Editing Belgium (section)

===Locus of policy jurisdiction===
The Federal State's authority includes justice, defense, federal police, social security, nuclear energy, monetary policy and public debt, and other aspects of public finances. State-owned companies include the [[Belgian Post Group]] and [[National Railway Company of Belgium|Belgian Railways]]. The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs.<ref name="fedgov1">{{cite web|title=The Federal Government's Powers|work=.be Portal|publisher=Belgian Federal Government|url=http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/federal_authorities/competence_federal_government/|access-date=4 February 2011|date=3 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216052602/http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/federal_authorities/competence_federal_government/|archive-date=16 December 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> The budget—without the debt—controlled by the federal government amounts to about 50% of the national fiscal income. The federal government employs around 12% of the civil servants.<ref name="3JE9u">{{cite book|quote=In 2002, 58.92% of the fiscal income was going to the budget of the federal government, but more than one-third was used to pay the interests of the public debt. Without including this post, the share of the federal government budget would be only 48.40% of the fiscal income. There are 87.8% of the civil servants who are working for the Regions or the Communities and 12.2% for the Federal State.|author=Lagasse, Charles-Etienne|title=Les nouvelles institutions politiques de la Belgique et de l'Europe|publisher=Erasme|location=Namur|year=2003|isbn=978-2-87127-783-5|page=289}}</ref>

Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education and the use of the relevant language. Extensions to personal matters less directly connected with language comprise health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, [[immigrant]] assistance services, and so on.).<ref name="fedgov2">{{cite web|title=The Communities|work=.be Portal|publisher=Belgian Federal Government|url=http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/communities/|access-date=26 June 2011|date=3 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615153816/http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/communities/|archive-date=15 June 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

Regions have authority in fields that can be broadly associated with their territory. These include economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit and foreign trade. They supervise the provinces, municipalities and intercommunal utility companies.<ref name="fedgov3">{{cite web|title=The Regions|work=.be Portal|publisher=Belgian Federal Government|url=http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/regions/|access-date=26 June 2011|date=3 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615153938/http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/regions/|archive-date=15 June 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specifics. With education, for instance, the autonomy of the Communities neither includes decisions about the compulsory aspect nor allows for setting minimum requirements for awarding qualifications, which remain federal matters.<ref name="fedgov1" /> Each level of government can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers. The treaty-making power of the Regions' and Communities' Governments is the broadest of all the Federating units of all the Federations all over the world.<ref name="Lagasse1">{{cite web|url=http://www.kazanfed.ru/en/actions/konfer8/6/|title=Federalism in Russia, Canada and Belgium: experience of comparative research|language=fr|quote=La Belgique constitue ainsi le seul exemple clair du transfert d'une partie de la compétence " affaires étrangères " à des entités fédérées. (Transl.: Belgium is thus the only clear example of a transfer of a part of the "Foreign Affairs" competences to federated units.)|author=Lagasse, Charles-Etienne|date=18 May 2004|publisher=Kazan Institute of Federalism|access-date=5 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620120400/http://www.kazanfed.ru/en/actions/konfer8/6/|archive-date=20 June 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lagasse2">{{cite book|title=Les nouvelles institutions de la Belgique et de l'Europe|language=fr|quote=[Le fédéralisme belge] repose sur une combinaison unique d'équipollence, d'exclusivité et de prolongement international des compétences. ([Belgian federalism] is based on a unique combination of equipollence, of exclusivity, and of international extension of competences.)|author=Lagasse, Charles-Etienne|page=603}}</ref><ref name="Suinen">{{cite web|url=http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2000/10/SUINEN/14406.html|title=Une Première mondiale|work=[[Le Monde diplomatique]]|language=fr|quote=Dans l'organisation de ces autonomies, la Belgique a réalisé une " première " mondiale: afin d'éviter la remise en cause, par le biais de la dimension internationale, de compétences exclusives transférées aux entités fédérées, les communautés et régions se sont vu reconnaître une capacité et des pouvoirs internationaux. (In organizing its autonomies, Belgium realized a World's First: to avoid a relevant stalemate, international consequences caused transfers of exclusive competences to federal, community and regional entities that are recognized to have become internationally enabled and empowered.)|author=Suinen, Philippe|date=October 2000|access-date=5 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001117170500/http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2000/10/SUINEN/14406.html|archive-date=17 November 2000|url-status=live}}</ref>