Peculiarities of nature in Belgium. Ethnic factors of regionalism (diffusion of races, homeland, ethnogenesis, ethical characteristics and contacts) using the example of Belgium

The nature of Belgium has been changed to such an extent by man that the natural landscapes on its territory have hardly been preserved. The exception is the Ardennes mountain region. Cities and towns, factories, quarries, coal waste heaps, canals, railways and roads have become an integral element of the modern landscape.

The natural conditions of Belgium are favorable for both settlement and economic development of the territory. The relief is generally flat and does not interfere with the development of agriculture, transport and urban growth. Approximately 3/4 of the country is occupied by lowlands; rising slightly from the coast inland to the south, it only in the southeast turns into the low Ardennes mountain range. The Belgian lowland is part of the Central European Plain between the lowlands of France and Germany.

The country is widely divided according to the nature of its relief into three parts, gradually increasing from northwest to southeast: Low, Middle and High Belgium. Low Belgium is a completely flat lowland of Flanders in the north-west, some parts of which are up to 2 m below sea level. sea, and the slightly hilly Campin lowland in the northeast with altitudes up to 75 m above sea level. seas. These lowlands are depressions filled and leveled by a thick layer of Quaternary marine and fluvial sediments.

The Belgian sea coast is small - it stretches only 65 km - and also inconvenient for navigation, as it lacks natural harbors. Only two small rivers flow into the sea here, and their mouths are closed by locks. The sea's gently sloping coastline is composed mainly of fine white sand and is a beautiful natural beach that attracts tourists from both Belgium and other countries. During high tides, the North Sea floods a wide coastal strip of the so-called Wadets, and with stormy north winds there is a threat of flooding. Fenced off from the sea by artificial dams or sandy coastal dunes, in some places reaching 1.5 km in width and 40 m in height.

To the south of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, Haute Belgium begins, noticeably different in natural conditions from the rest of the country. Most of this territory is occupied by the heavily destroyed Ardennes and its foothills. This is a mountain range with heights of about 400-600 m, with rounded peaks and flat plateaus composed of shales, sandstones and limestones, folded during the Hercynian orogeny; its highest point is Mount Botrange, reaching 694 m above sea level. seas.

To the southeast, the coastal lowland rises, giving way to a strip of hilly plains crossed by rivers with altitudes from 100 to 200 m above sea level. seas. This is Central Belgium. The plains are composed of tertiary clays and sands, on which fertile loess soils have formed.

Almost half of all days in the year are rainy. There is no snow in the west of the country: when it falls, it immediately melts. Rivers don't freeze. As you move southeast, to the Ardennes, the influence of the sea decreases, the climate becomes more continental, although here frosty and snowy winters are rare. If the average January temperature for the whole of Belgium is + 3°, then for the Ardennes it is lower - 1°.

The humid climate and uniform precipitation throughout the year are associated with an abundance of rivers that are characterized by high water content and the absence of sharp fluctuations in level between seasons. The predominance of flat terrain determines the calm flow of rivers and allows them to be connected by canals, but, on the other hand, leads to frequent floods after each long and heavy rain. Of the rivers, the largest and most important in terms of transport are the Scheldt with its tributary Leie in Low Belgium and the Meuse with its tributary Sambra in Central Belgium. They are navigable and do not freeze in winter. However, the mouths of both rivers are in the Netherlands. The Scheldt flows through Belgium for 216 km and has a depth that allows sea vessels to ascend as far as Antwerp. The tides also help with this. A powerful tidal wave reaches the middle reaches of the Scheldt.

The length of the Meuse in Belgium is 183 km. Unlike the Scheldt, it is shallow. It took a lot of money to deepen it and build dams with locks so that small ships could pass along the river.

The mild climate favors the growth of broad-leaved forests consisting of oak, beech, hornbeam and ash. However, the high degree of development of the territory has led to a reduction in forest areas. Currently they occupy 17% of the country's area. Significant tracts of natural forests have been preserved only in the Ardennes, where a National Park has been created since 1954, and in Campina. Broad-leaved species predominate in the Ardennes, and pine is especially widespread in Campina. In the rest of the territory, tree plantings are mainly forest belts, gardens and bocages (hedges of trees and dense bushes). To strengthen the coastal dunes, fir and pine are planted. In addition to isolated areas of indigenous forests, natural vegetation has been preserved in the form of heaths in Campina and swamps on the plateau in the Ardennes and in the area of ​​​​the coastal dunes.

The soil cover has also undergone significant changes. We can say that the fertility of the Belgian lands was created by human hands. With the exception of the fertile loess soils of Central Belgium, polders and alluvial soils along river valleys, in the rest of the territory the soils are mainly poor podzolic, sandy and loamy on the plains or gravelly and rocky in the Ardennes. Indeed, it took great effort for man to create a highly productive soil layer on these barren lands.

The fauna of indigenous forests has been preserved mainly in the Ardennes, where wild boars, fallow deer, roe deer, hares, squirrels, and wood mice are also found; in the marshy thickets on the plateau and heaths in Campina there are partridges, woodcocks, pheasants, and ducks.

The natural conditions of Belgium are generally favorable for the development of agriculture. However, the country is relatively poor in mineral resources needed for industry. The only type of mineral resource that Belgium has in sufficient quantities is coal. Coal reserves amount to about 6 billion tons and are concentrated in two basins: the Northern, or Kampinsky, which is a continuation of the Limburg basin in the Netherlands and the Aachen basin in Germany, and the Southern, which stretches in a narrow strip along the Sambre valley and then the Meuse from the French border to the border with Germany. The quality of the coal is low, the thickness of the seams is small, and mining conditions are complicated by the large depth and complex geological location of the seams.

The reserves of building materials in the Sambre and Meuse valleys are of economic importance: granite, lime, clays and quartz sands, which served as the basis for the creation of a large glass industry. Small deposits of iron and lead-zinc ores in the Ardennes are almost completely depleted.

Belgium is a state in Western Europe. Has an area of ​​30,528 sq. km, washed in the northwest by the North Sea. Most of the country is occupied by plains with dominant cultural landscapes.

The total length of land borders is 1385 km, the length of borders with France is 620 km, Germany - 167 km, Luxembourg - 148 km, the Netherlands - 450 km. The coastline is 66.5 km long. The total area of ​​the territory is 33,990 square meters. km, of which the marine coastal zone occupies 3462 sq. km, and internal waters - 250 sq. km. By land, Belgium borders France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Belgium's land borders with neighboring countries have a total length of 1,385 km. Almost half of them border with France (620 km), followed by the Netherlands (450 km), Germany (167 km), and Luxembourg (148 km). Belgium's closest maritime neighbors are France, the Netherlands and the UK.

The territory of Belgium is usually divided into three geographical regions, each of which has a special relief - lower, middle and high Belgium. Bas-Belgium is a coastal plain with an altitude of up to 100 m, which is located in the north-west of the country. There are mainly sand dunes and so-called polders, which are lands located below sea level and characterized by high fertility. The polders are constantly subject to flooding, so numerous dams are built to protect them. Central Belgium (altitude 100-200 meters above sea level) is located on the central plateau, between the city of Kempen and the valleys of the Sambre and Meuse rivers.

The southeast of the country falls on high Belgium - the Ardennes Heights and Condroz. The height of this area above sea level is 200-500 meters. The Ardennes Upland, represented by high hills, is covered with forests and is practically uninhabited. The Ardennes is home to the highest point in Belgium, Mount Botrange, 694 meters high. Haute Belgium includes the geographical region of Condroz, which is an area of ​​low hills (200-300 meters above sea level).

Geology and minerals of Belgium

In the northern part of Belgium, under a thick Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary cover, there is a Precambrian crystalline basement. When moving south, the foundation is exposed in places along river valleys, and in the south of the country it emerges in the form of Hercynian folded structures, which have undergone severe denudation. In northern Belgium, as a result of repeated exposure to glacial meltwater, loess is widespread.

Other minerals: coal (in Campina and along the valleys of the Meuse and Sambre rivers); lead, zinc, copper, antimony (Ardenne); granite, sandstone, marble.

Relief of Belgium

Dunes on the coast in the municipality of KoksijdThe landscape is predominantly flat, gradually rising from the coastal lowland to the southeast. There are three natural regions: the coastal plains (Low Belgium), the low central plateaus (Middle Belgium) and the Ardennes mountains (High Belgium).

The low-lying coast of the North Sea is bordered by a belt of dunes up to 30 m high and 1.5-2.5 km wide. Low tides expose a strip of sandy wattles, the width of which reaches 3.5 km. The fertile areas adjacent to the coast (polders), some are below sea level (up to? 2 m) and are protected from it by dunes and dams. Behind the strip of polders lie the flat alluvial lowlands of Low Belgium: Flanders and Campin (height up to 50 m); In some places there are remnant hills (height up to 150-170 m).

Central Belgium extends from Mons and Liege to the mountainous regions of the southeast. The territory of this natural area is occupied by undulating plains with erosive landforms. The height increases from north to south from 80-100 to 180 m. The valleys of the Meuse and Sambre rivers, located in a large depression, separate Middle and High Belgium.

Belgium statistics
(as of 2012)

In Haute Belgium lies the ancient Ardennes massif, which is the western extension of the Rhine Slate Mountains. As a result of long-term erosion and denudation, the peaks of the Ardennes have a plateau-like shape. The massif is composed predominantly of Paleozoic limestones and sandstones; During the Alpine era, the mountains experienced a rise, especially the eastern part - the Tay and High Fenn plateau, the peak of which is Mount Botrange (French Botrange, 694 meters above sea level), which is the highest point of the country. In the extreme southeast of the country there are limestone cuesta ridges up to 460 m high.

Water resources of Belgium

The fortress of Namur at the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse. The territory of Belgium is covered by a dense network of calm and deep rivers, which includes two large rivers in Europe - the Meuse and Scheldt. The predominant direction of river flow is from southwest to northeast; most rivers are navigable and do not freeze in winter, when the main flow passes through them. Flowing through the territory of Belgium, the Scheldt is replenished by the waters of the rivers Lys (near Ghent), Dandre (near Dendermonde), Durme (near Hamme), Rupel (near Antwerp) and already in the Netherlands forms the Western Scheldt estuary. Among the tributaries of the Meuse are the Ermeton, Sambre (flows into Namur), Meen, Vezdre (in Liege); the joint delta of the Rhine and Meuse is also located in the Netherlands.

In Low Belgium, due to the threat of flooding, a flow regulation system has been created using a network of pumping stations, canals (Ghent-Terneuzen, Brussels-Scheldt, Albert Canal, etc.) and locks. There are few lakes in Belgium, and all are small in size. There are many artificial reservoirs, the largest of which is Lake O-Dore.

According to a 2005 estimate, Belgium has 20.8 cubic meters. km of renewable water resources, of which 7.44 cubic meters are consumed per year. km (13% for utilities, 85% for industrial and 1% for agricultural needs).

Belgium climate

The territory of Belgium is quite compact, so there is not much variation in the temperature background. In winter, the average temperature on the coast is +3°C, on the central plateau - +2°C, on the Ardennes Highlands - -1°C. In summer, the temperature on the coast is quite comfortable - about +20°C, in the Ardennes it is slightly lower - on average +16°C.

The cold period lasts about 120 days in the Ardennes, and about 80 days in Campina. The average temperature in winter is +0...+6°С, in spring - +5...+14°С, in summer - +11...+22°С, in autumn - +7...+15°С. In rare years, summer temperatures in Belgium reached +30°C. It is warmest from May to September, so most tourists choose these months to visit Belgium.

As for precipitation, its level is quite high. The average precipitation across the country is 800-1000 mm. The Ardennes receives the most precipitation – up to 1500 mm per year. This is due to the fact that the Ardennes are more distant than other areas from the ocean coast, so their climate has characteristic continental features. It snows in winter, but you are unlikely to see a stable snow cover. In winter, cold winds blow, including on the Atlantic coast, where it is especially chilly and damp. In summer there are frequent rains and fogs caused by high humidity.

The proximity of the ocean causes high humidity and often cloudy weather. The sunniest months in Belgium are April and September. Air masses from the Atlantic can significantly influence the climate: in summer the winds bring prolonged rain and coolness, and in winter - warm and damp weather.

The water temperature in the summer months is quite cool - about +17°C, but for residents of northern latitudes it is quite acceptable for swimming. If you are an experienced walrus, you can swim in the winter months. In winter, the water temperature in the North Sea is about +5°C. In Belgium, those who like to swim in cold water are called “polar bears.” Every year in the Ostend area

Soils and vegetation of Belgium

Typical landscape of Low Belgium The most fertile soils of Belgium are located in polders and in floodplains, where meadow vegetation is richly represented. The loess-covered carbonate soils of the central plateaus are also very fertile. The bocage cultural landscape in Flanders includes forest belts, hedges, and gardens. Forests occupy about 19% of the country's area and remain mainly in mountainous (southern) regions. In Low Belgium there are oak and birch forests, in Middle and High Belgium beech, oak and hornbeam grow on podzolic and brown forest soils. The soils of the Ardennes are poor in humus and have low fertility, while the sandy soils of Campina are dominated by heath and have natural pine forests.

As of 2005, arable land occupied 27.42% of the country's territory, and permanent grain crops were grown on 0.69%. 400 sq.m. is irrigated. km (2003).

As in most European countries, the forests of Belgium had to make room under the pressure of man and his economic activities. Previously, almost the entire territory of Belgium was covered with deciduous forests, the main species of which were oak, beech, hornbeam, chestnut and ash. In the Middle Ages, there were forests even in Flanders, which has now become the most developed industrial region of Belgium. The forests of Flanders at that time provided shelter for the “forest geese” - fugitive peasants and artisans who rebelled against Spanish rule.

Until now, pristine forests have been preserved only in the Ardennes Mountains, which are unsuitable for economic development due to low soil fertility and a not particularly favorable climate. More than half of the Ardennes forests are coniferous forests, formed mainly by pine and spruce. There are also centuries-old forests of broad-leaved species - oak and beech. Natural forests currently occupy approximately 14% of the total area of ​​Belgium. The lack of vegetation in other areas of Belgium is compensated by forest plantations, which account for approximately 7% of the country's area, as well as gardens and hedges (bocages). Mostly fir and pine are planted to strengthen coastal zones.

In the lowlands of Belgium you can often find meadows with lush, dark green vegetation, which look great against the backdrop of majestic mountains or the sea coast. Shrubs, mainly heather, grow on sandy soils, and holly in marshy areas. The landscape of the Hautes Fagnes natural park, located on the plateau of the same name, is interesting. This wetland is covered with characteristic vegetation - mosses, lichens, creeping grasses. Here and there there are small crooked trees bending towards the ground, so in some places the landscape resembles tundra. The swamps, which are more than seven thousand years old, occupy 100 of the 4,500 hectares of the natural park. There are many small rivers and cold streams with crystal clear water.

In addition to the largest natural park in Belgium, the Hautes Faniers (High Marshes), you can visit the following protected areas: Haute Fanier National Park, Westhoek, Kalmthout, Bellesel, as well as many other small natural areas on the coast. In the Westhoek nature reserve, there are picturesque depressions between three large dunes, overgrown with bushes and filled with water at high tide.

Fauna of Belgium

Like the flora, the fauna of Belgium has suffered significantly as a result of human economic activity. Along with the forests, large mammals were almost completely exterminated, which survived only in the forests of the Ardennes Mountains. Small mammals are common, including foxes, hares, martens, weasels, badgers, squirrels, and wood mice. In the Ardennes you can also find deer, fallow deer, roe deer, catana, and wild boar. In certain areas of the mountains, hunting is allowed, but only with licenses. Of the forest birds, the most common is the pheasant; you can meet partridge, woodcock and wild duck. These birds are most often found in marshy areas of Belgium, as well as in heather thickets growing on sandy soils. Hunting is also allowed during certain periods. Trout is found in abundance in mountain rivers.

Belgium's wild islands are protected by protected areas. The largest and most interesting protected area is the Haut-Fan National Park, covering an area of ​​55 thousand hectares. It is located on the eastern border of Belgium, close to Germany. The most picturesque part of the national park is the Northern Ardennes, which is replete with picturesque rocky canyons and pristine forests. The dense thickets of oak, beech, spruce and juniper are home to red deer, roe deer, wild boars, martens, white hares, as well as a variety of songbirds. The marsh fauna is most clearly represented in the High Marshes Natural Park (Hautes Fagnes), located on the plateau of the same name.

Wading birds and seabirds are found in abundance in the Zwin Bird Sanctuary, which covers an area of ​​150 hectares on the site of a former estuary. Storks were brought to Zvin and have taken root well. Zvin is also notable for its unique exotic butterfly garden, which features more than 400 species of tropical butterflies. Among the exotic plants you can see fluttering butterflies that delight the eye with the play of colors and fantastic shapes. There is another tropical park in Belgium - Sun Parks, which is a tropical city under a hood. In the park's aquariums you can see exotic fish, and many tropical parrots perch on quaint trees.

Terrain.

Belgium has three natural regions: the Ardennes Mountains, the low central plateaus and the coastal plains. The Ardennes Mountains are the western extension of the Rhine Slate Mountains and are composed predominantly of Paleozoic limestones and sandstones. The summit surfaces are highly leveled as a result of long-term erosion and denudation. During the Alpine era they experienced uplift, especially in the east, where the Tay and High Fenn plateaus are located, exceeding 500–600 m at sea level. The highest point of the country is Mount Botrange (694 m) on the High Fenne. Rivers, especially the Meuse and its tributaries, cut through the plateau-like surfaces, resulting in the formation of the deep valleys and hilly interfluves characteristic of the Ardennes.

The low central plateaus run northwest from the Ardennes across the country from Mons to Liege. The average heights here are 100–200 m, the surface is undulating. Often the border between the Ardennes and the central plateaus is confined to the narrow valleys of the Meuse and Sambre.

The coastal lowland, which extends along the North Sea coast, covers the territory of Flanders and Campina. Within maritime Flanders, it is a perfectly flat surface, protected from tides and floods by a barrier of sand dunes and dikes. In the past, there were extensive swamps, which were drained in the Middle Ages and turned into arable land. In the interior of Flanders there are plains 50–100 m above sea level. The Campin region, located northeast of Belgium, forms the southern part of the vast Meuse-Rhine delta.

Climate

Belgium is temperate maritime. It receives high rainfall and moderate temperatures throughout the year, allowing most of the country to grow vegetables for 9–11 months of the year. The average annual precipitation is 800–1000 mm. The sunniest months are April and September. The average January temperature in Flanders is 3° C, on the central plateaus 2° C; in summer the temperature in these parts of the country rarely exceeds 25° C, and the average July temperature is 18° C. The climate of Campina and the Ardennes has a slightly more continental flavor. In Campina the frost-free period is 285 days, in the Ardennes - 245 days. In winter, temperatures in these mountains are below 0 ° C, and in summer they average 16 ° C. The Ardennes receive more precipitation than other areas of Belgium - up to 1400 mm per year.

