Editing Brussels (section)

==Brussels-Capital Region==
[[File:Regions of Belgium.svg|thumb|Regions of Belgium:{{legend|#fab274| [[Flemish Region]]}}{{legend|#2385d2|Brussels-Capital Region}}{{legend|#f2536b| [[Walloon Region]]}}]]

===Political status and administration===
{{See also|Partition of Belgium#Brussels|Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Brussels}}

The Brussels-Capital Region is one of the three federated regions of Belgium, alongside the [[Walloon Region]] and the [[Flemish Region]]. Geographically and linguistically, it is a bilingual [[enclave]] in the monolingual Flemish Region. Regions are one component of Belgium's institutions; the three communities being the other component. Brussels' inhabitants deal with either the [[French Community of Belgium|French Community]] or the [[Flemish Community]] for matters such as culture and education, as well as a [[Common Community Commission|Common Community]] for competencies which do not belong exclusively to either Community, such as healthcare and social [[welfare spending|welfare]].

Upon the reorganisation and split of the [[Province of Brabant]] in 1995, the Brussels Region ceased to belong to any of the [[provinces of Belgium]], nor was it subdivided into provinces itself. However, the [[Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital]], whose borders coincide with the Brussels Region, continued to exist, and the areas of provincial jurisdiction were assumed by the newly created [[Governor of the Administrative Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital|Governor of the Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital]] and the Brussels regional institutions and community commissions. In 2014, the office of the Governor was formally abolished and replaced in September 2015 by the office of the "High official of the Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital", who retained responsibility for [[crisis management]] and [[emergency planning]], while responsibility for [[crime prevention]] was transferred to the [[Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region]].<ref name="High">{{cite web |title=The role of High official |url=https://safe.brussels/en/high-official |website=safe.Brussels |publisher=Brussels-Capital Region |access-date=28 April 2025}}</ref>

===Institutions===
{{Main|Government of the Brussels-Capital Region|Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region}}
[[File:Brussels Parliament building (2).jpg|thumb|The [[Brussels Parliament building]], housing the [[Brussels Regional Parliament]]]]

The Brussels-Capital Region is governed by a [[Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region|parliament]] of 89 members (72 French-speaking, 17 Dutch-speaking—parties are organised on a linguistic basis) and an eight-member regional cabinet consisting of a [[Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region|minister-president]], four ministers and three [[Secretary of state|state secretaries]]. By law, the cabinet must comprise two French-speaking and two Dutch-speaking ministers, one Dutch-speaking secretary of state and two French-speaking secretaries of state. The minister-president does not count against the language quota, but in practice every minister-president has been a bilingual francophone. The regional parliament can enact [[Ordinance (Belgium)|ordinances]] ({{langx|fr|ordonnances|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|ordonnanties|link=no}}), which have equal status as a national legislative act.

Nineteen of the 72 French-speaking members of the Brussels Parliament are also members of the [[Parliament of the French Community of Belgium]], and, until 2004, this was also the case for six Dutch-speaking members, who were at the same time members of the [[Flemish Parliament]]. Now, people voting for a Flemish party have to vote separately for 6 directly elected members of the Flemish Parliament.

===Agglomeration of Brussels===
Before the creation of the Brussels-Capital Region, regional competences in the 19 municipalities were performed by the Brussels Agglomeration. The Brussels Agglomeration was an administrative division established in 1971. This decentralised administrative public body also assumed jurisdiction over areas which, elsewhere in Belgium, were exercised by municipalities or provinces.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wet houdende organisatie van de agglomeraties en de federaties van gemeenten|url=http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_loi/change_lg.pl?language=nl&la=N&cn=1971072630&table_name=wet|access-date=11 September 2015|website=Belgiëlex.be|publisher=FOD Justitie|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113502/http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_loi/change_lg.pl?language=nl&la=N&cn=1971072630&table_name=wet|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Brussels Agglomeration had a separate legislative council, but the by-laws enacted by it did not have the status of a legislative act. The only election of the council took place on 21 November 1971. The working of the council was subject to many difficulties caused by the linguistic and socio-economic tensions between the two communities.

After the creation of the Brussels-Capital Region, the Brussels Agglomeration was never formally abolished, although it no longer has a purpose.