著者

若林 広

出版者

東海大学

雑誌

東海大学紀要. 教養学部 (ISSN:03892018)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.38, pp.229-243, 2007

---

For the French-speaking population of Wallonia, the Belgian Constitutional Reform process culminated in 1993. However it was only a step toward further reform for the people in Flanders. Up until the middle of 1990's the political atmosphere had been relatively calm in Flanders, but 1996 saw a major change with the publication of a 'Proposal for a Constitution for Flanders' written by four jurists who were close collaborators of political leaders in Flanders. Since then various claims and slogans contained in this proposal have been discussed openly both in and outside of the Flemish Parliament. In 1999 that Parliament adopted a series of resolutions calling for a new State Reform. These resolutions related to (1) general principles for State Reform, (2) fiscal autonomy of Regions, (3) the Brussels problem, (4) competencies transfer and (5) other pending issues. In the same year as these resolutions were adopted, a coalition government led by Liberal Party leader Guy Verhofstadt was sworn in, which marked the beginning of the State Reform debate at the federal level. A series of political agreements was consequently reached during the first Verhofstadt Government, which resolved many of the fiscal autonomy and competencies transfer problems, but the Brussels problem remained unsolved. During the second coalition government, by establishing various parley institutions, Prime Minister Verhofstadt tried to solve this problem but the negotiation stalled with the general elections in view in 2007. Presently the Belgian State is under siege from both the Flemings and the Walloons. The centrifugal forces of the Flemings are far more marked than the centripetal forces of the Walloons. This balancing game will determine the future form of Belgium, be it a Federal State or a Confederation, or even a disintegration. But the Flemish need Brussels as their capital, which is situated at the heart of Flanders, even though the majority of its population are French-speaking. Therefore the resolution of the Brussels problem would be the decisive factor for how Belgium would evolve in the foreseeable future.