Soils and vegetation.

The soils of the Ardennes are very poor in humus and have low fertility, which, along with a colder and wetter climate, does little to promote the development of agriculture. Forests, mostly coniferous, cover about half the area of ​​this region. The central plateaus, composed of carbonate rocks overlain by loess, have extremely fertile soils. The alluvial soils covering the coastal lowlands of Flanders are very fertile and thick. Undrained land is used for pasture, while drained land is the basis for diversified agriculture. The thick clay soils of the interior of Flanders are naturally poor in humus. The sandy soils of Campina were until recently mostly heathland, and one-seventh of the area is still covered by natural pine forests.

Water resources.

The low-lying terrain of most of Belgium, the large amount of precipitation and the seasonal nature of its fall determine the characteristics of the river regime. The Scheldt, Meuse and their tributaries slowly carry their waters across the central plateaus into the sea. The predominant orientation of the rivers is from southwest to northeast. The river beds gradually decrease and in some places are complicated by rapids and waterfalls. Due to slight seasonal fluctuations in precipitation, rivers rarely overflow their banks or dry up. Most of the country's rivers are navigable, but it is necessary to regularly clear their beds of silt.

The Scheldt River crosses the entire territory of Belgium, but its estuary is located in the Netherlands. The River Leie flows northeast from the French border to its confluence with the Scheldt. The second place in importance is occupied by the Sambre-Meuse water system in the east. The Sambre flows from France and flows into the Meuse at Namur. From there the Meuse River turns northeast and then north along the border with the Netherlands.

POPULATION

Demography.

In 2003, 10.3 million people lived in Belgium. Due to a decrease in the birth rate, the country's population grew by only 6% over 30 years. And in 2003, the birth rate was 10.45 per 1000 inhabitants, and the death rate was 10.07 per 1000 inhabitants. By 2011, the population reached 10 million 431 thousand 477 people. The population growth rate was 0.071%, the birth rate was 10.06 per 1000 inhabitants, and the death rate was 10.57 per 1000 inhabitants

The average life expectancy in Belgium is 79.51 (76.35 for men and 82.81 for women) (2011 estimate). Approx. permanent residents live in Belgium. 900 thousand foreigners (Italians, Moroccans, French, Turks, Dutch, Spaniards, etc.). The ethnic composition in Belgium is divided into: 58% Flemings, 31% Walloons and 11% mixed and other ethnic groups.

Ethnogenesis and language.

The indigenous population of Belgium consists of the Flemings - descendants of the Frankish, Frisian and Saxon tribes, and the Walloons - descendants of the Celts. The Flemings live mainly in the north of the country (in East and West Flanders). They are fair-haired and have a physical resemblance to the Dutch. The Walloons live mainly in the south and are similar in appearance to the French.

Belgium has three official languages. French is spoken in the southern part of the country, in the provinces of Hainaut, Namur, Liege and Luxembourg, and the Flemish version of the Dutch language is spoken in West and East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg. The central province of Brabant, with the capital Brussels, is bilingual and is divided into northern Flemish and southern French parts. The French-speaking areas of the country are united under the general name of the Walloon region, and the north of the country, where the Flemish language predominates, is usually called the Flanders region. There are approx. people living in Flanders. 58% Belgians, in Wallonia - 33%, in Brussels - 9% and in the German-speaking area that became part of Belgium after the First World War - less than 1%.

After the country gained independence, friction constantly arose between the Flemings and Walloons, which complicated the social and political life of the country. As a result of the revolution of 1830, the task of which was the separation of Belgium from the Netherlands, French became the official language. In the following decades, Belgian culture was dominated by France. Francophonie strengthened the social and economic role of the Walloons, and this led to a new rise of nationalism among the Flemings, who demanded equal status of their language with French. This goal was achieved only in the 1930s after the adoption of a series of laws that gave the status of the state language to the Dutch language, which began to be used in administrative matters, legal proceedings and teaching.

However, many Flemings continued to feel like second-class citizens in their country, where they not only outnumbered them, but in the post-war era achieved higher levels of prosperity compared to the Walloons. Antagonism between the two communities increased, and constitutional amendments were made in 1971, 1980 and 1993, granting each greater cultural and political autonomy.

The problem that had long plagued Flemish nationalists was that their own language had become a chaotic collection of dialects that had developed during a long period of Francophonie in education and culture. However, after the First World War, the Flemish language gradually moved closer to the literary norm of modern Dutch. In 1973, the Flemish Cultural Council decided that the language should be officially called Dutch rather than Flemish.

Religious composition of the population.

The Belgian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of believers (about 70% of the population) are Catholics. Islam (250 thousand people), Protestantism (about 70 thousand), Judaism (35 thousand), Anglicanism (40 thousand), and Orthodoxy (20 thousand) are also officially recognized. The church is separated from the state.

Cities.

Rural and urban life in Belgium are closely intertwined, making it one of the most “traditionally urban” countries in the world. Some of the country's main economic areas are virtually completely urbanized. Many rural communities are located along main roads; their residents travel by bus or tram to work in nearby industrial centers. Almost half of Belgium's working population commutes regularly.

In 1996, there were 13 cities in Belgium with a population of more than 65 thousand people. The capital Brussels (1 million 892 people in 2009) houses the headquarters of the EU, Benelux, NATO and a number of other international and European organizations. The port city of Antwerp (961 thousand inhabitants in 2009) competes with Rotterdam and Hamburg in terms of sea freight traffic. Liege grew up as a center of metallurgy. Ghent is an ancient center of the textile industry; elegant lace is made here, as well as many types of engineering products; it is also a major cultural and historical center. Charleroi developed as a base for the coal mining industry and for a long time competed with the German cities of the Ruhr. Bruges, once an important commercial center, now attracts tourists with its majestic medieval architecture and picturesque canals. Ostend is a resort center and the country's second most important commercial port.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Political system.

Belgium is a federal state that is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. The country has a constitution of 1831, which has been amended several times. The last amendments were made in 1993. The head of state is the monarch. He is officially called the "King of the Belgians." A constitutional amendment in 1991 gave women the right to occupy the throne. The monarch has limited powers but serves as an important symbol of political unity.

Executive power is exercised by the king and the government, which is responsible to the House of Representatives. The king appoints a prime minister as head of government, seven French-speaking and seven Dutch-speaking ministers, and a number of secretaries of state representing the political parties in the ruling coalition. Ministers are assigned specific functions or leadership of government departments and departments. Members of parliament who become members of the government lose their deputy status until the next election.

Legislative power is exercised by the king and parliament. The Belgian parliament is bicameral, elected for a term of 4 years. The Senate consists of 71 senators: 40 are elected by direct universal suffrage (25 from the Flemish population and 15 from the Walloon population), 21 senators (10 from the Flemish population, 10 from the Walloon population and 1 from the German-speaking population) are delegated by community councils. These two groups co-opt another 10 members of the Senate (6 Dutch-speaking, 4 French-speaking). In addition to the above persons, according to the Constitution, children of the king who have reached the age of majority have the right to become members of the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 150 deputies elected by direct, universal secret ballot on the basis of proportional representation. One deputy is elected from approximately every 68 thousand people. Each party receives a number of seats proportional to the number of votes cast for it: its representatives are selected in the order recorded in the party lists. Participation in voting is mandatory; those who evade will face a fine.

Government ministers manage their departments and recruit personal assistants. In addition, each ministry has a permanent staff of civil servants. Although their appointment and promotion are regulated by law, their political affiliation, proficiency in both French and Dutch, and, of course, qualifications are also taken into account.

Regional management.

In response to the demands of the Flemings, four waves of constitutional revision took place after 1960, which made it possible to gradually decentralize the state, turning it into a federal one (formally from January 1, 1989). Features of the federal structure of Belgium lie in the parallel functioning of two types of federal subjects - regions and communities. Belgium is divided into three regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) and three cultural communities (French, Flemish and German-speaking). The representative system includes the Council of the Flemish Community (124 members), the Council of the Walloon Community (75 members), the Brussels Regional Council (75 members), the Council of the Francophone Community (75 members from Wallonia, 19 from Brussels), the Council of the Flemish Community (which merged with the Flemish regional council), the Council of the German-speaking Community (25 members) and the commissions of the Flemish Community, the French Community and the Joint Commission of the Brussels Region. All boards and commissions are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.

Boards and commissions have broad financial and legislative powers. Regional councils exercise control over economic policy, including foreign trade. Community councils and commissions oversee health, environmental protection, local welfare authorities, education and culture, including international cultural cooperation.

Local control.

The 596 local government communes (composed of 10 provinces) are almost autonomous and have great powers, although their activities are subject to the veto of provincial governors; they can appeal the latter's decisions to the Council of State. Communal councils are elected by universal suffrage based on proportional representation and consist of 50–90 members. This is the legislative body. The municipal councils appoint the head of the council board, working alongside the burgomaster, who manages city affairs. The burgomaster, usually a member of the council, is nominated by the commune and appointed by the central government; he may also be a member of parliament and is often a major political figure.

The executive bodies of the communes consist of six councilors and a governor, appointed, often for life, by the central government. The creation of regional and community assemblies has significantly reduced the scope of provincial powers, and they can duplicate them.

Political parties.

Until the 1970s, predominantly all-Belgian parties operated in the country, the largest of which were the Social Christian Party (created in 1945 as the successor to the Catholic Party that had existed since the 19th century), the Belgian Socialist Party (founded in 1885, until 1945 it was called the Workers' Party) and the Freedom Party. progress (formed in 1846, until 1961 it was called Liberal). Later they split into separate Walloon and Flemish parties, which, however, actually continue to be blocked when forming governments. The main parties of modern Belgium:

Flemish Liberals and Democrats – Citizens Party(FLD) – a political organization of Flemish liberals, formed in 1972 as a result of the split of the Belgian Party of Freedom and Progress (PSP) and retaining the same name until 1992. Considers itself a “responsible, solidary, legal and social” party of a social liberal nature, advocates the independence of Flanders as part of a federal Belgium and federal Europe, for pluralism, “political and economic freedom” of citizens and the development of democracy. FLD calls for limiting the power of the state through deregulation and privatization while preserving social protections for those who need them. The party advocates for the provision of civil rights to immigrants and their integration into Belgian society while preserving their cultural identity.

Since 1999, the FLD has been the strongest party in Belgium; its leader Guy Verhofstadt heads the country's government. In the 2003 elections, the FLD received 15.4% of the vote, and has 25 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 7 of the 40 elected seats in the Senate.

« Socialist Party – Otherwise» - a party of Flemish socialists, which arose in 1978 as a result of a split in the all-Belgian Socialist Party. Relies on the trade union movement, has influence in mutual aid funds and the cooperative movement. Flemish socialist leaders in the 1980s and 1990s began to reconsider traditional social democratic views, which envisioned the gradual replacement of capitalism with democratic socialism through long-term structural reforms. Currently, the party, which has added the word “Otherwise” to its name, advocates “economic realism”: while condemning neoliberalism, it at the same time questions “traditional recipes for economic socialism based on Keynesianism.” Flemish socialists emphasize the ethical justification of socialism, socio-ecological renewal, Europeanism and a more “reasonable” use of the mechanisms of the welfare state. They are more cautious about economic growth and adhere to the model of maintaining a guaranteed minimum social security while privatizing part of social guarantees (for example, part of the pension system, etc.).

At the 2003 parliamentary elections, the party acted in a bloc with the Spirit movement. This coalition received 14.9% of the vote in the House of Representatives and 15.5% in the Senate. Represented in the House of Representatives in 23 seats out of 150, in the Senate in 7 seats out of 40.

« Spirit» is a liberal political organization created before the 2003 elections as a result of the unification of the left wing of the Flemish party “People's Union” (founded in 1954) and members of the “Democratic Initiative-21” movement. The party describes itself as "social, progressive, internationalist, regionalist, integral democratic and future-oriented." Speaking for social justice, she emphasizes that market mechanisms cannot ensure the well-being of all members of society and therefore corrective use of social mechanisms, the fight against unemployment, etc. is necessary. The party proclaims that every member of society has the right to a guaranteed “social minimum.” In the 2003 elections it was in a bloc with the Flemish socialists.

« Christian Democratic and Flemish» party (CDF) - formed in 1968–1969 as the Christian People's Party (CHP) of Flanders and Brussels, has had its current name since the early 2000s. It arose as a result of a split in the all-Belgian Social Christian Party. Relies on Catholic trade unions. Until 1999, it was the most powerful political party in Belgium and headed the country's government for a long time; since 1999, it has been in opposition. The Party proclaims its goal to ensure responsible living together for people. Flemish Christian Democrats oppose the “primacy of economics” in society, socialist “collectivism” and liberal individualism. Proclaiming the “primacy of community,” they consider “strong family and social ties” to be the basis of society. In the economic field, the HDF is for a regulated market economy, where a number of areas (health care, socio-cultural activities, social housing construction, etc.) should not become the object of privatization and commercialization. The party calls for guaranteeing “basic security” to all citizens and increasing child benefits. At the same time, she advocates for “reduced bureaucracy” and greater freedom of action for entrepreneurs in the field of labor relations.

Socialist Party(SP) - Party of Socialists of the French-speaking part of Belgium (Wallonia and Brussels). Formed in 1978 as a result of a split in the Belgian Socialist Party. Relies on trade unions. The party proclaims the values ​​of solidarity, brotherhood, justice, equality and freedom. SP – for the rule of law and equality of all members of society. for “social market economy”. She criticizes economic liberalism, considering the logic of a continuously widening income gap between people to be incompatible with the idea of ​​freedom. Therefore, socialists call for the “consolidation” of social achievements, increasing low wages, pensions and benefits, fighting poverty, etc. The joint venture agreed to the principle of dividing pensions into a guaranteed “basic” and “funded” part, stipulating, however, that the use of the second should be available to all workers.

The SP is the strongest party in Wallonia and Brussels. In 2003, she received 13% in the elections to the House of Representatives (25 seats) and 12.8% in the Senate (6 seats).

Flemish block(FB) is a far-right Flemish party that broke away from the People's Union in 1977. He speaks from the position of extreme Flemish nationalism, proclaiming: “one’s own people are above all.” Declares itself a democratic party, but FB supporters participate in racist protests. FB advocates for an independent Republic of Flanders and an end to the immigration of foreigners from which the country allegedly suffers. The bloc demands to stop the admission of new immigrants, limit the provision of political asylum and expel those arriving to their homeland. FB support in elections is growing. In 2003, the party collected 11.6% of the vote in the elections to the House of Representatives (18 seats) and 11.3% in the Senate (5 seats).

Reform movement(RD) - political organization of Walloon and Brussels liberals. In its current form, it was formed in 2002 as a result of the unification of the Reformist Liberal Party (created in 1979 as a result of the merger of the Walloon Party of Reform and Freedom and the Brussels Liberal Party - parts of the former all-Belgian Party of Freedom and Progress), the German-speaking Party of Freedom and Progress, the Democratic Front of Francophones (the Brussels party, created in 1965) and the Citizens' Movement for Change. RD declared itself a centrist group that advocates reconciliation between the individual and society and rejects both selfishness and collectivism. The reformers' views are based on liberal democracy, a commitment to representative government and pluralism. RD rejects the “doctrinaireism of the 20th century,” an economic view based solely on market laws, any forms of collectivism, “integrative ecologism,” religious obscurantism and extremism. For reformers, continued economic growth and social development require a “new social contract” and “participatory democracy.” In the field of economics, they advocate promoting entrepreneurship and reducing taxes on entrepreneurs and workers. At the same time, RD recognizes that the “non-market sector” of the social economy must also play a role in society, which must satisfy those needs that the market cannot satisfy. Market freedom must be coupled with systems designed to prevent failure and compensate for distortions through a more equal redistribution of wealth. Social assistance, reformers believe, should be made more “effective”: it should not fetter “initiative” and should only go to those who “really need it.”

Humanistic Democratic Center(GDC) considers itself the successor of the Social Christian Party, founded in 1945 on the basis of the pre-war Catholic Party. The SHP proclaimed its commitment to the doctrine of “communitarian personalism”: it stated that it rejected “both liberal capitalism and the socialist philosophy of class struggle” and sought to create a society of maximum development of the human personality. In her opinion, such a society should be based on democratic freedoms, family protection, private initiative and social solidarity. The SHP declared itself a “people’s” party, relying on all segments of the population; controlled the Catholic trade unions. After the split of the SHP in 1968 into the Walloon and Flemish wings, the former continued to operate under the old name until 2002, when it was renamed the GDC.

The modern GDC is a centrist party calling for tolerance, a combination of freedom and equality, solidarity and responsibility, condemning populism and racism. The “democratic humanism” she proclaims is seen as an idea opposed to selfishness and individualism. The GDC rejects “society of materialism and violence, based on the cult of money, competition, indifference and inequality”, criticizes the subordination of man to the market, science and state institutions. Centrists consider the market to be a means, not an end. They advocate “a dynamic but civilized market and a strong state.” The latter, from their point of view, should not leave everything to the market, but is called upon to serve society, redistribute wealth in the interests of those in need, regulate and be an arbiter. Globalization processes, according to the GDC, should be subject to democratic control.

New Flemish Alliance(FPA) - formed in 2001 on the basis of the People's Union, a Flemish party that had existed since 1954. It seeks to give Flemish nationalism a “modern and humane” form of “humanitarian nationalism”. The Alliance advocates the creation of the Flemish Republic as part of a “confederal and democratic Europe”, for the right of nations to self-determination as the basis of international law. The NFA calls for developing a sense of Flemish community, improving democracy and strengthening social policies. Along with proposals to encourage Flemish entrepreneurship, the party demands a reduction in social inequality and an increase in social payments and benefits to a level that allows them to cover basic “social risk”.

« Confederated Environmentalists for Organizing the Original Struggle» (ECOLO) – Walloon “Green” movement; has been around since the late 1970s and early 1980s. Advocates for “sustainable development” in harmony with nature and in solidarity with other people and nations. Explaining the crisis in the modern world to “unregulated” development, Walloon environmentalists call for coordination on a global scale. The economy, in their opinion, should be dynamic and fair, based on initiative, participation, solidarity, balance, welfare and sustainability. “Greens” – for establishing more partnerships in enterprises, reducing working hours, and improving working conditions. In the social field, they advocate for greater equality in income and living conditions, the development of a plan that allows each person to receive a minimum income not lower than the poverty level, increased progressiveness of taxation, and the provision of credit to citizens for education and lifelong learning. Environmentalists believe that the practice of reducing payments to social funds by entrepreneurs should be stopped. They demand democratization of the state with the active participation of social movements, citizens, workers and consumers in resolving public issues.

