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The History of East Belgium

After Centuries of being bounced around, almost the entire population of the 9 German-speaking communes in the east of the country finally feels at home in Belgium, not as Flemings, not as Walloons, but as German-speaking Belgians.
This is the result of the structural changes brought about during a period of three decades, starting in the sixties, by means of which it was hoped that the "Belgian problem" could once and for all be resolved.
This "Belgian problem" is an old one, residing in the coexistence of two Communities, the French-speaking and the Dutch-speaking, within the same national territory.

It was hoped at first that the "language quarrels" could be resolved by means of language legislation. A series of language laws came into existence in the sixties which laid the basis for modern Belgium:
the abolishing of the linguistic headcount (1961), the establishing of linguistic frontiers (1962), the regulation of language use in administrative matters (1963) and the regulation of language use in education (1963).
It became quickly appaerent, however, that there were more deeply rooted antitheses underlying the "Beglian problem" and thus the "language question" became a "community question", for which more structured solutions were to be found.
This was the starting point in 1970 of a fundamental reform of the State, brought about through a series of successive Consitutional revisions:

- firstly, in 1970 and 1973, three "Communities" enjoying cultural autonomy were established. This autonomy which was further extended in 1980 and in 1988, authorized the Communities, through their own "Council" and their own "Executive", to regulate by means of "decrees" carrying the equivalent power of laws, certain important matters listed in the Constitution in the fields of culture, eduction and person-related policies;

- then, in 1980 and 1988, the formation of three "Regions", autonomous political entities endowed by law with simular institutions to those of the Communities and having specific fields of competence in economic and distinctly regional matters;

- and finally, the completion of the reform in 1993: a "federal State" /Constitu'tion, art. 1) with modernised Legislative Chambers, a reinforced autonomy of its component parts (the Communities and the Regions), in which all Councils are elected directly by the people for a fixed time of five years.

Belgium 1993: a Federal State
I have already said that the people of Eas-Belgium feel at home in Belgium and define themselves as "German-spealing Belgians". Evidently, during the 73 years of their participation in the Belgian State, that has not always been the opinion of the vast majority. Indeed, quite apart of the fact that they hadn't been asked if their new citizenship suited them in the first place, there have been attempts between the wars and especially in the years after WorldWar II to frenchify the administration., the school system and all of the officialdom in the German-speaking area.
Imposing the French language without actually prohibiting the use of German was at one time considered as a legal means to facilitate integration into the Belgian State. There were many fields in which the German language wasn't commonly used. Dissatisfaction with this situation was on the increase in the early sixties, just at the time, as mentioned before, that a series of language laws were being voted in the national Parliament. As a result, all these laws referred to the existence in Belgium of the german language. For the very first time a German language region was defined by law and recognized by the Constitution.
The use of the German language was regulated and from now on things changed'for the better.

What is more, the constitutional recognition of the "German-speaking Community" as one of the three autochthonous Communities in Belgium provided a large degree of autonomy as a means to cultural and social development. Although only 68.000 people are concerned, the German speaking Community is a public collectivity with its own legislative and executive organs (the Council of 25 directly elected members and the Goverment of three ministers), its own legislative powers, its own financial resources and its own administration, just as they exist for the two big Communities of 4 million French-speakers and 5,9 million Flemings.
These institutional organs have exclusive power within the territory of the Community in all matters assigned to them and are able to pass so-called decrees, legislative norms which are not subordinated to national laws and which themselves have the force of law.

Taking this evolution and the excellent prognosis for future development into consideration, you can understand that the people are satisfied with their place in the state and define themselves proudly as German-speaking Belgians. The place was given in this State reform to the German-speaking Community and her autonomy are considered by a great many experts to be a real pearl of the reform and a remarkable example of what can be done if a state is really willing to respect differences and not to impose upon a minority the views of the majority in all those matters in which the specific differences of the minority, such as language and culture play an important role.

What was given to the German-speaking Community is much more than the fundamental rights of minority-protection. In fact it represents a constitutionally guaranteed place in the new federal State, on an equal footing with the two other Communities, a position that enjoys a high degree of autonomy and self-determination.

Henceforth, the German-speakers in belgium are no longer a minority in the State, but a component part of the State.

"Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds..."

Some Experts argue that the last phase of the reform missed the opportunity simplify Belgium's rather complex double-structured system. Since the principle of territoriality undoubtedly prevailed in the whole federalizing process, and since the constitutional basis of this principle is the basis of four language regions, it would have been a simplification to retain these as the only basis for the federalized entities and to have given them all the decentralized competences involved, without distinction between community nd regional matters.

Be that as it may, we have to recognize that the actual autnomy of the German-speaking Community in belgium, if not perfect, is nevertheless a model of how a modern and tolerant Stte can successfully deal with an autochthonous minority group living in a homogeneous region.

In East-Belgium, federalization does not imply seperation or retreat into a cocoonlike ghetto, but quite the contrary. The federalization process has given Beglium's German-speakers an enhanced feeling for their national identity and common destiny by rendering them politically responsible.
In a small federal unit one is better aware of the real needs of the people than the equivalent central authority would be in a far and anonymous capital. In this way a heightened sense of democracy ins one of the first fruits of federalization.