KING ALBERT BRINGS THE POLITICIANS TOGETHER AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001074 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL BE SUBJECT: KING ALBERT BRINGS THE POLITICIANS TOGETHER AND WHY AGREEMENT ON BRUSSELS-HALLE-VILVOORDE IS IMPORTANT TO BELGIAN POLITICIANS REF: BRUSSELS 1071 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: After Prime Minister Yves Leterme's surprise resignation late July 14 (reftel),Belgium is still in a state of limbo as King Albert II continues to play his intermediary role in the complex Belgian political process. King Albert is discussing with all the political factions what the next steps should be in resuming institutional reform talks. He would like to come to some agreement as soon as possible, but certainly before he has to address the nation on Belgium National Day July 21. Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (B-H-V),an issue of key importance to politicians and one with origins back to the original linguistic divide of 1962-63, may be the most difficult to resolve. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) According to the Belgian constitution, the monarch does not have decision-making powers. His ministers are the responsible parties of government. In dealing with PM Yves Leterme's unexpected resignation, King Albert finds himself in the role of a sounding board who listens to all and brings the various parties together and gets them to talk to each other. He acts as the go-between who will only accept the resignation if he determines the situation deadlocked. ¶3. (SBU) There are several factors politicians must consider in Leterme's proposal to move the institutional reform discussions to the regional level. First, there are three regions -- Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels -- two of which are Francophone. Thus, to balance talks, there must be a way to bring in another Flemish representative agreeable to all sides, and they must also consider political party representation. Second, they all must agree on a format for the talks. Third, there must be concurrence on issues to discuss; will B-H-V be on the agenda? Who will determine the scope of the discussions? Fourth, is there an assurance from the parties they are willing to bargain in good faith? Fifth, will there be a new deadline established? B-H-V -------------- ¶4. (SBU) One of the most contentious and complex issues is that of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (B-H-V). Today Brussels, the country's third region, is bilingual, but its population is 85 per cent Francophone. Below is a history and explanation of this issue which is so important to Belgian politicians. Historic Overview -------------- 1962-63: Belgium's linguistic border was established. Along with other municipalities along this border, six Flemish Brussels suburbs obtained special language status: i.e., inhabitants could request services and official documents in French. The country was divided into four language regions: the Dutch-language region, the French-language region, the German-language region and the bilingual Brussels region. The respective languages became official languages of the region, thus, the official language became compulsory for all administrative proceedings and documents. In Brussels, French and Dutch are equally official. (Note: The Constitution guarantees free individual use of languages. End Note.). The country remains sub-divided into nine provinces, including the bi-lingual Brabant province with Brussels as its capital. The Brussels electoral district remains unchanged; i.e., the bi-lingual Brussels arrondissement, together with the Flemish Halle and Vilvoorde arrondissements. (Arrondissements are administrative subdivisions of a province.) 1968 and 1987: In landmark rulings the European Human Rights Court established that dividing up the country into unilingual regions was not unlawful discrimination and that the way the electoral districts were organized was not discrimination against a language minority living in a given language region. 1970: The division of Belgium into four language regions was enshrined in the Constitution. Special majorities in Parliament were then required to change the limits of the language regions. 1980 and 1989: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels became economic regions of Belgium. BRUSSELS 00001074 002 OF 003 1988: The constitution was again amended, making it more difficult to change the status of the municipalities with language privileges, including the six Brussels suburbs. 1995: The Brabant Province was split into two separate entities: the Flemish Brabant Province and the Walloon Brabant Province. The bilingual Brussels region was no longer part of a province. No amendments were made to the electoral districts. 2002: The Verhofstadt government decided on an amendment to the electoral code. The number of electoral districts was reduced. The electoral districts from then on coincided with the provinces, except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. 