« AGALEV» (“We will live differently”) – a party of Flemish environmentalists, more or less similar to Ecolo. He advocates harmony with the environment, the development of vital activity in a variety of areas (not only in the official economy), a reduction in the working week to 30 hours, “a different globalization,” etc. In the 2003 elections, she received 2.5% and lost representation in the Belgian parliament.

National Front(NF) - ultra-right party. The fight against immigration is at the center of its ideology and activities. Providing social benefits only to Belgians and Europeans should, according to the NF, save the welfare state from excessive costs. In economics, the party advocates reducing the role and participation of the state in economic activity to the level of a simple arbiter of competition and defender of European economic potential. Putting forward the slogan of “people's capitalism”, it demands that privatization should benefit exclusively “the people of Belgium”. The NF promises to “simplify and reduce” taxes, and in the future, to replace taxes on income with a general tax on purchases. In 2003, the NF received 2% of the votes in the elections to the House of Representatives (1st place) and 2.2% in the Senate (1st place).

« Alive» is a political movement created in the late 1990s that demanded that the state provide every citizen with a guaranteed “basic income” for life. Declaring that both capitalism and communism had proven their failure, and the traditional division between right and left had exhausted itself, the movement opposed “wild” (uncontrolled) capitalism and declared itself the creator of a new socio-economic model. The theorists of the movement propose completely eliminating income taxes from workers, reducing other income taxes, and abolishing contributions and deductions to social funds. To finance the payment of a “basic income”, in their opinion, it will be sufficient to introduce a “social tax on consumption” (sales, purchases and transactions). In the political field, the movement advocates for the expansion of individual freedoms, environmental protection and efficiency in the work of government bodies. At the same time, the movement advocates for greater controls and restrictions on immigration. In the 2003 elections, the movement collected 1.2% of the vote. It has no representation in parliament.

There are a significant number of left-wing political organizations in Belgium: Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party(founded 1971), International Workers' League,International Socialist Organization,Leninist-Trotskyist tendency,"Militant Left",Movement for workers,Left Socialist Party – Movement for a Socialist Alternative, Revolutionary Workers Party – Trotskyist,"Struggle"; Stalinist "Communist collective Aurora",Communist movement in Belgium(founded 1986); Maoist Belgian Labor Party(formed in 1971 as the “All Power to the Workers” party, 0.6% of the vote in the 2003 elections); remnants of the former pro-Soviet Communist Party of Belgium (1921–1989) – Communist Party – Flanders,Communist Party – Wallonia(0.2% in 2003 elections) , League of Communists in Belgium; groups that are the heirs of left-wing communism of the 1920s - International communist movement,Internationalist Communist Group, and Socialist movement(split off in 2002 from the Walloon Socialist Party; 0.1% in the 2003 elections), Humanist Party, French speaking department Anarchist Federation and etc.

Judicial system.

The judiciary is independent in its decision-making and is separate from other branches of government. It consists of courts and tribunals and five courts of appeal (in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Liege, Mons) and the Belgian Court of Cassation. Justices of the peace and tribunal judges are appointed personally by the king. Members of the courts of appeal, presidents of the tribunals and their deputies are appointed by the king on the proposals of the relevant courts, provincial councils and the Brussels Region Council. Members of the Court of Cassation are appointed by the king on the proposals of this court and alternately the House of Representatives and the Senate. Judges are appointed for life and retire only upon reaching the legal age. The country is divided into 27 judicial districts (each with a court of first instance) and 222 judicial cantons (each with a magistrate). Defendants can resort to a jury trial, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, and judgments are made based on the opinion of a majority of the 12 members of the court. There are also special courts: for the settlement of labor conflicts, commercial, military tribunals, etc. The highest authority of administrative justice is the State Council.

Foreign policy.

As a small country heavily dependent on foreign trade, Belgium has always sought to enter into economic agreements with other countries and has strongly supported European integration. Already in 1921, an economic union (BLES) was concluded between Belgium and Luxembourg. After World War II, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg formed a customs union known as Benelux, which was later transformed into a comprehensive economic union in 1960. Benelux's headquarters are in Brussels.

Belgium was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Economic Community (EEC), which became the European Union (EU). Belgium is a member of the Council of Europe, the Western European Union (WEU) and NATO. The headquarters of all these organizations, as well as the EU, are in Brussels. Belgium is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN.

Armed forces.

In 1997, there were 45.3 thousand people in the country's armed forces. Defense spending is approx. 1.2% of GDP. In 2005, defense spending amounted to 1.3% of GDP. Internal troops, consisting of 3.9 thousand people, ensure order in the country. The ground forces, consisting of offensive troops, combat and logistics support services, number 27.5 thousand personnel. The navy consists of three patrol ships, 9 minesweepers, one research vessel, one training ship and 3 helicopters, it has 2.6 thousand people. The Belgian Navy carries out mine sweeping for NATO. The Air Force has 11,300 personnel in tactical air forces (with 54 F-16 fighters and 24 transport aircraft), training and logistics units.

ECONOMY

About three-quarters of Belgium's trade is with other EU countries, especially Germany. In 2010, Belgian GDP grew by 2.1%, the unemployment rate rose slightly, and the government reduced the budget deficit, which worsened in 2008 and 2009 due to large-scale bailouts in the banking sector. Belgium's budget deficit fell from 6% of GDP to 4.1% in 2010, while public debt was just under 100% of GDP. Belgian banks were hit hard by the international financial crisis, with the three largest banks requiring capital injections from the government. An aging population and rising social costs are medium- and long-term challenges to public finances.

Gross domestic product

(GDP) of Belgium in 2002 was estimated at 299.7 billion dollars, or 29,200 dollars per capita (for comparison, in the Netherlands 20,905 dollars, in France 20,533, in the USA 27,821). The GDP growth rate until 2002 averaged 0.7% per year.

In 2010, GDP per capita was $37,800.

62% of GDP was spent on personal consumption in 1995, while government spending was 15% and 18% was invested in fixed assets. In 2002, agriculture contributed less than 2% of GDP, industry - 24.4%, and the service sector - almost 74.3%. Export income in 2002 amounted to 162 billion US dollars. These figures are very close to European standards.

GDP by economic sector in 2010: agriculture – 0.7%; industry – 21.9%; services – 77.4%.

Natural resources.

Belgium has very favorable conditions for farming; these include moderate temperatures, an even seasonal distribution of precipitation, and a long growing season. The soils in many areas are characterized by high fertility. The most fertile soils are found in the coastal part of Flanders and on the central plateaus.

Belgium is not rich in mineral resources. The country mines limestone for the needs of the cement industry. In addition, a small iron ore deposit is being developed near the south-eastern border and in the southern part of the province of Luxembourg.

Belgium has significant coal reserves. Until 1955, approx. 30 million tons of coal in two main basins: the southern, at the foot of the Ardennes, and the northern, in the Campina region (Limburg province). Since coal in the southern basin lies at great depth and its extraction is associated with technological difficulties, the mines began to close in the mid-1950s, the last of them being closed in the late 1980s. It should be noted that coal mining in the south began in the 12th century. and at one time stimulated the development of the country's industry. Therefore, here, in the foothills of the Ardennes, in the area from the French border to Liege, many industrial enterprises are concentrated.

Coal from the northern region was of higher quality, and its production was more profitable. Since the exploitation of this deposit began only during the First World War, coal production extended over a longer period of time, but by the end of the 1950s it did not satisfy the country’s needs. Since 1958, coal imports have exceeded its exports. By the 1980s, most of the mines were idle, with the last mine closing in 1992.

Energy.

For many decades, coal fueled Belgium's industrial development. In the 1960s, oil became the most important energy carrier.

Belgium's energy needs in 1995 were estimated at the equivalent of 69.4 million tons of coal, with only 15.8 million tons covered from its own resources. 35% of energy consumption came from oil, half of which was imported from the Middle East. Coal made up 18% of the country’s energy balance (98% imported, mainly from the USA and South Africa). Natural gas (mainly from Algeria and the Netherlands) provided 24% of the country's energy needs, and energy from other sources provided another 23%. The installed capacity of all power plants in 1994 was 13.6 million kW.

There are 7 nuclear power plants in the country, four of them are in Doula near Antwerp. Construction of the eighth station was suspended in 1988 for reasons of environmental safety and due to the fall in world oil prices.

Transport.

The country's participation in international trade is facilitated by one of the largest ports in the world, Antwerp, through which approx. 80% of freight turnover in Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1997–1998, 118 million tons of cargo were unloaded in Antwerp from approximately 14 thousand ships; according to this indicator, it ranked second among European ports after Rotterdam and was the largest railway and container port in Europe. The port, with an area of ​​100 hectares, has 100 km of berth lines and 17 dry docks, and its throughput capacity is 125 thousand tons per day. Most of the cargo handled by the port is bulk and liquid products, including oil and its derivatives. Belgium's own merchant fleet is small: 25 ships with a total displacement of 100 thousand gross register tons (1997). Almost 1,300 ships ply on inland waterways.

Thanks to their calm flow and deep water, Belgian rivers are navigable and provide connections between regions. The riverbed of the Rupel has been dredged, so that ocean-going ships can now enter Brussels, and ships with a displacement of 1,350 tons with a full load can now enter the rivers Meuse (up to the French border), Scheldt and Rupel. In addition, due to the flat terrain in the coastal part of the country, canals were built connecting natural waterways. Several canals were built before World War II. The Albert Canal (127 km), connecting the Meuse River (and the industrial district of Liege) with the port of Antwerp, can accommodate barges with a carrying capacity of up to 2000 tons. Another large canal connects the industrial district of Charleroi with Antwerp, forming an extensive triangular system of waterways, the sides of which are the Albert Canal, the Meuse and Sambre rivers, and the Charleroi-Antwerp canal. Other canals connect cities to the sea - for example Bruges and Ghent to the North Sea. At the end of the 1990s in Belgium there were approx. 1600 km of navigable inland waterways.

Several rivers flow into the Scheldt above Antwerp, making it the hub of the entire waterway system and the center of Belgium's foreign trade. It is also a transit port for foreign and domestic trade of the Rhineland (FRG) and northern France. In addition to its favorable location near the North Sea, Antwerp has another advantage. Sea tides in a wide part of the lower reaches of the Scheldt River provide sufficient depth for the passage of ocean-going ships.

In addition to a perfect waterway system, Belgium has a well-developed network of railways and roads. The railway network is one of the densest in Europe (130 km per 1000 sq. km), its length is 34.2 thousand km. The state-owned companies National Railways of Belgium and National Intercity Railways receive significant subsidies. Main roads cross all parts of the country, including the Ardennes. Sabena Airlines, founded in 1923, provides air connections to most major cities in the world. There are regular helicopter connections between Brussels and other cities of the country.

History of economic development.

Industry and crafts in Belgium arose a long time ago, and this partly explains the current high level of development of the country. Wool and linen fabrics have been produced since the Middle Ages. The raw materials for this production were wool from English and Flemish sheep and local flax. Cities such as Boygge and Ghent became major centers of the textile industry at the end of the Middle Ages. In the 16th–17th centuries. The main industry was the production of cotton fabrics. Sheep farming developed on the plains north of the Ardennes, and wool production developed in the oldest center of the wool industry, the city of Verviers.

Throughout the 16th century. Small metallurgical enterprises arose, and then weapons workshops. In 1788, there were 80 small arms factories in Liege, employing almost 6 thousand people. The Belgian glass industry has a rich history. It was based on local raw materials - alluvial quartz sands and wood used as fuel, which came from the Ardennes region. Large glass factories still operate in Charleroi and the Brussels suburbs.

Busy.

Belgian workers are highly skilled, and technical schools train highly specialized workers. The country has an experienced agricultural workforce working on highly mechanized farms in the center and north of Belgium. However, the transition to a post-industrial society, which favors the service sector, has led to significant and persistent unemployment, especially in Wallonia. Unemployment averaged 4.7% in the 1970s, 10.8% in the 1980s, and 11.4% in the early 1990s (above the Western European average).

Of the total number of employees of 4126 thousand people in 1997, approx. 107 thousand worked in agriculture, 1143 thousand in industry and construction, and 2876 thousand in the service sector, approx. 900 thousand people are in the administrative apparatus. In recent decades, employment growth has been observed only in the chemical industry.

Financing and organization of industrial production.

The industrial development of Belgium was facilitated by the presence of investment funds. They accumulated over many decades thanks to the continued prosperity of industry and international trade. Six banks and trusts now control the majority of Belgian industry. Société Générale de Belgique has direct or indirect control over approximately 1/3 of the enterprises, especially through its banks, holding companies for the production of steel, non-ferrous metals and electricity. The Solvay Group manages the activities of most chemical plants; Brufina-Confinindus owns concerns that mine coal, produce electricity and steel; Empen owns factories that produce electrical equipment; the Kope group has interests in the steel and coal industries; and Banque Brussels Lambert owns oil companies and their branches.

Agriculture.

About 1/4 of the total area of ​​Belgium is used for agricultural purposes. In the late 1990s, agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 2.5% of the country's workforce. Agriculture covered 4/5 of Belgium's needs for food and agricultural raw materials. In central Belgium (Hainaut and Brabant), where the land is divided into large estates ranging from 50 to 200 hectares, modern agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers are widely used. Each estate employs many hired workers, and seasonal workers are often used to harvest wheat and sugar beets. In Flanders, intensive labor and the use of fertilizers produce almost 3/4 of the country's agricultural output, although the area of ​​agricultural land here is the same as in Wallonia.

Agricultural yields are generally high; approx. 6 tons of wheat and up to 59 tons of sugar beets. Thanks to high labor productivity, in 1997 the grain harvest exceeded 2.3 million tons, while only half of the sown land was used. Of the total grain volume, about 4/5 is wheat, 1/5 is barley. Other important crops are sugar beets (annual harvest up to 6.4 million tons) and potatoes. Almost half of agricultural land is devoted to pasture for livestock, and livestock farming accounts for 70% of all agricultural output. In 1997 there were approx. 3 million heads of cattle, including 600 thousand cows, and approx. 7 million heads of pigs.

Agriculture in each region of the country has its own characteristics. A small number of crops are grown in the Ardennes. The exception is the fertile Condroz region, where rye, oats, potatoes and fodder grasses (mainly for cattle) are sown. More than 2/5 of the territory of the province of Luxembourg is covered with forests; the harvesting and sale of timber is an important sector of the economy of this area. Sheep and cattle graze in the mountainous meadows.

The central limestone plateaus of Hainaut and Brabant with clay soils are used for wheat and sugar beets. Fruits and vegetables are grown in the vicinity of large cities. Livestock farming is less practiced in the central region, although some farms around Brussels and west of Liege raise horses (in Brabant) and cattle.

Small farms predominate in Flanders, and livestock and dairy farming are more developed than in the south of the country. The crops most adapted to the local soils and humid climate are grown - flax, hemp, chicory, tobacco, fruits and vegetables. The cultivation of flowers and ornamental plants is a distinctive feature of the areas of Ghent and Bruges. Wheat and sugar beets are also grown here.

Industry.

At the end of the 1990s, the industry concentrated approx. 28% of employment and produced almost 31% of GDP. Two-thirds of industrial output came from the manufacturing industry, with most of the rest coming from construction and public utilities. Throughout the 1990s, the process of closing steel plants, car assembly plants and textile factories continued. Among the manufacturing industries, only the chemical, glass and oil refining industries increased production.

Belgium has three main heavy industries: metallurgy (production of steel, non-ferrous metals and heavy machine tools), chemicals and cement. Iron and steel production is still an important industry, although in 1994 11.2 million tons of steel were produced, which was 2/3 of the 1974 level. The volume of pig iron production fell even further - to 9 million tons. In 1974– 1991 the number of employees in all basic and processing metallurgical enterprises decreased by 1/3 - to 312 thousand jobs. Most of the old iron and steel works were located near the coal mines around Charleroi and Liege or near the iron ore deposits in the very south of the country. A more modern plant, using high quality imported iron ore, is located along the Ghent–Terneuzen canal north of Ghent.

Belgium has a well-developed non-ferrous metallurgy. This industry originally used zinc ore from the Toresnet mine, but now the zinc ore has to be imported. In the mid-1990s, Belgium was the largest producer of this metal in Europe and the fourth largest producer in the world. Belgian zinc plants are located near Liege and in Baden-Wesel in Campina. In addition, copper, cobalt, cadmium, tin, and lead are produced in Belgium.

The supply of steel and non-ferrous metals stimulated the development of heavy engineering, especially in Liege, Antwerp and Brussels. It produces machine tools, railway cars, diesel locomotives, pumps and specialized machines for the sugar, chemical, textile and cement industries. With the exception of the large military factories concentrated in Erstal and Liege, heavy machine tool factories are relatively small. There is a shipyard in Antwerp that produces ships of international class.

Belgium does not have its own automobile industry, although it hosts foreign car assembly plants, benefiting from low import duties on car parts and a highly skilled workforce. In 1995, 1171.9 thousand cars and 90.4 thousand trucks were assembled, which together amounted to approx. 10% of European production volume. In 1984, Ford's Ghent assembly line was the world's longest robotic installation. Flemish cities and Brussels host factories of foreign automakers, while factories producing tractor trailers and buses are located throughout the country. The French automobile concern Renault announced the closure of its plant in Vilvoorde, north of Brussels, in 1997.

The country's second most important industry, the chemical industry, began to develop in the 20th century. Like other heavy industries, its growth was fueled by the availability of coal, which was used both for energy and in the production of raw materials such as benzene and tar.

Until the early 1950s, Belgium produced mainly basic chemical products - sulfuric acid, ammonia, nitrogen fertilizers and caustic soda. Most factories are located in the industrial areas of Antwerp and Liege. Before World War II, crude oil refining and petrochemical industries were very underdeveloped. However, after 1951, oil storage facilities were built in the port of Antwerp, and Petrofina, the main Belgian distributor of petroleum products, as well as foreign oil companies, invested heavily in the construction of an oil refining complex in Antwerp. Plastics production has taken a significant place in the petrochemical industry.

Most cement factories are concentrated in the industrial region of the valley of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, near local sources of limestone. In 1995, 10.4 million tons of cement were produced in Belgium.

