“In effect, the protection of Dutch speakers in Brussels is being called into question,” said Dave Sinade, a political science professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels. “This would endanger the whole of Brussels and perhaps even Belgium’s institutional balance,” he warned.
“Chosen to act”
Belgians voted in June to elect representatives to the new federal and regional parliaments and the European Parliament. The French-speaking Liberal Reform Movement (MR) became the largest party in Brussels with 21 seats. The Liberals quickly signed a coalition agreement with the centrist Les Angages and the French-speaking Socialist Party, but negotiations with the Dutch-speaking side repeatedly stalled.
Negotiations reached an impasse and a frustrated MR ran out of patience. Although there are no prospects for a full-fledged government to be formed, given their majority in parliament, French-speaking parties plan to postpone new emissions limits without negotiating the terms with Dutch-speaking parties. submitted.
“I wasn’t elected to wait, I was elected to act,” MR local leader David Leister said in an interview.
“Despite the lack of a majority on the Dutch-speaking side…we have just voted on two documents that will change the future of Brussels,” he also told his followers in a video message, calling the vote “historic” He praised it.
For Dutch-speaking parties, that’s exactly the problem.