2003: The Constitutional Court ruled that it is not within its jurisdiction to voice an opinion regarding the need to divide Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. However, keeping it unchanged would mean discrimination for those who contest seats in Halle and Vilvoorde, because they would have to compete with Francophone candidates from Brussels. The Court argued that this discrimination had to be addressed before the end of the four-year legislative term. This deadline was circumvented by advancing the general elections from June 24 to June 10, 2007. ¶5. (SBU) Elections for the federal House and Senate and for Representatives to the European Parliament. Halle and Vilvoorde are already part of the Flemish Brabant electoral district for the regional parliament elections. In the 2007 general elections, 78,352 votes were cast on Francophone tickets in Halle and Vilvoorde, amounting to 22 percent of the total vote. In the 2004 regional elections -- in the absence of national Francophone heavyweights -- the Union des Francophones (UF) ticket garnered 43,391 votes in the Brussels periphery. As the percentages show, the Francophone vote matters for politicians both in Brussels and in Flanders. Moreover, the municipalities with special language status of the Brussels periphery all have Francophone majorities in the local councils, and, consequently, Francophone mayors and aldermen. ¶6. (SBU) The Flemish demands are twofold. If a separate Flemish Brabant electoral district would be made including Halle and Vilvoorde, no Flemish candidate would stand a chance of getting elected for the federal House and Senate in Brussels. Therefore, the Flemish parties not only want to split the B-H-V electoral district, they equally seek to obtain a system whereby votes obtained in Flemish Brabant and Brussels can be pooled, guaranteeing the election of Flemings in the Brussels electoral district. This pooling system would also apply between Brussels and Brabant Walloon. ¶7. (SBU) The Francophones want the status-quo, but they have many matching demands, including a Brussels capital region reaching far beyond the current 19 municipalities. The strictest minimum would be joining Sint-Genesius-Rode to Brussels, whereby a "corridor" would be established between Brussels and Wallonia. But ceding one single Flemish municipality to Brussels would lead to an emotional outcry in Flanders, and dearly cost the Flemish mainstream parties. A compromise would more likely include additional financial means for the Brussels capital region, which has the highest unemployment of any region in the country. Another Francophone demand is for the Flemish Interior Minister to nominate the three recalcitrant Francophone mayors of Linkebeek, Wezembeek-Oppem and Kraainem who violated the language laws on the occasion of the 2006 municipal elections. The Francophone parties have in the past also demanded ratification of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities. Other Francophone demands that may be considered are a nationwide electoral district for a selected number of parliamentarians, or a federal Senate composed of an equal number of Flemish and Francophone members. ¶8. (SBU) A constitutional amendment is not required to change the status-quo, but what is necessary is an amendment to the electoral code. It can be adopted by a plurality in the two houses of the federal parliament. A draft bill on B-H-V sponsored by the Flemish parties was adopted by the House Interior Committee in November 2007. The Francophone Community Parliament immediately started a conflict of interest procedure, stalling further action during a 120-day period. At the end of this period, a new such proceeding was started in May 2008 by the Francophone Community Commission of the Brussels regional parliament (COCOF). This BRUSSELS 00001074 003 OF 003 gave Leterme extra time to seek a political compromise on the issue. In theory, these legal stalling maneuvers could be continued until 2009. The Council of State has argued that cutting up the B-H-V district would not be unconstitutional, but the Council made reservations concerning a pooling system which would be more advantageous for Flemish candidates than for Francophone candidates. ¶9. (SBU) In addition, there is a bilingual Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde judicial district and adjustments to this district may become part of the political deal. It is a real issue; due to the Constitutional Court ruling, future general elections could at any time be challenged in court if no action is taken. However, validating general elections is the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament. The constitutional scholars are not in agreement about the legal pitfalls if general elections were held without B-H-V being solved. ¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: Leterme's resignation may be a clever political ploy to buy time in the face of an impossible deadline. Leterme is still very much involved in the process, and with the King could work out a way to restructure and restart the institutional reform talks. King Albert seems to agree with Leterme that the regions should be involved and a new format for talks is necessary. They hope that some agreement can be reached, even if B-H-V remains an issue, before King Albert addresses Belgium on their July 21 National Day. END COMMENT. FOX .