Although light industry is less developed than heavy industry, there are several light industries with significant production volumes, incl. textile, food, electronics (for example, a plant in Roeselare in West Flanders), etc. Traditional craft industries - lace weaving, tapestries and leather goods - have significantly reduced production, but some of them still operate to serve tourists. Biotech and space companies are concentrated mainly in the Brussels-Antwerp corridor.

Belgium is a major producer of cotton, wool and linen fabrics. In 1995, 15.3 thousand tons of cotton yarn were produced in Belgium (almost 2/3 less than in 1993). Wool yarn production began to decline in the early 1990s; in 1995, 11.8 thousand tons were produced (in 1993 - 70.5 thousand). Productivity in the textile industry increased only in a number of firms. The increase in production efficiency was facilitated by the presence of highly qualified personnel (95 thousand people, mainly women) and its technical re-equipment. Factories producing woolen fabrics are concentrated in the Verviers region, while cotton and linen factories are concentrated in the Ghent region.

A significant place in the country's economy is occupied by the processing of agricultural products. Particularly noteworthy are sugar production, brewing and winemaking. Factories producing cocoa, coffee, sugar, canned olives, etc. are supplied with imported raw materials.

Antwerp is a major center for diamond processing; it surpasses Amsterdam in terms of production volume. Antwerp firms employ approximately half of the world's diamond cutters and account for almost 60% of the world's cut diamond production. Exports of precious stones, mainly diamonds, accounted for $8.5 billion in 1993, or 7.1% of the country's export value.

International trade.

Belgium is predominantly a trading country. Belgium had long followed a policy of free trade, but the need for protection and support led it to unite in 1921 in an economic union with Luxembourg, known as BLES, and then, in 1948, to unite with the Netherlands to form the Benelux. Membership of the European Coal and Steel Community (1952) and the European Economic Community (1958, now the European Union) and the signing of the Schengen Agreement (1990) pushed Belgium, along with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, towards gradual economic integration with France, Germany and Italy.

In 1996, BLES imports were estimated at $160.9 billion, exports at $170.2 billion. Trade with EU partner countries is balanced. 5/6 of all exports are manufactured products. Belgium ranks one of the first places in the world in terms of foreign trade per capita.

The leading export items in 1996 were products from the automotive, chemical, metallurgical and textile industries. Exports of food products, precious stones, and transport equipment are significant. The main import items are usually mechanical engineering products, chemical products, transport equipment and fuel. Three quarters of all trade is with EU countries, mainly Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK.

The state budget.

In 1996, government revenues were estimated at $77.6 billion, and expenses at $87.4 billion. Taxes, income and profit, amounted to 35% of revenues, deductions from the income of regions and communities - 39%, and tax on added value and excise taxes – 18%. Pension costs were 10% and debt service interest was 25% (the highest for industrialized countries). The total debt was $314.3 billion, 1/6 of which was due to foreign creditors. The debt, which was already larger than annual GDP since the early 1980s, led within a few years to cuts in spending on central and regional governments. In 1997, public debt was 122% of GDP.

Money circulation and banking.

The monetary unit since 2002 is the euro. The Belgian banking system is characterized by a high level of capital concentration, and bank mergers since the 1960s have only intensified this process. The state owns 50% of the shares of the National Bank of Belgium, which serves as the country's central bank. There are 128 banks in Belgium, of which 107 are foreign. The oldest and largest commercial bank, as well as the largest holding company in the country, is Societe Generale de Belgique. There are also specialized financial institutions - savings banks and agricultural credit funds.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Social Security.

Social Security is a combination of public and private insurance programs, although all of its branches received government subsidies. It was necessary to take strict measures to reduce these costs in order to meet the criteria required to join the European Monetary Union in 1999.

Health insurance is provided primarily by private mutual benefit societies, which pay their members up to 75% of health care costs. Such expenses are fully covered for the majority of pensioners, widows and disabled people, for inpatient treatment in hospitals, for caring for the disabled, some seriously ill people, and for obstetric care. Working women are provided with 16 weeks of paid leave for pregnancy and caring for a newborn, with 3/4 of their salary retained, and the family is paid a lump sum upon the birth of a child, and then monthly for each child. Unemployment benefits are 60% of final salary and are paid for one year.

Unions.

80% of all workers and employees are members of trade unions. There are several trade union organizations in the country. The largest of them is the General Federation of Labor of Belgium, founded in 1898 and closely associated with the socialist parties, in 1995 it had 1.2 million members. The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (1.5 million members), created in 1908, is under the influence of the CHP and the SHP. During the Second World War, it acted as a united front with the socialist trade unions against the German occupiers, and after the liberation of Brussels in 1944, it began to pursue an independent policy. Founded in 1983, the General Center of Liberal Trade Unions and the Union of Civil Servants have more than 200 thousand members each.

Culture.

The year 1830, associated with the revolutionary upsurge, turned out to be a turning point in the social life of Belgium, which was directly reflected in art. In painting, this was the heyday of the romantic school, which was replaced by impressionism. A noticeable mark was left by Georges Lemmen and James Ensor. Félicien Rops and Frans Maserel were among the best graphic artists in Europe. Among the surrealist artists, the most famous are Paul Delvaux and Rene Magritte.

Famous writers include the great romantic and symbolist poet Maurice Maeterlinck, novelist Georges Rodenbach, playwrights Michel de Gelderode and Henri Michaud, poet and playwright Emile Verhaerne. Georges Simenon, one of the prolific masters of the detective genre, the creator of the image of Commissioner Maigret, also won worldwide recognition. The most famous Belgian composer was the Liege-born Cesar Frank, an innovator in chamber music.

Many of Belgium's intellectual leaders are Flemish but identify with the French-speaking part of European civilization. Brussels, the country's largest cultural center, is essentially a French-speaking community. There are delightful old districts preserved there, examples of European Gothic and Baroque architecture - such as the Grand Place, which is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful squares in the world. At the same time, Brussels is one of the most modern cities in Europe, especially after the completion of large-scale construction carried out in connection with the International Exhibition of 1958. Among the many attractions of Brussels, the Théâtre de la Monnaie and the Théâtre du Parc (often called the third building of the Comedie Française) stand out ). The city also has famous art museums, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, the Communal Museum of Fine Arts in Ixelles, and the Royal Museum of Art and History (known for its rich Egyptian collection). The Royal National Library of Albert I contains more than 3 million volumes, including 35 thousand manuscripts (mainly medieval). This is one of the most valuable collections of its kind in Europe. Brussels has a scientific and artistic center on the Mount of Arts, where there is also a large library. The capital is home to numerous scientific institutions, such as the Royal Institute of Natural History, which has an extensive paleontological collection, and the Royal Museum of Central Africa.

Education.

The French, Flemish and German communities are responsible for education in Belgium. Education is compulsory and free for all children from 6 to 16 years of age and in evening schools until the age of 18. Illiteracy has been practically eliminated. Half of Belgian children attend private schools, most of which are run by the Catholic Church. Almost all private schools receive government subsidies.

The first stage of schooling is six-year primary school. Secondary education, the first four years of which are compulsory, is divided in most cases into three levels of two years each. About half of the students in the first and second stages receive general pedagogical training, artistic education, or undergo technical or vocational training; others undergo general training. Of the latter group, about half of the students continue to attend higher secondary school, the completion of which gives the right to enter the university.

There are 8 universities in Belgium. In the oldest state universities - in Liege and Mons - teaching is conducted in French, in Ghent and Antwerp - in Dutch. The Catholic University of Louvain, the oldest and most prestigious in Belgium, and the privately funded Free University of Brussels were bilingual until 1970, but due to increasing conflicts between Flemish and Walloon students, each of them was divided into independent Dutch- and French-speaking departments. The French department of the University of Louvain has moved to a new campus near Ottigny, located on the “linguistic frontier”. The country's colleges and universities enrolled approx. 120 thousand students.

STORY

Ancient and medieval periods.

Although Belgium was formed as an independent state in 1830, the history of the peoples inhabiting the Southern Netherlands goes back to the period of Ancient Rome. In 57 BC Julius Caesar used the name "Gallia Belgica" to refer to the territory he conquered, located between the North Sea and the rivers Waal, Rhine, Marne and Seine. Celtic tribes lived there and fiercely resisted the Romans. The most famous and numerous was the Belg tribe. After bloody wars, the lands of the Belgae were finally conquered by the Romans (51 BC) and became part of the Roman Empire. The Roman conquerors introduced the Latin language into circulation among the Belgae, a legislative system based on Roman law, and at the end of the 2nd century. Christianity spread throughout this area.

Due to the decline of the Roman Empire in the 3rd–4th centuries. The lands of the Belgae were captured by the Germanic tribes of the Franks. The Franks settled mainly in the north of the country, marking the beginning of a linguistic division between population groups of Germanic and Romance origin. This border, stretching from Cologne to Boulogne-sur-Mer, has remained virtually unchanged to this day. To the north of this line, the Flemings formed - a people related in language and culture to the Dutch, and to the south - the Walloons, close in origin and language to the French. The Frankish state reached its peak during the 46-year reign of Charlemagne (768–814). After his death, according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the Carolingian Empire was divided into three parts. The middle part, which went to Louis Lothair, who retained the imperial title, included, in addition to Italy and Burgundy, all the lands of the historical Netherlands. After the death of Lothair, the empire gradually disintegrated into many independent fiefs, the most significant of which in the north were the County of Flanders, the Duchy of Brabant and the Bishopric of Liege. Their vulnerable position between the French and German powers, which had emerged by the 11th century, played a significant, if not decisive, role in their subsequent development. Flanders contained the French threat from the south, Brabant directed efforts to conquer the Rhine trading zone and actively participated in the international trade of Flanders.

In a constant struggle against foreign interference and vassalage from the German emperors, Flanders and Brabant entered into an alliance in 1337, which laid the foundation for the further unification of the Dutch lands.

In the 13th–14th centuries. In the Southern Netherlands, cities grew rapidly, commercial farming and foreign trade developed. Large, rich cities such as Bruges, Ghent, Ypres, Dinan and Namur became self-governing communes as a result of a persistent struggle against the feudal lords. With the growth of cities, the need for food increased, agriculture became commercial, sown areas expanded, land reclamation work began, and social stratification among the peasantry worsened.

Burgundian era.

In 1369, Philip of Burgundy entered into a marriage alliance with the daughter of the Count of Flanders. This led to the extension of Burgundy's power to Flanders. From this time until 1543, when Gelderland annexed the Netherlands, the Burgundian dukes and their Habsburg successors extended their power to an increasing number of provinces in the Netherlands. Centralization increased, the power of city-communes weakened, crafts, art, architecture and science flourished. Philip the Just (1419–1467) practically reunited the lands of Lorraine within the borders of the 9th century. Burgundy became France's main rival, and at the end of the 15th century. even surpassed it when the only daughter of Charles the Bold, Mary of Burgundy, married Maximilian of Habsburg, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor. Their son married the heiress to the throne of Spain, and their grandson, Charles V, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain; he surrounded France with his vast possessions, which included the Belgian provinces. Charles V, who ruled the Netherlands from 1506 to 1555, forced the French king to cede to him a fifth of Flanders and Artois in 1526 and eventually united the Netherlands under the rule of one dynasty, annexing Utrecht, Overijssel, Groningen, Drenthe and Gelderland in 1523–1543. By the Treaty of Augsburg of 1548 and the "Pragmatic Sanction" of 1549, he united the 17 provinces of the Netherlands into an independent unit within the Holy Roman Empire.

Spanish period.

Although the Augsburg Agreement united the Netherlands, freeing the provinces from direct imperial subordination, the strong centrifugal tendencies that took place in the Netherlands and the new policy of Philip II of Spain, in whose favor Charles V abdicated the throne in 1555, hampered the development of a single, integral state. Already under Charles V, a religious and political struggle developed between the Protestant north and the Catholic south, and the laws passed by Philip II against heretics affected various segments of the population of the Netherlands. The sermons of Calvinist priests attracted an increasing number of people, and open protests began against the Catholic Church, which was accused of abuses and robbery of the people. The pomp and idleness of the royal court, with residences in Ghent and Brussels, displeased the burghers. Philip II's attempts to suppress the liberties and privileges of the cities and to govern them with the help of foreign officials, such as his chief adviser Cardinal Granvella, displeased the Dutch nobility, among whom Lutheranism and Calvinism began to spread. When Philip sent the Duke of Alba to the Netherlands in 1567 to suppress the actions of his opponents, an uprising of the opposition nobility broke out in the north, led by Prince William of Orange, who declared himself protector of the northern provinces. A long and fierce struggle against foreign rule was not crowned with success for the southern Dutch provinces: they capitulated to Philip II and remained under the rule of the Spanish crown and the Catholic Church, and Flanders and Brabant eventually submitted to the Spaniards, which was secured by the Union of Arras in 1579. The seven northern ones separated The provinces, in response to this act, signed the text of the Union of Utrecht (1579), declaring themselves independent. After the deposition of Philip II (1581), the Republic of the United Provinces arose here.

From 1579 to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, while the Republic of the United Provinces fought against Spain, England and France in European wars on land and sea, the southern provinces sought to avoid dependence on the power of the Spanish Habsburgs, the French and the Dutch. In 1579 they recognized Philip II as their sovereign, but insisted on internal political autonomy. First, the Spanish Netherlands (as the southern provinces were now called) were turned into a Spanish protectorate. The provinces retained their privileges; executive councils operated locally, which were subordinate to the governor of Philip II, Alexander Farnese.

During the reign of Philip II's daughter Isabella and her husband Archduke Albert of Habsburg, which began in 1598, the Spanish Netherlands was a separate state with dynastic ties to Spain. After the death of Albert and Isabella, who had no heirs, this territory returned again to the rule of the Spanish king. Spanish patronage and power in the 17th century provided neither security nor prosperity. For a long time, the Spanish Netherlands served as an arena for the struggle between the Habsburgs and the Bourbons. In 1648, at the Peace of Westphalia, Spain ceded parts of Flanders, Brabant and Limburg to the United Provinces and agreed to close the mouth of the Scheldt River, as a result of which Antwerp virtually ceased to exist as a seaport and trading center. In the wars against France in the second half of the 17th century. Spain lost some of the southern border regions of the Spanish Netherlands, ceding them to Louis XIV. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1713), the southern provinces became the scene of military operations. Louis XIV persistently sought to conquer these territories, but in fact for several years (until the conclusion of the Treaty of Utrecht) they were under the rule of the United Provinces and England.

Partition of the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century. increased political, religious, cultural and economic divisions between north and south. While the south, ravaged by numerous wars, continued to be under the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs and the Catholic Church, the independent north, which had adopted Calvinism, with its social and cultural values ​​and traditions, experienced rapid economic growth. For a long time there was a linguistic difference between the northern provinces, where Dutch was spoken, and the southern ones, where French was spoken. However, the political border between the Spanish Netherlands and the United Provinces lay north of the linguistic border. Most of the population of the southern provinces of Flanders and Brabant spoke Flemish, a dialect of Dutch that became even more distinct from Dutch after the political and therefore cultural separation. The economy of the Spanish Netherlands fell into complete decline, all economic ties were destroyed, and the once flourishing Flemish cities were abandoned. The darkest times in the country's history have arrived.

Austrian period.

According to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the Spanish Netherlands became part of the Austrian Habsburgs and under Charles VI became known as the Austrian Netherlands. At the same time, the United Provinces received the right to occupy eight fortresses on the border with France. The transition of the Southern Netherlands to Austria changed little in the internal life of the provinces: national autonomy and traditional institutions of the local nobility continued to exist. Neither Charles VI nor Maria Theresa, who inherited the throne in 1740, ever visited the Austrian Netherlands. They ruled the provinces through governors in Brussels in the same way as the Spanish kings did. But these lands were still the object of French territorial claims and the site of trade competition between England and the United Provinces.

Several efforts were made to revive the depleted economy of the Austrian Netherlands - the most notable was the creation in 1722 of the East India Company, which carried out 12 expeditions to India and China, but due to competition from the Dutch and English East India Companies and pressure from governments both countries were dissolved in 1731. Joseph II, Maria Theresa's eldest son, who ascended the throne in 1780, made several attempts to reform the system of internal government, as well as reforms in the fields of law, social policy, education and the church. However, the energetic reforms of Joseph II were doomed to failure. The emperor's desire for strict centralization and the desire to go ahead in achieving his goals led to growing resistance to reforms from various segments of the population. Joseph II's religious reforms, which undermined the establishment of the dominant Catholic Church, provoked opposition throughout the 1780s, and his changes to the administrative system in 1787, which were supposed to deprive the country's inhabitants of local institutions of power and national autonomy, became the spark that led to the revolution.

Brabant and Hainault refused to pay taxes to the Austrians in 1788, and the next year a general uprising broke out, the so-called. Brabant revolution. In August 1789, the population of Brabant rebelled against the Austrian authorities, and as a result, in December 1789, almost the entire territory of the Belgian provinces was liberated from the Austrians. In January 1790, the National Congress proclaimed the creation of the independent state of the United Belgian States. However, the new government, consisting of representatives of the conservative aristocratic party "Nootists", who enjoyed the support of the Catholic clergy, was overthrown by Leopold II, who became emperor in February 1790 after the death of his brother Joseph II.

French period.

The Belgians, once again ruled by foreigners, looked with hope to the development of the revolution in France. However, they were greatly disappointed when, as a result of long-term Austro-French rivalry (the Belgians sided with the French), the Belgian provinces (from October 1795) were included in France. Thus began a period of 20 years of French domination.

Although Napoleon's reforms had a positive impact on the development of the economy of the Belgian provinces (the abolition of internal customs and the liquidation of workshops, the entry of Belgian goods into the French market), continuous wars, accompanied by conscription calls, and increased taxes caused massive discontent among the Belgians, and the desire for national independence fueled anti-French sentiments. moods. However, the relatively short period of French domination played a very important role in Belgium's progress towards independence. The main achievement of this period was the destruction of the estate-feudal order, the introduction of progressive French legislation, administrative and judicial structure. The French declared freedom of navigation on the Scheldt, which had been closed for 144 years.

Belgian provinces within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

After Napoleon's final defeat in 1815 at Waterloo, by the will of the heads of the victorious powers who gathered at the Congress of Vienna, all the provinces of the historical Netherlands were united into a large buffer state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. His task was to prevent possible French expansion. The son of the last Stadtholder of the United Provinces, William V, Prince William of Orange, was proclaimed sovereign sovereign of the Netherlands under the name of William I.

