The country is a representative, parliamentary, constitutional monarchy. King Albert II (referred to as: the head of state)has been ruling since 1933. The Federal Government is the supreme authority in Belgium followed by the regional Government and the community councils.
The federal Government is responsible for foreign policy, social security, justice, defence and healthcare. Regional Governments handle the regional transport, economic matters, industrial issues and public works. The community councils deal with social development matters such as education and cultural activities. There are three community councils which are linguistically divided into Dutch, French and German speaking communities.
The political scenario in Belgium has been in conflict between the region of Flanders and Wallonia. The Flanders region is governed by the New Flemish Alliance Party and the Socialist Party-Different. The Wallonia and Brussels regions have a coalition Government of the Socialist Party (PS), Humanist Democratic Centre (CdH) and Environment Groups (Ecolo).
The main national political parties are Christian Democrat (CD&V, CdH), Liberal (Open VLD, MR), Socialist (PS, SP.A) and Environment Groups (Ecolo and Green). These are further divided linguistically. These regions are based on the main languages that are spoken across the nation i.e. Dutch, French and German.
As of January 2011, the seven major political parties of Belgium failed to form a coalition Government. Long phases of political uncertainty have affected the country’s economy. Lack of regulatory policies has led to mounting debts, loose public spending and poor co-ordination between the northern and southern regions in the country.
(Sources: BBC, The Economist)
Belgium ranks 32nd in the 2011 Economic freedom index with a score of 70.2. It is the 18th freest amongst 43 European nations.
In 2010, Belgium ranked 22nd among 178 countries in the Corruption Perception Index, indicating a low corruption level. There are strict anti-bribery and anti money-laundering acts in place to check corruption and protect the confidentiality of any illegal activity related witnesses.
(Source: Transparency.org, oecd.org)
Freedom of Information
Belgium is ranked 14th on the Press Freedom Index 2010, with 4 points. It indicates a restrictive environment towards freedom of expression.
The Government of Belgium has a judicial branch operated by courts and tribunals. All judiciary functions are established in the country’s constitutional framework. There is one Administrative Jurisdiction and Procedure Court for the country.
‘The Court of Cassation’ is the supreme authority of the judicial hierarchy. It checks if judgments are following constitutional procedures. Before any matter being taken to the ‘Court of Cassation, it has to go through the Courts of Appeal. There are five courts of appeal. They are located in Brussels, Mons, Antwerp, Liège and Ghent. There are Labour Courts at par with the Courts of Appeal in terms of its conduct.
Labour Courts are followed by Regional Courts, Commercial Courts, Industrial Tribunals and Magistrates' Courts. The Justices of Peace are at the bottom of the hierarchy. There are 187 justices of peace in the country.
(Sources: Belgian Federal Government,European Commission)