BELGIUM
A Federal State
For many
Americans, Belgium owes its fame to its capital, Brussels, and to a few of its
typical national products such as chocolates, lace, endive and beer.
It would be incorrect to believe that the very positive image Belgium enjoys
abroad rests solely on these few criteria.
Belgium is more. It is home to the headquarters of the North Atlantic treaty
Organization (NATO), the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers in Europe
(SHAPE), the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and many
other European and international institutions. Its foreign policy since the end
of the Second World War can be defined in a few words: attachment to European
integration and to NATO, special attention to central Africa, and loyal
partnership with the United States.
Belgium is part of a major urban and commercial axis and of a heavily
urbanized zone extending from England to the north of Italy. Located in the
north west of Europe, at the edge of the North Sea, Belgium, with its ten
million people, is one of the most densely populated an prosperous countries in
the world. It occupies a central position in western Europe, between Germany,
the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg and France.
Belgium is a
constitutional monarchy. The King is the official head of state. The present
king is King Albert II, the sixth King of Belgium. He is married to Donna Paola
Ruffo di Calabria.
King Albert II and
Queen Paola
© SFI-FVD 1995-2000
The King and Queen have three children:
- Prince Philip, born on 15 April 1960
married to Princess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, one child
Princess Elisabeth (born on
25 October 2001)
- Princess Astrid, born on 5 June 1962
married to Archduke Lorenz of
Austria-Este, four children
- Prince Amedeo (born on 21 February 1986)
- Princess Maria Laura (born on 26 August 1988)
- Prince Joachim (born on 9 December 1991)
- Princess Luisa Maria (born on 11 October 1995)
- Prince Laurent, born on 19 December 1963
Decision making is no longer exclusively in the hands of the Federal
Government and the Federal Parliament. Now the management of the country falls
to several partners, equal in law, which exercise their responsibilities
independently in different fields.
The redistribution followed two broad lines
- language or, more broadly, everything relating to culture. It gave rise to
the Communities, a concept which refers to the persons which make them
up and to the bond which unites them, in this case language and culture.
Belgium is situated at the junction between the Latin and Germanic cultures.
This explains why the country has three official languages:
- Dutch (Flemish Community)
- French (French-speaking Community)
- German (German-speaking Community)
- economic concerns. This gave rise to the founding of three regions:
Schematic representation:
© pictures and graphics:
fvd-sfi (Belgian Federal
Information Service)
Back to The Publiola Home
Page
Questions and suggestions: beatrix.olaerts@skynet.be