The union with the Netherlands provided certain economic benefits to the southern provinces. The more developed agriculture of Flanders and Brabant and the prosperous industrial cities of Wallonia developed thanks to Dutch maritime trade, which gave southerners access to markets in the overseas colonies of the mother country. But in general, the Dutch government pursued economic policy exclusively in the interests of the northern part of the country. Although the southern provinces had at least 50% more inhabitants than the northern ones, they had the same number of representatives in the States General and were given a small number of military, diplomatic and ministerial posts. The short-sighted policies of the Protestant King William I in the field of religion and education, which included granting equality to all faiths and the creation of a system of secular primary education, caused discontent in the Catholic south. In addition, Dutch became the official language of the country, strict censorship was introduced and the creation of various types of organizations and associations was prohibited. A number of laws of the new state caused massive discontent among the population of the southern provinces. Flemish traders resented the advantages their Dutch counterparts had. The indignation was even greater among Walloon industrialists, who felt disadvantaged by Dutch laws that could not protect the nascent industry from competition.

In 1828, the two main Belgian parties, Catholics and Liberals, spurred by the policies of William I, formed a united national front. This alliance, called “unionism,” was maintained for almost 20 years and became the main engine of the struggle for independence.

Independent State: 1830–1847.

The July Revolution of 1830 in France inspired the Belgians. On August 25, 1830, a series of spontaneous anti-Dutch protests began in Brussels and Liege, which then quickly spread throughout the south. At first, not all Belgians favored complete political separation from the Netherlands; some wanted his son, the popular Prince of Orange, to become king instead of William I, while others demanded only administrative autonomy. However, the growing influence of French liberalism and the Brabant national spirit, as well as the harsh military actions and repressive measures of William I, changed the situation.

When Dutch troops entered the southern provinces in September, they were greeted as invaders. What was merely an attempt to expel Dutch officials and troops became a concerted movement towards a free and independent state. Elections to the National Congress took place in November. Congress accepted the declaration of independence drawn up in October by the provisional government led by Charles Rogier and began work on a constitution. The constitution came into force in February. The country was declared a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament. Those who paid taxes of a certain amount had the right to vote, and wealthy citizens received the right to several votes. Executive power was exercised by the king and the prime minister, who had to be approved by parliament. Legislative power was divided between the king, parliament and ministers. The fruit of the new constitution was a centralized bourgeois state, which combined liberal ideas and conservative institutions, supported by an alliance of the middle classes and the nobility.

Meanwhile, the question of who would be the king of Belgium became the subject of widespread international discussion and diplomatic battles (a conference of ambassadors was even convened in London). When the Belgian National Congress elected Louis Philippe's son, the new French king, as king, the British protested and the conference considered the proposal inappropriate. A few months later, the Belgians named the relative of the English queen, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg from Gotha. He was an acceptable figure to the French and English and became King of the Belgians on July 21, 1831 under the name of Leopold I.

The treaty to regulate the separation of Belgium from the Netherlands, drawn up at the London Conference, did not receive approval from William I, and the Dutch army again crossed the Belgian border. The European powers, with the help of French troops, forced her to retreat, but William I again rejected the revised text of the treaty. A truce was concluded in 1833. Finally, in April 1839 in London, all parties signed agreements on the most important points on the borders and division of the internal financial debt of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Belgium was forced to pay part of the military expenses of the Netherlands, to cede parts of Luxembourg and Limburg and Maastricht.

In 1831, Belgium was declared by the European powers to be an "independent and eternally neutral state", and the Netherlands only recognized Belgium's independence and neutrality in 1839. Britain fought to preserve Belgium as a European country, free from foreign influence. At the initial stage, Belgium was “helped” by the Polish revolution of 1830, since it diverted the attention of the Russians and Austrians - potential allies of the Netherlands, who otherwise could have helped William I re-occupy Belgium.

The first 15 years of independence demonstrated the continuation of the policy of unionism and the emergence of the monarchy as a symbol of unity and loyalty. Almost until the economic crisis of the mid-1840s, the coalition of Catholics and liberals pursued a single domestic and foreign policy. Leopold I turned out to be a competent ruler, who also had connections and influence in European royal houses, especially good relations were established with his niece, Queen Victoria of England.

Period from 1840 to 1914.

Mid and late 19th century. were marked by the unusually rapid development of Belgian industry; Until approximately 1870, the new country, along with Great Britain, occupied one of the first places among the industrialized countries of the world. Mechanical engineering, the coal mining industry, and the construction of state railways and canals acquired a large scale in Belgium. The abolition of protectionism in 1849, the creation of a national bank in 1835, and the restoration of Antwerp as a center of trade - all this contributed to the rapid industrial growth in Belgium.

Belgium experienced outbreaks of the Orange movement in the 1830s, and the difficult economic situation in the mid-1840s had a particularly hard impact on agriculture. Nevertheless, Belgium managed to avoid the revolutionary unrest that swept across Europe in 1848, partly thanks to the adoption in 1847 of a law lowering the voting qualification.

By the middle of the 19th century. the liberal bourgeoisie could no longer act as a united front with Catholic conservatives. The subject of dispute was the education system. Liberals, who favored formal secular schools in which the course of religion was replaced by a course of morality, had a majority in Parliament from 1847 to 1870. From 1870 to 1914 (except for the five years between 1879 and 1884), the Catholic Party was in power. Liberals managed to pass through parliament a law providing for the separation of schools from the church (1879). However, it was abolished by Catholics in 1884 and religious disciplines were returned to the primary school curriculum. The Catholics consolidated their power in 1893 by passing a law granting the right to vote to all adult men over 25, a clear win for the Catholic party.

In 1879, the Belgian Socialist Party was founded in Belgium, on the basis of which the Belgian Workers' Party (BWP), led by Emile Vandervelde, was formed in April 1885. The BRP abandoned the revolutionary struggle, being strongly influenced by Proudhonism and anarchism, and chose the tactics of achieving its goals through parliamentary means. In alliance with progressive Catholics and liberals, the BRP managed to push a number of democratic reforms through parliament. Laws were passed regarding housing, workers' compensation, factory inspection, and child and female labor. Strikes in industrial areas in the late 1880s brought Belgium to the brink of civil war. In many cities there were clashes between workers and troops, and there were killed and wounded. Unrest also spread to military units. The scale of the movement forced the clerical government to make some concessions. This concerned, first of all, amendments to the law on electoral rights and labor legislation.

Belgium's involvement in the colonial division of Africa during the reign of Leopold II (1864–1909) laid the foundations for another conflict. The Congo Free State had no official relations with Belgium, and Leopold II persuaded the European powers at the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, where the question of the partition of Africa was decided, to place him as autocratic monarch at the head of this independent state. To do this, he needed to obtain the consent of the Belgian parliament, since the constitution of 1831 prohibited the king from being simultaneously the head of another state. Parliament adopted this decision by a majority vote. In 1908, Leopold II ceded the rights to the Congo to the Belgian state, and from that time on the Congo became a Belgian colony.

A serious conflict arose between the Walloons and the Flemings. The Flemish demands were that French and Flemish be equally recognized as the state languages. A cultural movement arose and developed in Flanders, exalting the Flemish past and its glorious historical traditions. In 1898, a law was passed confirming the principle of “bilingualism”, after which the texts of laws, inscriptions on postage and revenue stamps, banknotes and coins appeared in two languages.

World War I.

Due to its insecure borders and geographical location at the crossroads of Europe, Belgium remained vulnerable to possible attacks by more powerful powers. The guarantees of neutrality and independence of Belgium from Great Britain, France, Prussia, Russia and Austria, provided by the Treaty of London of 1839, rather turned it into a hostage of the complex diplomatic game of European politicians. This guarantee of neutrality was in effect for 75 years. However, by 1907 Europe was divided into two opposing camps. Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary united in the Triple Alliance. France, Russia and Great Britain were united by the Triple Entente: these countries feared German expansion in Europe and the colonies. Increasing tensions between neighboring countries - France and Germany - contributed to the fact that neutral Belgium became one of the first victims of the First World War.

On August 2, 1914, the German government presented an ultimatum demanding that German troops be allowed to pass through Belgium to France. The Belgian government refused, and on August 4 Germany invaded Belgium. Thus began four years of destructive occupation. On the territory of Belgium, the Germans created a “government general” and brutally suppressed the Resistance Movement. The population suffered from indemnities and robberies. Belgian industry was completely dependent on exports, so the severance of foreign trade relations during the occupation led to the collapse of the country's economy. In addition, the Germans encouraged division among the Belgians by supporting extremist and separatist Flemish groups.

Interwar period.

The agreements reached at the peace negotiations at the end of the war contained both positive and negative aspects for Belgium. Under the Treaty of Versailles, the eastern districts of Eupen and Malmedy were returned, but the more desirable Duchy of Luxembourg remained an independent state. After the war, Belgium actually abandoned its neutrality, signing a military agreement with France in 1920, occupying the Ruhr region with it in 1923 and signing the Locarno Treaties in 1925. According to the last of them, the so-called. The Rhine Guarantee Pact, the western borders of Germany, defined by the Treaty of Versailles, were confirmed by the heads of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium.

Until the end of the 1930s, Belgians' attention was focused on internal problems. It was necessary to eliminate the severe destruction caused during the war, in particular, it was necessary to restore most of the country's factories. The reconstruction of enterprises, as well as the payment of pensions to veterans and compensation for damage, required large financial resources, and the attempt to obtain them through emissions led to a high level of inflation. The country also suffered from unemployment. Only the cooperation of the three main political parties prevented the domestic political situation from becoming more complicated. In 1929 the economic crisis began. Banks burst, unemployment grew rapidly, and production fell. The "Belgian New Economic Policy", which began to be implemented in 1935 mainly thanks to the efforts of Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland, marked the beginning of the country's economic revival.

The rise of fascism in Europe in general and the economic collapse contributed to the formation in Belgium of such far-right political groups as Leon Degrelle's Rexists (Belgian fascist party), and such extremist Flemish nationalist organizations as the National Union of Flemings (with an anti-French and authoritarian bent). In addition, the main political parties split into Flemish and Walloon factions. By 1936, the lack of internal unity led to the annulment of agreements with France. Belgium chose to act independently of the European powers. This change in Belgian foreign policy greatly weakened the French position, as the French hoped for joint action with the Belgians to protect their northern border and therefore did not extend the Maginot Line to the Atlantic.

The Second World War.

On May 10, 1940, German troops invaded Belgium without declaring war. The Belgian army surrendered on May 28, 1940, and the second four-year German occupation began. King Leopold III, who in 1934 inherited the throne from his father, Albert I, remained in Belgium and became a German prisoner at Laeken Castle. The Belgian government, led by Hubert Pierlot, emigrated to London and formed a new cabinet there. Many of its members, as well as many Belgians, questioned the king's claim that he was in Belgium to protect his people, mitigate Nazi brutality, be a symbol of national resistance and unity, and questioned the constitutionality of his actions.

Leopold III's behavior during the war became the main cause of the post-war political crisis and actually led to the king's abdication of the throne. In September 1944, the Allies occupied Belgian territory, expelling the German occupation forces. Returning from exile, Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot convened parliament, which, in the absence of Leopold III, elected his brother Prince Charles as regent of the kingdom.

Post-war reconstruction and European integration.

Belgium emerged from the war with its industrial potential largely intact. Therefore, industrial areas in the south of the country were quickly modernized with the help of American and Canadian loans and Marshall Plan financing. While the south was recovering, the development of coal deposits began in the north, and the capacity of the port of Antwerp was expanded (partly through foreign investment, and partly through the capital of already quite powerful Flemish financial companies). Congo's rich uranium deposits, which became especially important during the nuclear age, also contributed to Belgium's economic prosperity.

The recovery of the Belgian economy was also facilitated by the new movement for European unity. Such well-known Belgian politicians as Paul-Henri Spaak and Jean Rey made a great contribution to the convening and holding of the first pan-European conferences.

In 1948, Belgium joined the Western Union and joined the American Marshall Plan, and in 1949 joined NATO.

Problems of the post-war period.

The post-war years are characterized by the aggravation of several political problems: dynastic (the return of King Leopold III to Belgium), the struggle between church and state for influence on school education, the growth of the national liberation movement in the Congo and a fierce war on linguistic grounds between the Flemish and French communities.

Until August 1949, the country was ruled by governments consisting of representatives of all major parties - socialists, social Christians, liberals and (until 1947) communists. The cabinets were headed by the socialists Achille van Acker (1945–1946), Camille Huysmans (1946–1947) and Paul-Henri Spaak (1947–1949). In the parliamentary elections of 1949, the Social Christian Party (SCP) won, which received 105 of 212 seats in the House of Representatives and an absolute majority in the Senate. After this, a government of Social Christians and Liberals was formed, led by Gaston Eyskens (1949–1950) and Jean Duviesard (1950).

King Leopold III's decision to become a German prisoner of war and his forced absence from the country at the time of its liberation led to strong condemnation of his actions, especially from the Walloon socialists. The Belgians debated for five years the right of Leopold III to return to his homeland. In July 1945, the Belgian parliament passed a law according to which the king was deprived of the prerogatives of the sovereign and he was prohibited from returning to Belgium. The Walloons were particularly concerned about the king's activities during the war and even accused him of collaborating with the Nazis. They also resented his marriage to Lilian Bals, the daughter of a prominent Flemish politician. A national referendum in 1950 showed that the majority of Belgians were in favor of the return of the king. However, many of those who supported the king lived in the north, and the vote led to considerable divisions in society.

The arrival of King Leopold in Brussels on July 22, 1950 caused violent protests, strikes involving up to half a million people, rallies and demonstrations. The government sent troops and gendarmerie against the protesters. Socialist trade unions planned to march on Brussels. As a result, an agreement was reached between the SHP, which supported the monarch, on the one hand, and the socialists and liberals, on the other. Leopold III refused the throne in favor of his son.

In the summer of 1950, early parliamentary elections were held, during which the SHP received 108 of 212 seats in the House of Representatives, while maintaining an absolute majority in the Senate. In subsequent years, the country was governed by the social-Christian cabinets of Joseph Folien (1950–1952) and Jean van Goutte (1952–1954).

The "Royal Crisis" escalated again in July 1951, when Leopold III was due to return to the throne. Protests resumed, escalating into violent clashes. Ultimately, the monarch abdicated the throne and his son Baudouin (1951–1993) ascended the throne.

Another issue that threatened Belgian unity in the 1950s was the conflict over government subsidies for private (Catholic) schools. After the general elections of 1954, the country was governed by a coalition of the Belgian Socialist and Liberal parties led by A. van Acker (1954–1958). In 1955, socialists and liberals united against Catholics to pass legislation that cut spending on private schools. Supporters of different points of view on the problem held mass demonstrations in the streets. Ultimately, after the Social Christian (Catholic) Party headed the government in 1958, a compromise law was developed that limited the share of parish church institutions financed from the state budget.

After the success of the SHP in the general elections of 1958, a coalition of Social Christians and liberals led by G. Eyskens (1958–1961) was in power.

The temporary balance of power was upset by the decision to grant independence to the Congo. The Belgian Congo was an important source of income for Belgium, especially for a small number of large, mainly Belgian companies (such as the Haut-Katanga Mining Union), in which the Belgian government owned a significant number of shares. Fearing a repetition of France's sad experience in Algeria, Belgium granted independence to the Congo on June 30, 1960.

The loss of the Congo caused economic difficulties in Belgium. To strengthen the economy, the coalition government, consisting of representatives of the Social Christian and Liberal parties, adopted a program of austerity. Socialists opposed this program and called for a general strike. Unrest spread throughout the country, especially in the Walloon south. The Flemings refused to join the Walloons and boycotted the strike. The Flemish socialists, who had initially welcomed the strike, were frightened by the unrest and withdrew their further support. The strike ended, but the crisis exacerbated tensions between the Flemings and Walloons to such an extent that Socialist leaders proposed that the unitary state of Belgium be replaced by a loose federation of three regions - Flanders, Wallonia and the area around Brussels.

This division between the Walloons and the Flemings became the most difficult problem in modern Belgium. Before World War I, the dominance of the French language reflected the economic and political supremacy of the Walloons, who controlled both local and national governments and major parties. But after 1920, especially after World War II, a number of changes occurred. The expansion of suffrage in 1919 (women were deprived of it until 1948) and laws in the 1920s and 1930s that established equality between the Flemish and French languages ​​and made Flemish the language of government in Flanders strengthened the position of the northerners.

Dynamic industrialization turned Flanders into a prosperous region, while Wallonia experienced economic decline. The higher birth rate in the north contributed to the increase in the proportion of Flemings in the Belgian population. In addition, the Flemish population played a prominent role in the political life of the country; some Flemings received important government posts that had previously been occupied by the Walloons.

After the general strike of 1960–1961, the government was forced to hold early elections, which brought defeat to the SHP. However, the Social Christians entered a new coalition cabinet led by the socialist Théodore Lefebvre (1961–1965). In 1965, the government of the SHP and BSP was headed by the social Christian Pierre Armel (1965–1966).

In 1966, new social conflicts broke out in Belgium. During a miners' strike in the province of Limburg, police dispersed a workers' demonstration; two people were killed and dozens were injured. The Socialists left the government coalition, and the cabinet of the SHP and the liberal Freedom and Progress Party (PSP) came to power. It was headed by Prime Minister Paul van den Buynants (1966–1968). The government has reduced funds allocated for education, health care, social security, and also increased taxes.

The early elections of 1968 seriously changed the balance of political forces. The SHP and the Socialists lost a significant number of seats in parliament. Success accompanied the regional parties - the Flemish People's Union (founded in 1954), which received almost 10% of the votes, and the bloc of the Democratic Front of Francophones and the Walloon Rally, which collected 6% of the votes. The leader of the Flemish Social Christians (Christian People's Party) G. Eyskens formed a government consisting of the CPP, SHP and Socialists, which remained in power after the 1971 elections.

The coalition was undermined by persistent disagreements over the "language question", the boundaries between the Flemish and Walloon regions, as well as worsening economic difficulties and strikes. At the end of 1972, the government of G. Eyskens fell. In 1973, a government was formed from representatives of all three major movements - the socialists, the Christian People's Party, the French-speaking SHP and the liberals; BSP member Edmond Leburton (1973–1974) took over as Prime Minister. The new cabinet increased salaries and pensions, introduced state subsidies for private schools, created regional administrative bodies and took measures to develop the cultural autonomy of the Walloon and Flemish provinces. Continued economic difficulties, rising inflation, as well as objections from Christian parties and liberals to the creation of a state-owned Belgian-Iranian oil company led to early elections in 1974. They did not noticeably change the balance of power in parliament, but led to a change in power. The government formed by CPP leader Leo Tindemans (1974–1977) included representatives of Christian parties, liberals, and, for the first time, ministers from the regionalist Walloon Union. The coalition was constantly rocked by disagreements between partners regarding the purchase of military aircraft, consolidation of lower administrative units - communes, funding of universities and measures to revive the economy. The latter included increases in prices and taxes, cuts in social and cultural spending, and increased investment and assistance to businesses. In 1977, trade unions held a general strike of protest. Then the Walloon regionalists left the government, and early elections had to be held again. After them, L. Tindemans formed a new cabinet, which included, in addition to Christian parties and successful socialists, regional parties of Flanders (People's Union) and Brussels (Democratic Front of Francophones). The government promised to improve the economic and social climate in the country, as well as, within four years, to prepare legislative measures to ensure the autonomy of the Walloon and Flemish communities and the creation of three equal regions within Belgium - Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels ( Communities Pact). The latter project, however, was rejected by the HPP as unconstitutional, and Tindemans resigned in 1978. P. van den Buynants formed a transitional government, which held early elections that did not lead to a noticeable change in the balance of power. CPP leader Wilfried Martens headed in April 1979 a cabinet of Christian and socialist parties from both parts of the country, as well as representatives of the DFF (left in October). Despite the remaining sharp differences between the Flemish and Walloon parties, he began to implement reforms.

