981856/K00981856.PDF| title= Solemn session of the United Chambers of Monday 9 August 1993 for hearing the constitutional oath of H.M. Albert II, King of the Belgians| author= The [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]] and the [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]] of [[Belgium]]| publisher= The [[Belgian Chamber of Representatives]]| work= Minutes of the United Chambers| access-date= 2007-11-17| language= fr, nl| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071203124847/http://www3.dekamer.be/digidoc/ANHA/K0098/K00981856/K00981856.PDF| archive-date= 3 December 2007| url-status= dead}}</ref>

==Palace of the Nation==
{{Expand Dutch|Paleis der Natie|section=yes}}
[[File:The Palace of Nations, Brussels, Belgium-LCCN2001697908.tif|thumb|A view of the Palace of the Nation in the 1890s]]

The Palace of the Nation ({{lang-fr|Palais de la Nation|link=no}}; {{lang-nl|Paleis der Natie|link=no}}) was built from 1779 to 1783 to a [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] design by the French architect [[Gilles-Barnabé Guimard]] and includes sculptures by [[Gilles-Lambert Godecharle]]. Under [[Austrian Netherlands|Austrian rule]], it housed the Sovereign [[Council of Brabant]] before being used as a courthouse during the [[French First Republic|French period]]. During the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|Dutch period]], it was one of two homes of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the other being in [[The Hague]]. Following [[Belgian Revolution|Belgian Independence]] in 1830, the [[Provisional Government of Belgium]] and the [[National Congress of Belgium|Belgian National Congress]] moved into the building and the first session of the House of Representatives and Senate was held there a year later.

The building stands across the street from [[Brussels Park]]'s northern entrance, near the [[Coudenberg|site of the former palace]] of the [[Dukes of Brabant]], which was destroyed by fire in 1731, and has itself been badly damaged by fire, in 1820 and 1883.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earthinpictures.com/world/belgium/brussels/palace_of_the_nation_-_belgian_federal_parliament.html|title=Palace Of The Nation - Belgian Federal Parliament on EarthInPictures.com|website=www.earthinpictures.com}}</ref> In the 1930s, a [[bunker]] was built underneath the park, connected by tunnels to the House of Parliament.

==See also==
{{portal|Belgium|Politics}}
* [[Politics of Belgium]]
* [[Court of Audit of Belgium]]
* [[List of political parties in Belgium]]
* [[Brussels Parliament]]
* [[Flemish Parliament]]
* ''[[Commission communautaire française]]''
* [[Parliament of the German-speaking Community]]
* ''[[Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie]]''
* [[Walloon Parliament]]
* [[Parliament of the French Community]]
* [[List of legislatures by country]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.dekamer.be Chamber of Representatives]
* [http://www.senate.be Senate]

{{Governments of Belgium}}
{{Belgium topics}}
{{National bicameral legislatures}}
{{Parliaments in Europe}}

{{coord|50|50|48|N|4|21|53|E|display=title|source:nlwiki}}

[[Category:1831 establishments in Belgium]]
[[Category:Belgian Federal Parliament| ]]
[[Category:Parliaments by country|Belgium]]
[[Category:Bicameral legislatures|Belgium]]
[[Category:National legislatures|Belgium]]

IndianPedia - User contributions [en]

Belgian Federal Parliament