Laws of 1962 and 1963 established a precise linguistic boundary, but hostilities persisted and regional divisions intensified. Both Flemings and Walloons protested against discrimination in employment, and unrest broke out at the universities of Brussels and Louvain, eventually leading to the division of the universities along linguistic lines. Although the Christian Democrats and Socialists remained the main rivals for power throughout the 1960s, both Flemish and Walloon federalists continued to make gains in general elections, largely at the expense of the Liberals. Eventually separate Flemish and Walloon ministries of education, culture and economic development were created. In 1971, a revision of the constitution paved the way for the introduction of regional self-government in resolving most economic and cultural issues.

On the way to federalism.

Despite the change in the previous policy of centralization, federalist parties opposed the course towards regional autonomy. Repeated attempts to transfer real legislative power to regional bodies were hampered by a dispute over the geographical boundaries of the Brussels Region. In 1980, agreement was reached on the issue of autonomy for Flanders and Wallonia, and additional amendments to the constitution expanded the financial and legislative powers of the regions. This was followed by the creation of two regional assemblies, consisting of existing members of the national parliament from the constituencies in their respective regions.

Wilfried Martens headed the Belgian government until 1991 (with a break of several months in 1981, when Mark Eyskens was Prime Minister). The ruling cabinets, in addition to both Christian parties (CNP and SHP), alternately included Flemish and French-speaking socialists (1979–1981, 1988–1991), liberals (1980, 1981–1987), and the People's Union (1988–1991). The rise in oil prices in 1980 dealt a severe blow to Belgian trade and employment. Rising energy prices have led to the closure of many steel, shipbuilding and textile enterprises. Given the current situation, parliament granted Martens special powers: in 1982–1984, the franc was devalued, wages and prices were frozen.

The aggravation of national contradictions in the small district of Le Furon led in 1987 to the resignation of the Martens government. The population of Le Furon, part of the Walloon province of Liege, opposed the administration of Flemish Limburg that governed it, demanding that the mayor be equally proficient in the two official languages. The French-speaking mayor, who was elected, refused to learn Dutch. After the next elections, Martens formed a government, inviting the socialists into it on the condition that they would not support Mayor Furon.

NATO's plan to station 48 US long-range missiles in Wallonia caused public concern, and the government approved the deployment of only 16 of the 48 missiles. In protest against the deployment of American missiles, extremist organizations carried out a series of terrorist attacks in 1984–1985.

Belgium took part in the Gulf War of 1990–1991 only through the provision of humanitarian assistance.

In 1989, Brussels elected a regional assembly, which had the same status as the assemblies of Flanders and Wallonia. Further constitutional controversy arose when King Baudouin asked in 1990 to be relieved of his duties for one day in order to avoid giving royal assent to a law allowing abortion (although the ban on abortion had long been ignored). Parliament granted the king's request, approved the bill, and thus saved the king from conflict with the Catholics.

In 1991, the Martens government held early elections after the exit of the Flemish People's Union party, which protested against the extension of export benefits for Walloon arms factories. In the new parliament, the positions of the Christian and socialist parties weakened somewhat, and the liberals expanded their representation. Success accompanied the environmentalists, as well as the far-right Vlaams Bloc party. The latter waged a campaign against immigration, which intensified after protests by North African immigrants and riots in Brussels in May 1991.

The new government of Christian parties and socialists was headed by the representative of the Christian People's Party, Jean-Luc Dean. It promised to halve the budget deficit, reduce military spending and implement further federalization.

The Dean government (1992–1999) sharply cut public spending and raised taxes to reduce the budget deficit to 3% of GNP, as envisaged by the EU's Maastricht Accords. Additional revenues were obtained through the privatization of state-owned enterprises, etc.

In April 1993, parliament approved the last two of 34 planned amendments to the constitution, which provided for the transformation of the kingdom into a federation of three autonomous regions - Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. The transition to federation took place officially on May 8, 1993. The Belgian parliamentary system also underwent changes. From now on, all deputies were subject to direct election not only at the federal but also at the regional level. The House of Representatives was reduced from 212 to 150 deputies and was supposed to serve as the highest legislative authority. The reduced size of the Senate was intended to serve, first of all, to resolve conflicts between regions. The latter received broad powers in the field of agriculture, science, social policy, environmental protection, as well as the right to conclude international treaties, participate more widely in foreign trade and introduce their own taxes. The German linguistic community was part of Wallonia, but retained independence in matters of culture, youth policy, education and tourism.

In 1993, environmentalists achieved a fundamental decision to introduce an environmental tax. However, its actual implementation was repeatedly postponed.

In the mid-1990s, the country's crisis deepened due to government efforts to reduce the budget deficit and a series of scandals involving leaders of the ruling Socialist Party and police officials. Strict austerity measures and ever-increasing unemployment caused widespread labor unrest, which was fueled by the closure in 1997 of large steel plants in Wallonia and the Belgian car assembly plant of the French company Renault. In the 1990s, problems related to the former Belgian colonies resurfaced. Relations with Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo) became strained again in the early 1990s due to a dispute over the refinancing of Zaire's debt to Belgium and allegations of corruption against a number of officials who put pressure on the Zairean government. Belgium was drawn into a serious conflict that caused disasters in Rwanda (the former Belgian colony of Ruanda-Urundi) in 1990–1994.

Belgium at the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st centuries.

In the fall of 1993, the government introduced Global Plan for Employment, Competitiveness and Social Security. It included the implementation of “austerity” measures: increasing VAT, property taxes, reducing child benefits, increasing payments to the pension fund, reducing medical expenses, etc. In 1995–1996, no real wage growth was envisaged. In response, strikes began, and in October 1993 a general strike took place. The government agreed to increase wages and pensions by 1%. The position of the ruling coalition was weakened by scandals in the Socialist Party; a number of its leading figures (including the deputy prime minister, the head of the Walloon government and the Walloon minister of the interior, the Belgian foreign minister) were accused of corruption and were forced to resign in 1994–1995. The same thing happened with the Minister of Defense, a member of the KNP. In the local elections in 1994, success accompanied the far-right parties Vlaams Bloc (28% of the vote in Antwerp) and the National Front.

In 1994, the Belgian government decided to abolish universal conscription and introduce a professional army. In 1996, Belgium was the last EU country to abolish the death penalty.

In the early parliamentary elections of 1995, despite the losses of the Walloon Socialists, the ruling coalition remained in power. In total, out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, Christian parties won 40 seats, socialists - 41, liberals - 39, environmentalists - 12, the Flemish bloc - 11, the People's Union -5 and the National Front - 2 seats. At the same time, the first direct elections to the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and the German Community took place. Prime Minister Dean formed a new government. It continued its policies of cutting government social spending, layoffs in the public sector, privatizing state-owned enterprises, selling gold reserves, and increasing VAT. These measures met resistance from trade unions, which again resorted to strikes (especially in transport). In May 1996, Parliament granted the Cabinet of Ministers emergency powers to take measures to increase employment, carry out social security reform and fiscal policy. At the same time, measures were taken to limit immigration and reduce opportunities for obtaining asylum in Belgium.

Since 1996, the country has been rocked by new scandals. The revelation of child sexual abuse and murder (the case of Marc Dutroux, who was involved in child pornography) revealed the involvement of influential persons from the spheres of politics, police and justice. The removal of judge Jean-Marc Connerot, who presided over the case, sparked widespread outrage, strikes, demonstrations and attacks on justice buildings. The king joined in criticizing the actions of the police and justice. On October 20, 1996, the largest protest demonstration in the history of Belgium took place - the “White March”, in which up to 350 thousand people took part.

The crisis was aggravated by scandals in the Walloon Socialist Party. A number of party figures were accused of organizing the murder of its chairman Andree Kools in 1991. Police arrested the former leader of the party's parliamentary faction and the former head of the Walloon government for accepting bribes from the French military concern Dassault; The chairman of the regional parliament resigned. In 1998, the court sentenced 12 prominent politicians in this case to suspended prison sentences ranging from 3 months to 3 years. The public reacted strongly to the expulsion of a Negirian refugee in 1998.

Socialist Interior Minister Louis Tobback was forced to resign from his post, and his successor was forced to promise to make asylum policy “more humane.”

In 1999, a new scandal followed, this time an environmental one, when dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered in chicken eggs and meat. The EU Commission imposed a ban on the purchase of Belgian food products, and the ministers of agriculture and health resigned. In addition, hazardous substances were discovered in Coca-Cola products in Belgium.

Numerous scandals ultimately led to the defeat of the ruling coalition in the parliamentary elections in 1999. The socialists and Christian parties suffered a heavy defeat, losing 8 seats each in the House of Representatives (they gained 33 and 32 seats, respectively). For the first time, the liberals who stood in the opposition came out on top, and together with the Democratic Front of Francophones and the Citizens' Movement for Change, they received 41 seats in the Chamber. Environmentalists almost doubled the number of votes cast for them (20 seats). The People's Union received 8 seats. The ultra-right also strengthened (15 seats went to the Vlaams Bloc, 1 to the National Front).

Flemish liberal Guy Verhofstadt formed a government with the participation of liberal, socialist and environmental parties (the so-called “rainbow coalition”).

Verhofstadt was born in 1953, studied law at Ghent University and worked as a lawyer. In 1976 he joined the Flemish liberal Party of Freedom and Progress, in 1979 he headed its youth organization, and in 1982 he became chairman of the party, which in 1992 was transformed into the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (FLD) party. In 1985 he was first elected to parliament, and in 1987 he became deputy head of government and budget minister in the Martens government. Since 1992, Verhofstadt has been a senator, and in 1995 he was elected vice-chairman. After failure in the 1995 parliamentary elections, he resigned as chairman of the FLD party, but again headed it in 1997.

The “rainbow” government gave tens of thousands of immigrants the opportunity to legalize, strengthened environmental controls over food quality, and recognized Belgium’s responsibility for policies in Africa that caused numerous casualties in Rwanda and the former Belgian Congo. In 2003, the Verhofstadt government did not support the US-British military intervention in Iraq. His continuation of tough economic and social policies (including pension reform) continued to cause discontent among the population. However, the liberal and socialist parties managed to emerge victorious in the 2003 general elections: the former won 49 seats in the House of Representatives, the latter – 48. The third partner in the ruling coalition, the environmentalists, suffered a crushing defeat this time, losing almost two-thirds of the votes. Flemish environmentalists generally lost representation in parliament, and Walloons received only 4 seats in the House of Representatives. The position of Christian parties weakened, losing 3 seats. But success again accompanied the ultra-right (FB won 12% of the vote and 18 seats in the Chamber, the National Front - 1 place). 1 mandate went to the New Flemish Alliance. After the elections, G. Verhofstadt remained at the head of the government, in which ministers from the liberal and socialist parties participate.

In June 2004, the high-profile trial of the century took place in Belgium. Serial killer Marc Dutroux was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping six girls and murdering four of them.

In November 2004, the nationalist political party Vlaams Bloc was declared racist and was subsequently disbanded. After 2004, the Vlemish Bloc was renamed the Vlemish Interest party, and the party program was adjusted and became more moderate.

Parliamentary elections took place in June 2007. The ruling coalition did not get the required number of votes. The Liberal Democrats won 18 seats, the Christian Democrats - 30 seats, the Flemish Interest - 17 seats, the Reform Movement - 23 seats, the Socialist Party (Wallonia) - 20 seats, the Socialist Party (Flanders) - 14 seats. Prime Minister Verhofstadt resigned after the defeat.

The most likely candidate for the post of prime minister, the leader of the Christian Democrats, Yves Leterme, was unable to agree on the creation of a coalition. He advocated the transfer of greater autonomy to the regions, but inter-party disputes over the transfer of powers led to a political impasse that lasted 9 months, and from then on the country began a political crisis.

The political crisis is also caused by the problem of the constituency Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. The essence of this problem lies in the peculiarities of the federal structure of Belgium. There are two types of federal subjects operating in parallel in the country – regions and communities. Belgium is divided into three regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) and three cultural communities (French, Flemish and German-speaking). Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde includes the territory of two regions: Brussels and part of Flanders. Halle-Vilvoorde is a district adjacent to Brussels in the province of Flemish Brabant, where a large French-speaking population lives. Thus, French speakers living in Flanders have special rights. They vote on Brussels electoral lists, not local ones. This issue was submitted for consideration to the Constitutional Court. In 2007 he ruled that the current electoral system does not comply with the Belgian constitution. Flemish politicians believe that this electoral system is discriminatory. But at present there is no solution to the problem, because... There is no common position among Flemish and Walloon politicians.

In December 2007, Verhofstadt was re-sworn in as caretaker prime minister. Negotiations between parliamentary parties continued. In March 2008, Yves Leterme became prime minister, and a government was formed in the same month. Proposals for constitutional reform to end the political impasse were due to be considered in the summer of 2008. In December 2008, Leterme resigned. The reason for the resignation was not a political crisis, but a financial scandal related to the sale of the banking and insurance group Fortis to the French bank BNP Paribas. That same year, Herman van Rompuy, leader of the Christian Democratic Party, became prime minister.

On June 13, 2010, early parliamentary elections took place. The largest number of votes (17.29%) were received by the New Flemish Alliance party (party leader - Bart De Wever) and the Walloon Socialist Party (14%) (leader - Elio di Rupo). However, a coalition government was never formed. Parliamentarians again failed to agree on a plan to reform the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency.

In December 2011, the cabinet of ministers was finally formed. Elio Di Rupo became Prime Minister. The coalition government included about 20 people, members from 6 parties. An inter-party agreement was signed, the text of which amounted to 200 pages.

In July 2013, King Albert II abdicated the throne in favor of his son Philip.

Literature:

Namazova A.S. Belgian Revolution of 1830 M., 1979
Aksenova L.A. Belgium. M., 1982
Gavrilova I.V. Economy of Belgium in the European Community. M., 1983
Drobkov V.A. At the crossroads of roads, cultures, stories. Essays on Belgium and Luxembourg. M., 1989
Country of the Blue Bird. Russians in Belgium. M., 1995



Terrain.

Belgium has three natural regions: the Ardennes Mountains, the low central plateaus and the coastal plains. The Ardennes Mountains are the western extension of the Rhine Slate Mountains and are composed predominantly of Paleozoic limestones and sandstones. The summit surfaces are highly leveled as a result of long-term erosion and denudation. During the Alpine era they experienced uplift, especially in the east, where the Tay and High Fenn plateaus are located, exceeding 500–600 m at sea level. The highest point of the country is Mount Botrange (694 m) on the High Fenne. Rivers, especially the Meuse and its tributaries, cut through the plateau-like surfaces, resulting in the formation of the deep valleys and hilly interfluves characteristic of the Ardennes.

The low central plateaus run northwest from the Ardennes across the country from Mons to Liege. The average heights here are 100–200 m, the surface is undulating. Often the border between the Ardennes and the central plateaus is confined to the narrow valleys of the Meuse and Sambre.

The coastal lowland, which extends along the North Sea coast, covers the territory of Flanders and Campina. Within maritime Flanders, it is a perfectly flat surface, protected from tides and floods by a barrier of sand dunes and dikes. In the past, there were extensive swamps, which were drained in the Middle Ages and turned into arable land. In the interior of Flanders there are plains 50–100 m above sea level. The Campin region, located northeast of Belgium, forms the southern part of the vast Meuse-Rhine delta.

Climate

Belgium is temperate maritime. It receives high rainfall and moderate temperatures throughout the year, allowing most of the country to grow vegetables for 9–11 months of the year. The average annual precipitation is 800–1000 mm. The sunniest months are April and September. The average January temperature in Flanders is 3° C, on the central plateaus 2° C; in summer the temperature in these parts of the country rarely exceeds 25° C, and the average July temperature is 18° C. The climate of Campina and the Ardennes has a slightly more continental flavor. In Campina the frost-free period is 285 days, in the Ardennes - 245 days. In winter, temperatures in these mountains are below 0 ° C, and in summer they average 16 ° C. The Ardennes receive more precipitation than other areas of Belgium - up to 1400 mm per year.

Soils and vegetation.

The soils of the Ardennes are very poor in humus and have low fertility, which, along with a colder and wetter climate, does little to promote the development of agriculture. Forests, mostly coniferous, cover about half the area of ​​this region. The central plateaus, composed of carbonate rocks overlain by loess, have extremely fertile soils. The alluvial soils covering the coastal lowlands of Flanders are very fertile and thick. Undrained land is used for pasture, while drained land is the basis for diversified agriculture. The thick clay soils of the interior of Flanders are naturally poor in humus. The sandy soils of Campina were until recently mostly heathland, and one-seventh of the area is still covered by natural pine forests.

Water resources.

The low-lying terrain of most of Belgium, the large amount of precipitation and the seasonal nature of its fall determine the characteristics of the river regime. The Scheldt, Meuse and their tributaries slowly carry their waters across the central plateaus into the sea. The predominant orientation of the rivers is from southwest to northeast. The river beds gradually decrease and in some places are complicated by rapids and waterfalls. Due to slight seasonal fluctuations in precipitation, rivers rarely overflow their banks or dry up. Most of the country's rivers are navigable, but it is necessary to regularly clear their beds of silt.

The Scheldt River crosses the entire territory of Belgium, but its estuary is located in the Netherlands. The River Leie flows northeast from the French border to its confluence with the Scheldt. The second place in importance is occupied by the Sambre-Meuse water system in the east. The Sambre flows from France and flows into the Meuse at Namur. From there the Meuse River turns northeast and then north along the border with the Netherlands.

POPULATION

Demography.

In 2003, 10.3 million people lived in Belgium. Due to a decrease in the birth rate, the country's population grew by only 6% over 30 years. And in 2003, the birth rate was 10.45 per 1000 inhabitants, and the death rate was 10.07 per 1000 inhabitants. By 2011, the population reached 10 million 431 thousand 477 people. The population growth rate was 0.071%, the birth rate was 10.06 per 1000 inhabitants, and the death rate was 10.57 per 1000 inhabitants

The average life expectancy in Belgium is 79.51 (76.35 for men and 82.81 for women) (2011 estimate). Approx. permanent residents live in Belgium. 900 thousand foreigners (Italians, Moroccans, French, Turks, Dutch, Spaniards, etc.). The ethnic composition in Belgium is divided into: 58% Flemings, 31% Walloons and 11% mixed and other ethnic groups.

Ethnogenesis and language.

The indigenous population of Belgium consists of the Flemings - descendants of the Frankish, Frisian and Saxon tribes, and the Walloons - descendants of the Celts. The Flemings live mainly in the north of the country (in East and West Flanders). They are fair-haired and have a physical resemblance to the Dutch. The Walloons live mainly in the south and are similar in appearance to the French.

Belgium has three official languages. French is spoken in the southern part of the country, in the provinces of Hainaut, Namur, Liege and Luxembourg, and the Flemish version of the Dutch language is spoken in West and East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg. The central province of Brabant, with the capital Brussels, is bilingual and is divided into northern Flemish and southern French parts. The French-speaking areas of the country are united under the general name of the Walloon region, and the north of the country, where the Flemish language predominates, is usually called the Flanders region. There are approx. people living in Flanders. 58% Belgians, in Wallonia - 33%, in Brussels - 9% and in the German-speaking area that became part of Belgium after the First World War - less than 1%.

After the country gained independence, friction constantly arose between the Flemings and Walloons, which complicated the social and political life of the country. As a result of the revolution of 1830, the task of which was the separation of Belgium from the Netherlands, French became the official language. In the following decades, Belgian culture was dominated by France. Francophonie strengthened the social and economic role of the Walloons, and this led to a new rise of nationalism among the Flemings, who demanded equal status of their language with French. This goal was achieved only in the 1930s after the adoption of a series of laws that gave the status of the state language to the Dutch language, which began to be used in administrative matters, legal proceedings and teaching.

However, many Flemings continued to feel like second-class citizens in their country, where they not only outnumbered them, but in the post-war era achieved higher levels of prosperity compared to the Walloons. Antagonism between the two communities increased, and constitutional amendments were made in 1971, 1980 and 1993, granting each greater cultural and political autonomy.

The problem that had long plagued Flemish nationalists was that their own language had become a chaotic collection of dialects that had developed during a long period of Francophonie in education and culture. However, after the First World War, the Flemish language gradually moved closer to the literary norm of modern Dutch. In 1973, the Flemish Cultural Council decided that the language should be officially called Dutch rather than Flemish.

Religious composition of the population.

The Belgian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of believers (about 70% of the population) are Catholics. Islam (250 thousand people), Protestantism (about 70 thousand), Judaism (35 thousand), Anglicanism (40 thousand), and Orthodoxy (20 thousand) are also officially recognized. The church is separated from the state.

Cities.

Rural and urban life in Belgium are closely intertwined, making it one of the most “traditionally urban” countries in the world. Some of the country's main economic areas are virtually completely urbanized. Many rural communities are located along main roads; their residents travel by bus or tram to work in nearby industrial centers. Almost half of Belgium's working population commutes regularly.

In 1996, there were 13 cities in Belgium with a population of more than 65 thousand people. The capital Brussels (1 million 892 people in 2009) houses the headquarters of the EU, Benelux, NATO and a number of other international and European organizations. The port city of Antwerp (961 thousand inhabitants in 2009) competes with Rotterdam and Hamburg in terms of sea freight traffic. Liege grew up as a center of metallurgy. Ghent is an ancient center of the textile industry; elegant lace is made here, as well as many types of engineering products; it is also a major cultural and historical center. Charleroi developed as a base for the coal mining industry and for a long time competed with the German cities of the Ruhr. Bruges, once an important commercial center, now attracts tourists with its majestic medieval architecture and picturesque canals. Ostend is a resort center and the country's second most important commercial port.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Political system.

Belgium is a federal state that is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. The country has a constitution of 1831, which has been amended several times. The last amendments were made in 1993. The head of state is the monarch. He is officially called the "King of the Belgians." A constitutional amendment in 1991 gave women the right to occupy the throne. The monarch has limited powers but serves as an important symbol of political unity.

Executive power is exercised by the king and the government, which is responsible to the House of Representatives. The king appoints a prime minister as head of government, seven French-speaking and seven Dutch-speaking ministers, and a number of secretaries of state representing the political parties in the ruling coalition. Ministers are assigned specific functions or leadership of government departments and departments. Members of parliament who become members of the government lose their deputy status until the next election.

Legislative power is exercised by the king and parliament. The Belgian parliament is bicameral, elected for a term of 4 years. The Senate consists of 71 senators: 40 are elected by direct universal suffrage (25 from the Flemish population and 15 from the Walloon population), 21 senators (10 from the Flemish population, 10 from the Walloon population and 1 from the German-speaking population) are delegated by community councils. These two groups co-opt another 10 members of the Senate (6 Dutch-speaking, 4 French-speaking). In addition to the above persons, according to the Constitution, children of the king who have reached the age of majority have the right to become members of the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 150 deputies elected by direct, universal secret ballot on the basis of proportional representation. One deputy is elected from approximately every 68 thousand people. Each party receives a number of seats proportional to the number of votes cast for it: its representatives are selected in the order recorded in the party lists. Participation in voting is mandatory; those who evade will face a fine.

Government ministers manage their departments and recruit personal assistants. In addition, each ministry has a permanent staff of civil servants. Although their appointment and promotion are regulated by law, their political affiliation, proficiency in both French and Dutch, and, of course, qualifications are also taken into account.

Regional management.

In response to the demands of the Flemings, four waves of constitutional revision took place after 1960, which made it possible to gradually decentralize the state, turning it into a federal one (formally from January 1, 1989). Features of the federal structure of Belgium lie in the parallel functioning of two types of federal subjects - regions and communities. Belgium is divided into three regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) and three cultural communities (French, Flemish and German-speaking). The representative system includes the Council of the Flemish Community (124 members), the Council of the Walloon Community (75 members), the Brussels Regional Council (75 members), the Council of the Francophone Community (75 members from Wallonia, 19 from Brussels), the Council of the Flemish Community (which merged with the Flemish regional council), the Council of the German-speaking Community (25 members) and the commissions of the Flemish Community, the French Community and the Joint Commission of the Brussels Region. All boards and commissions are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.

Boards and commissions have broad financial and legislative powers. Regional councils exercise control over economic policy, including foreign trade. Community councils and commissions oversee health, environmental protection, local welfare authorities, education and culture, including international cultural cooperation.

Local control.

The 596 local government communes (composed of 10 provinces) are almost autonomous and have great powers, although their activities are subject to the veto of provincial governors; they can appeal the latter's decisions to the Council of State. Communal councils are elected by universal suffrage based on proportional representation and consist of 50–90 members. This is the legislative body. The municipal councils appoint the head of the council board, working alongside the burgomaster, who manages city affairs. The burgomaster, usually a member of the council, is nominated by the commune and appointed by the central government; he may also be a member of parliament and is often a major political figure.

The executive bodies of the communes consist of six councilors and a governor, appointed, often for life, by the central government. The creation of regional and community assemblies has significantly reduced the scope of provincial powers, and they can duplicate them.

Political parties.

Until the 1970s, predominantly all-Belgian parties operated in the country, the largest of which were the Social Christian Party (created in 1945 as the successor to the Catholic Party that had existed since the 19th century), the Belgian Socialist Party (founded in 1885, until 1945 it was called the Workers' Party) and the Freedom Party. progress (formed in 1846, until 1961 it was called Liberal). Later they split into separate Walloon and Flemish parties, which, however, actually continue to be blocked when forming governments. The main parties of modern Belgium:

Flemish Liberals and Democrats – Citizens Party(FLD) – a political organization of Flemish liberals, formed in 1972 as a result of the split of the Belgian Party of Freedom and Progress (PSP) and retaining the same name until 1992. Considers itself a “responsible, solidary, legal and social” party of a social liberal nature, advocates the independence of Flanders as part of a federal Belgium and federal Europe, for pluralism, “political and economic freedom” of citizens and the development of democracy. FLD calls for limiting the power of the state through deregulation and privatization while preserving social protections for those who need them. The party advocates for the provision of civil rights to immigrants and their integration into Belgian society while preserving their cultural identity.

Since 1999, the FLD has been the strongest party in Belgium; its leader Guy Verhofstadt heads the country's government. In the 2003 elections, the FLD received 15.4% of the vote, and has 25 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 7 of the 40 elected seats in the Senate.

« Socialist Party – Otherwise» - a party of Flemish socialists, which arose in 1978 as a result of a split in the all-Belgian Socialist Party. Relies on the trade union movement, has influence in mutual aid funds and the cooperative movement. Flemish socialist leaders in the 1980s and 1990s began to reconsider traditional social democratic views, which envisioned the gradual replacement of capitalism with democratic socialism through long-term structural reforms. Currently, the party, which has added the word “Otherwise” to its name, advocates “economic realism”: while condemning neoliberalism, it at the same time questions “traditional recipes for economic socialism based on Keynesianism.” Flemish socialists emphasize the ethical justification of socialism, socio-ecological renewal, Europeanism and a more “reasonable” use of the mechanisms of the welfare state. They are more cautious about economic growth and adhere to the model of maintaining a guaranteed minimum social security while privatizing part of social guarantees (for example, part of the pension system, etc.).

At the 2003 parliamentary elections, the party acted in a bloc with the Spirit movement. This coalition received 14.9% of the vote in the House of Representatives and 15.5% in the Senate. Represented in the House of Representatives in 23 seats out of 150, in the Senate in 7 seats out of 40.

« Spirit» is a liberal political organization created before the 2003 elections as a result of the unification of the left wing of the Flemish party “People's Union” (founded in 1954) and members of the “Democratic Initiative-21” movement. The party describes itself as "social, progressive, internationalist, regionalist, integral democratic and future-oriented." Speaking for social justice, she emphasizes that market mechanisms cannot ensure the well-being of all members of society and therefore corrective use of social mechanisms, the fight against unemployment, etc. is necessary. The party proclaims that every member of society has the right to a guaranteed “social minimum.” In the 2003 elections it was in a bloc with the Flemish socialists.

« Christian Democratic and Flemish» party (CDF) - formed in 1968–1969 as the Christian People's Party (CHP) of Flanders and Brussels, has had its current name since the early 2000s. It arose as a result of a split in the all-Belgian Social Christian Party. Relies on Catholic trade unions. Until 1999, it was the most powerful political party in Belgium and headed the country's government for a long time; since 1999, it has been in opposition. The Party proclaims its goal to ensure responsible living together for people. Flemish Christian Democrats oppose the “primacy of economics” in society, socialist “collectivism” and liberal individualism. Proclaiming the “primacy of community,” they consider “strong family and social ties” to be the basis of society. In the economic field, the HDF is for a regulated market economy, where a number of areas (health care, socio-cultural activities, social housing construction, etc.) should not become the object of privatization and commercialization. The party calls for guaranteeing “basic security” to all citizens and increasing child benefits. At the same time, she advocates for “reduced bureaucracy” and greater freedom of action for entrepreneurs in the field of labor relations.

Socialist Party(SP) - Party of Socialists of the French-speaking part of Belgium (Wallonia and Brussels). Formed in 1978 as a result of a split in the Belgian Socialist Party. Relies on trade unions. The party proclaims the values ​​of solidarity, brotherhood, justice, equality and freedom. SP – for the rule of law and equality of all members of society. for “social market economy”. She criticizes economic liberalism, considering the logic of a continuously widening income gap between people to be incompatible with the idea of ​​freedom. Therefore, socialists call for the “consolidation” of social achievements, increasing low wages, pensions and benefits, fighting poverty, etc. The joint venture agreed to the principle of dividing pensions into a guaranteed “basic” and “funded” part, stipulating, however, that the use of the second should be available to all workers.

The SP is the strongest party in Wallonia and Brussels. In 2003, she received 13% in the elections to the House of Representatives (25 seats) and 12.8% in the Senate (6 seats).

Flemish block(FB) is a far-right Flemish party that broke away from the People's Union in 1977. He speaks from the position of extreme Flemish nationalism, proclaiming: “one’s own people are above all.” Declares itself a democratic party, but FB supporters participate in racist protests. FB advocates for an independent Republic of Flanders and an end to the immigration of foreigners from which the country allegedly suffers. The bloc demands to stop the admission of new immigrants, limit the provision of political asylum and expel those arriving to their homeland. FB support in elections is growing. In 2003, the party collected 11.6% of the vote in the elections to the House of Representatives (18 seats) and 11.3% in the Senate (5 seats).

Reform movement(RD) - political organization of Walloon and Brussels liberals. In its current form, it was formed in 2002 as a result of the unification of the Reformist Liberal Party (created in 1979 as a result of the merger of the Walloon Party of Reform and Freedom and the Brussels Liberal Party - parts of the former all-Belgian Party of Freedom and Progress), the German-speaking Party of Freedom and Progress, the Democratic Front of Francophones (the Brussels party, created in 1965) and the Citizens' Movement for Change. RD declared itself a centrist group that advocates reconciliation between the individual and society and rejects both selfishness and collectivism. The reformers' views are based on liberal democracy, a commitment to representative government and pluralism. RD rejects the “doctrinaireism of the 20th century,” an economic view based solely on market laws, any forms of collectivism, “integrative ecologism,” religious obscurantism and extremism. For reformers, continued economic growth and social development require a “new social contract” and “participatory democracy.” In the field of economics, they advocate promoting entrepreneurship and reducing taxes on entrepreneurs and workers. At the same time, RD recognizes that the “non-market sector” of the social economy must also play a role in society, which must satisfy those needs that the market cannot satisfy. Market freedom must be coupled with systems designed to prevent failure and compensate for distortions through a more equal redistribution of wealth. Social assistance, reformers believe, should be made more “effective”: it should not fetter “initiative” and should only go to those who “really need it.”

Humanistic Democratic Center(GDC) considers itself the successor of the Social Christian Party, founded in 1945 on the basis of the pre-war Catholic Party. The SHP proclaimed its commitment to the doctrine of “communitarian personalism”: it stated that it rejected “both liberal capitalism and the socialist philosophy of class struggle” and sought to create a society of maximum development of the human personality. In her opinion, such a society should be based on democratic freedoms, family protection, private initiative and social solidarity. The SHP declared itself a “people’s” party, relying on all segments of the population; controlled the Catholic trade unions. After the split of the SHP in 1968 into the Walloon and Flemish wings, the former continued to operate under the old name until 2002, when it was renamed the GDC.

The modern GDC is a centrist party calling for tolerance, a combination of freedom and equality, solidarity and responsibility, condemning populism and racism. The “democratic humanism” she proclaims is seen as an idea opposed to selfishness and individualism. The GDC rejects “society of materialism and violence, based on the cult of money, competition, indifference and inequality”, criticizes the subordination of man to the market, science and state institutions. Centrists consider the market to be a means, not an end. They advocate “a dynamic but civilized market and a strong state.” The latter, from their point of view, should not leave everything to the market, but is called upon to serve society, redistribute wealth in the interests of those in need, regulate and be an arbiter. Globalization processes, according to the GDC, should be subject to democratic control.

New Flemish Alliance(FPA) - formed in 2001 on the basis of the People's Union, a Flemish party that had existed since 1954. It seeks to give Flemish nationalism a “modern and humane” form of “humanitarian nationalism”. The Alliance advocates the creation of the Flemish Republic as part of a “confederal and democratic Europe”, for the right of nations to self-determination as the basis of international law. The NFA calls for developing a sense of Flemish community, improving democracy and strengthening social policies. Along with proposals to encourage Flemish entrepreneurship, the party demands a reduction in social inequality and an increase in social payments and benefits to a level that allows them to cover basic “social risk”.

« Confederated Environmentalists for Organizing the Original Struggle» (ECOLO) – Walloon “Green” movement; has been around since the late 1970s and early 1980s. Advocates for “sustainable development” in harmony with nature and in solidarity with other people and nations. Explaining the crisis in the modern world to “unregulated” development, Walloon environmentalists call for coordination on a global scale. The economy, in their opinion, should be dynamic and fair, based on initiative, participation, solidarity, balance, welfare and sustainability. “Greens” – for establishing more partnerships in enterprises, reducing working hours, and improving working conditions. In the social field, they advocate for greater equality in income and living conditions, the development of a plan that allows each person to receive a minimum income not lower than the poverty level, increased progressiveness of taxation, and the provision of credit to citizens for education and lifelong learning. Environmentalists believe that the practice of reducing payments to social funds by entrepreneurs should be stopped. They demand democratization of the state with the active participation of social movements, citizens, workers and consumers in resolving public issues.

« AGALEV» (“We will live differently”) – a party of Flemish environmentalists, more or less similar to Ecolo. He advocates harmony with the environment, the development of vital activity in a variety of areas (not only in the official economy), a reduction in the working week to 30 hours, “a different globalization,” etc. In the 2003 elections, she received 2.5% and lost representation in the Belgian parliament.

National Front(NF) - ultra-right party. The fight against immigration is at the center of its ideology and activities. Providing social benefits only to Belgians and Europeans should, according to the NF, save the welfare state from excessive costs. In economics, the party advocates reducing the role and participation of the state in economic activity to the level of a simple arbiter of competition and defender of European economic potential. Putting forward the slogan of “people's capitalism”, it demands that privatization should benefit exclusively “the people of Belgium”. The NF promises to “simplify and reduce” taxes, and in the future, to replace taxes on income with a general tax on purchases. In 2003, the NF received 2% of the votes in the elections to the House of Representatives (1st place) and 2.2% in the Senate (1st place).

« Alive» is a political movement created in the late 1990s that demanded that the state provide every citizen with a guaranteed “basic income” for life. Declaring that both capitalism and communism had proven their failure, and the traditional division between right and left had exhausted itself, the movement opposed “wild” (uncontrolled) capitalism and declared itself the creator of a new socio-economic model. The theorists of the movement propose completely eliminating income taxes from workers, reducing other income taxes, and abolishing contributions and deductions to social funds. To finance the payment of a “basic income”, in their opinion, it will be sufficient to introduce a “social tax on consumption” (sales, purchases and transactions). In the political field, the movement advocates for the expansion of individual freedoms, environmental protection and efficiency in the work of government bodies. At the same time, the movement advocates for greater controls and restrictions on immigration. In the 2003 elections, the movement collected 1.2% of the vote. It has no representation in parliament.

There are a significant number of left-wing political organizations in Belgium: Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party(founded 1971), International Workers' League,International Socialist Organization,Leninist-Trotskyist tendency,"Militant Left",Movement for workers,Left Socialist Party – Movement for a Socialist Alternative, Revolutionary Workers Party – Trotskyist,"Struggle"; Stalinist "Communist collective Aurora",Communist movement in Belgium(founded 1986); Maoist Belgian Labor Party(formed in 1971 as the “All Power to the Workers” party, 0.6% of the vote in the 2003 elections); remnants of the former pro-Soviet Communist Party of Belgium (1921–1989) – Communist Party – Flanders,Communist Party – Wallonia(0.2% in 2003 elections) , League of Communists in Belgium; groups that are the heirs of left-wing communism of the 1920s - International communist movement,Internationalist Communist Group, and Socialist movement(split off in 2002 from the Walloon Socialist Party; 0.1% in the 2003 elections), Humanist Party, French speaking department Anarchist Federation and etc.

Judicial system.

The judiciary is independent in its decision-making and is separate from other branches of government. It consists of courts and tribunals and five courts of appeal (in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Liege, Mons) and the Belgian Court of Cassation. Justices of the peace and tribunal judges are appointed personally by the king. Members of the courts of appeal, presidents of the tribunals and their deputies are appointed by the king on the proposals of the relevant courts, provincial councils and the Brussels Region Council. Members of the Court of Cassation are appointed by the king on the proposals of this court and alternately the House of Representatives and the Senate. Judges are appointed for life and retire only upon reaching the legal age. The country is divided into 27 judicial districts (each with a court of first instance) and 222 judicial cantons (each with a magistrate). Defendants can resort to a jury trial, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, and judgments are made based on the opinion of a majority of the 12 members of the court. There are also special courts: for the settlement of labor conflicts, commercial, military tribunals, etc. The highest authority of administrative justice is the State Council.

Foreign policy.

As a small country heavily dependent on foreign trade, Belgium has always sought to enter into economic agreements with other countries and has strongly supported European integration. Already in 1921, an economic union (BLES) was concluded between Belgium and Luxembourg. After World War II, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg formed a customs union known as Benelux, which was later transformed into a comprehensive economic union in 1960. Benelux's headquarters are in Brussels.

Belgium was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Economic Community (EEC), which became the European Union (EU). Belgium is a member of the Council of Europe, the Western European Union (WEU) and NATO. The headquarters of all these organizations, as well as the EU, are in Brussels. Belgium is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN.

Armed forces.

In 1997, there were 45.3 thousand people in the country's armed forces. Defense spending is approx. 1.2% of GDP. In 2005, defense spending amounted to 1.3% of GDP. Internal troops, consisting of 3.9 thousand people, ensure order in the country. The ground forces, consisting of offensive troops, combat and logistics support services, number 27.5 thousand personnel. The navy consists of three patrol ships, 9 minesweepers, one research vessel, one training ship and 3 helicopters, it has 2.6 thousand people. The Belgian Navy carries out mine sweeping for NATO. The Air Force has 11,300 personnel in tactical air forces (with 54 F-16 fighters and 24 transport aircraft), training and logistics units.

ECONOMY

About three-quarters of Belgium's trade is with other EU countries, especially Germany. In 2010, Belgian GDP grew by 2.1%, the unemployment rate rose slightly, and the government reduced the budget deficit, which worsened in 2008 and 2009 due to large-scale bailouts in the banking sector. Belgium's budget deficit fell from 6% of GDP to 4.1% in 2010, while public debt was just under 100% of GDP. Belgian banks were hit hard by the international financial crisis, with the three largest banks requiring capital injections from the government. An aging population and rising social costs are medium- and long-term challenges to public finances.

Gross domestic product

(GDP) of Belgium in 2002 was estimated at 299.7 billion dollars, or 29,200 dollars per capita (for comparison, in the Netherlands 20,905 dollars, in France 20,533, in the USA 27,821). The GDP growth rate until 2002 averaged 0.7% per year.

In 2010, GDP per capita was $37,800.

62% of GDP was spent on personal consumption in 1995, while government spending was 15% and 18% was invested in fixed assets. In 2002, agriculture contributed less than 2% of GDP, industry - 24.4%, and the service sector - almost 74.3%. Export income in 2002 amounted to 162 billion US dollars. These figures are very close to European standards.

GDP by economic sector in 2010: agriculture – 0.7%; industry – 21.9%; services – 77.4%.

Natural resources.

Belgium has very favorable conditions for farming; these include moderate temperatures, an even seasonal distribution of precipitation, and a long growing season. The soils in many areas are characterized by high fertility. The most fertile soils are found in the coastal part of Flanders and on the central plateaus.

Belgium is not rich in mineral resources. The country mines limestone for the needs of the cement industry. In addition, a small iron ore deposit is being developed near the south-eastern border and in the southern part of the province of Luxembourg.

Belgium has significant coal reserves. Until 1955, approx. 30 million tons of coal in two main basins: the southern, at the foot of the Ardennes, and the northern, in the Campina region (Limburg province). Since coal in the southern basin lies at great depth and its extraction is associated with technological difficulties, the mines began to close in the mid-1950s, the last of them being closed in the late 1980s. It should be noted that coal mining in the south began in the 12th century. and at one time stimulated the development of the country's industry. Therefore, here, in the foothills of the Ardennes, in the area from the French border to Liege, many industrial enterprises are concentrated.

Coal from the northern region was of higher quality, and its production was more profitable. Since the exploitation of this deposit began only during the First World War, coal production extended over a longer period of time, but by the end of the 1950s it did not satisfy the country’s needs. Since 1958, coal imports have exceeded its exports. By the 1980s, most of the mines were idle, with the last mine closing in 1992.

Energy.

For many decades, coal fueled Belgium's industrial development. In the 1960s, oil became the most important energy carrier.

Belgium's energy needs in 1995 were estimated at the equivalent of 69.4 million tons of coal, with only 15.8 million tons covered from its own resources. 35% of energy consumption came from oil, half of which was imported from the Middle East. Coal made up 18% of the country’s energy balance (98% imported, mainly from the USA and South Africa). Natural gas (mainly from Algeria and the Netherlands) provided 24% of the country's energy needs, and energy from other sources provided another 23%. The installed capacity of all power plants in 1994 was 13.6 million kW.

There are 7 nuclear power plants in the country, four of them are in Doula near Antwerp. Construction of the eighth station was suspended in 1988 for reasons of environmental safety and due to the fall in world oil prices.

Transport.

The country's participation in international trade is facilitated by one of the largest ports in the world, Antwerp, through which approx. 80% of freight turnover in Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1997–1998, 118 million tons of cargo were unloaded in Antwerp from approximately 14 thousand ships; according to this indicator, it ranked second among European ports after Rotterdam and was the largest railway and container port in Europe. The port, with an area of ​​100 hectares, has 100 km of berth lines and 17 dry docks, and its throughput capacity is 125 thousand tons per day. Most of the cargo handled by the port is bulk and liquid products, including oil and its derivatives. Belgium's own merchant fleet is small: 25 ships with a total displacement of 100 thousand gross register tons (1997). Almost 1,300 ships ply on inland waterways.

Thanks to their calm flow and deep water, Belgian rivers are navigable and provide connections between regions. The riverbed of the Rupel has been dredged, so that ocean-going ships can now enter Brussels, and ships with a displacement of 1,350 tons with a full load can now enter the rivers Meuse (up to the French border), Scheldt and Rupel. In addition, due to the flat terrain in the coastal part of the country, canals were built connecting natural waterways. Several canals were built before World War II. The Albert Canal (127 km), connecting the Meuse River (and the industrial district of Liege) with the port of Antwerp, can accommodate barges with a carrying capacity of up to 2000 tons. Another large canal connects the industrial district of Charleroi with Antwerp, forming an extensive triangular system of waterways, the sides of which are the Albert Canal, the Meuse and Sambre rivers, and the Charleroi-Antwerp canal. Other canals connect cities to the sea - for example Bruges and Ghent to the North Sea. At the end of the 1990s in Belgium there were approx. 1600 km of navigable inland waterways.

Several rivers flow into the Scheldt above Antwerp, making it the hub of the entire waterway system and the center of Belgium's foreign trade. It is also a transit port for foreign and domestic trade of the Rhineland (FRG) and northern France. In addition to its favorable location near the North Sea, Antwerp has another advantage. Sea tides in a wide part of the lower reaches of the Scheldt River provide sufficient depth for the passage of ocean-going ships.

In addition to a perfect waterway system, Belgium has a well-developed network of railways and roads. The railway network is one of the densest in Europe (130 km per 1000 sq. km), its length is 34.2 thousand km. The state-owned companies National Railways of Belgium and National Intercity Railways receive significant subsidies. Main roads cross all parts of the country, including the Ardennes. Sabena Airlines, founded in 1923, provides air connections to most major cities in the world. There are regular helicopter connections between Brussels and other cities of the country.

History of economic development.

Industry and crafts in Belgium arose a long time ago, and this partly explains the current high level of development of the country. Wool and linen fabrics have been produced since the Middle Ages. The raw materials for this production were wool from English and Flemish sheep and local flax. Cities such as Boygge and Ghent became major centers of the textile industry at the end of the Middle Ages. In the 16th–17th centuries. The main industry was the production of cotton fabrics. Sheep farming developed on the plains north of the Ardennes, and wool production developed in the oldest center of the wool industry, the city of Verviers.

Throughout the 16th century. Small metallurgical enterprises arose, and then weapons workshops. In 1788, there were 80 small arms factories in Liege, employing almost 6 thousand people. The Belgian glass industry has a rich history. It was based on local raw materials - alluvial quartz sands and wood used as fuel, which came from the Ardennes region. Large glass factories still operate in Charleroi and the Brussels suburbs.

Busy.

Belgian workers are highly skilled, and technical schools train highly specialized workers. The country has an experienced agricultural workforce working on highly mechanized farms in the center and north of Belgium. However, the transition to a post-industrial society, which favors the service sector, has led to significant and persistent unemployment, especially in Wallonia. Unemployment averaged 4.7% in the 1970s, 10.8% in the 1980s, and 11.4% in the early 1990s (above the Western European average).

Of the total number of employees of 4126 thousand people in 1997, approx. 107 thousand worked in agriculture, 1143 thousand in industry and construction, and 2876 thousand in the service sector, approx. 900 thousand people are in the administrative apparatus. In recent decades, employment growth has been observed only in the chemical industry.

Financing and organization of industrial production.

The industrial development of Belgium was facilitated by the presence of investment funds. They accumulated over many decades thanks to the continued prosperity of industry and international trade. Six banks and trusts now control the majority of Belgian industry. Société Générale de Belgique has direct or indirect control over approximately 1/3 of the enterprises, especially through its banks, holding companies for the production of steel, non-ferrous metals and electricity. The Solvay Group manages the activities of most chemical plants; Brufina-Confinindus owns concerns that mine coal, produce electricity and steel; Empen owns factories that produce electrical equipment; the Kope group has interests in the steel and coal industries; and Banque Brussels Lambert owns oil companies and their branches.

Agriculture.

About 1/4 of the total area of ​​Belgium is used for agricultural purposes. In the late 1990s, agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 2.5% of the country's workforce. Agriculture covered 4/5 of Belgium's needs for food and agricultural raw materials. In central Belgium (Hainaut and Brabant), where the land is divided into large estates ranging from 50 to 200 hectares, modern agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers are widely used. Each estate employs many hired workers, and seasonal workers are often used to harvest wheat and sugar beets. In Flanders, intensive labor and the use of fertilizers produce almost 3/4 of the country's agricultural output, although the area of ​​agricultural land here is the same as in Wallonia.

Agricultural yields are generally high; approx. 6 tons of wheat and up to 59 tons of sugar beets. Thanks to high labor productivity, in 1997 the grain harvest exceeded 2.3 million tons, while only half of the sown land was used. Of the total grain volume, about 4/5 is wheat, 1/5 is barley. Other important crops are sugar beets (annual harvest up to 6.4 million tons) and potatoes. Almost half of agricultural land is devoted to pasture for livestock, and livestock farming accounts for 70% of all agricultural output. In 1997 there were approx. 3 million heads of cattle, including 600 thousand cows, and approx. 7 million heads of pigs.

Agriculture in each region of the country has its own characteristics. A small number of crops are grown in the Ardennes. The exception is the fertile Condroz region, where rye, oats, potatoes and fodder grasses (mainly for cattle) are sown. More than 2/5 of the territory of the province of Luxembourg is covered with forests; the harvesting and sale of timber is an important sector of the economy of this area. Sheep and cattle graze in the mountainous meadows.

The central limestone plateaus of Hainaut and Brabant with clay soils are used for wheat and sugar beets. Fruits and vegetables are grown in the vicinity of large cities. Livestock farming is less practiced in the central region, although some farms around Brussels and west of Liege raise horses (in Brabant) and cattle.

Small farms predominate in Flanders, and livestock and dairy farming are more developed than in the south of the country. The crops most adapted to the local soils and humid climate are grown - flax, hemp, chicory, tobacco, fruits and vegetables. The cultivation of flowers and ornamental plants is a distinctive feature of the areas of Ghent and Bruges. Wheat and sugar beets are also grown here.

Industry.

At the end of the 1990s, the industry concentrated approx. 28% of employment and produced almost 31% of GDP. Two-thirds of industrial output came from the manufacturing industry, with most of the rest coming from construction and public utilities. Throughout the 1990s, the process of closing steel plants, car assembly plants and textile factories continued. Among the manufacturing industries, only the chemical, glass and oil refining industries increased production.

Belgium has three main heavy industries: metallurgy (production of steel, non-ferrous metals and heavy machine tools), chemicals and cement. Iron and steel production is still an important industry, although in 1994 11.2 million tons of steel were produced, which was 2/3 of the 1974 level. The volume of pig iron production fell even further - to 9 million tons. In 1974– 1991 the number of employees in all basic and processing metallurgical enterprises decreased by 1/3 - to 312 thousand jobs. Most of the old iron and steel works were located near the coal mines around Charleroi and Liege or near the iron ore deposits in the very south of the country. A more modern plant, using high quality imported iron ore, is located along the Ghent–Terneuzen canal north of Ghent.

Belgium has a well-developed non-ferrous metallurgy. This industry originally used zinc ore from the Toresnet mine, but now the zinc ore has to be imported. In the mid-1990s, Belgium was the largest producer of this metal in Europe and the fourth largest producer in the world. Belgian zinc plants are located near Liege and in Baden-Wesel in Campina. In addition, copper, cobalt, cadmium, tin, and lead are produced in Belgium.

The supply of steel and non-ferrous metals stimulated the development of heavy engineering, especially in Liege, Antwerp and Brussels. It produces machine tools, railway cars, diesel locomotives, pumps and specialized machines for the sugar, chemical, textile and cement industries. With the exception of the large military factories concentrated in Erstal and Liege, heavy machine tool factories are relatively small. There is a shipyard in Antwerp that produces ships of international class.

Belgium does not have its own automobile industry, although it hosts foreign car assembly plants, benefiting from low import duties on car parts and a highly skilled workforce. In 1995, 1171.9 thousand cars and 90.4 thousand trucks were assembled, which together amounted to approx. 10% of European production volume. In 1984, Ford's Ghent assembly line was the world's longest robotic installation. Flemish cities and Brussels host factories of foreign automakers, while factories producing tractor trailers and buses are located throughout the country. The French automobile concern Renault announced the closure of its plant in Vilvoorde, north of Brussels, in 1997.

The country's second most important industry, the chemical industry, began to develop in the 20th century. Like other heavy industries, its growth was fueled by the availability of coal, which was used both for energy and in the production of raw materials such as benzene and tar.

Until the early 1950s, Belgium produced mainly basic chemical products - sulfuric acid, ammonia, nitrogen fertilizers and caustic soda. Most factories are located in the industrial areas of Antwerp and Liege. Before World War II, crude oil refining and petrochemical industries were very underdeveloped. However, after 1951, oil storage facilities were built in the port of Antwerp, and Petrofina, the main Belgian distributor of petroleum products, as well as foreign oil companies, invested heavily in the construction of an oil refining complex in Antwerp. Plastics production has taken a significant place in the petrochemical industry.

Most cement factories are concentrated in the industrial region of the valley of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, near local sources of limestone. In 1995, 10.4 million tons of cement were produced in Belgium.

Although light industry is less developed than heavy industry, there are several light industries with significant production volumes, incl. textile, food, electronics (for example, a plant in Roeselare in West Flanders), etc. Traditional craft industries - lace weaving, tapestries and leather goods - have significantly reduced production, but some of them still operate to serve tourists. Biotech and space companies are concentrated mainly in the Brussels-Antwerp corridor.

Belgium is a major producer of cotton, wool and linen fabrics. In 1995, 15.3 thousand tons of cotton yarn were produced in Belgium (almost 2/3 less than in 1993). Wool yarn production began to decline in the early 1990s; in 1995, 11.8 thousand tons were produced (in 1993 - 70.5 thousand). Productivity in the textile industry increased only in a number of firms. The increase in production efficiency was facilitated by the presence of highly qualified personnel (95 thousand people, mainly women) and its technical re-equipment. Factories producing woolen fabrics are concentrated in the Verviers region, while cotton and linen factories are concentrated in the Ghent region.

A significant place in the country's economy is occupied by the processing of agricultural products. Particularly noteworthy are sugar production, brewing and winemaking. Factories producing cocoa, coffee, sugar, canned olives, etc. are supplied with imported raw materials.

Antwerp is a major center for diamond processing; it surpasses Amsterdam in terms of production volume. Antwerp firms employ approximately half of the world's diamond cutters and account for almost 60% of the world's cut diamond production. Exports of precious stones, mainly diamonds, accounted for $8.5 billion in 1993, or 7.1% of the country's export value.

International trade.

Belgium is predominantly a trading country. Belgium had long followed a policy of free trade, but the need for protection and support led it to unite in 1921 in an economic union with Luxembourg, known as BLES, and then, in 1948, to unite with the Netherlands to form the Benelux. Membership of the European Coal and Steel Community (1952) and the European Economic Community (1958, now the European Union) and the signing of the Schengen Agreement (1990) pushed Belgium, along with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, towards gradual economic integration with France, Germany and Italy.

In 1996, BLES imports were estimated at $160.9 billion, exports at $170.2 billion. Trade with EU partner countries is balanced. 5/6 of all exports are manufactured products. Belgium ranks one of the first places in the world in terms of foreign trade per capita.

The leading export items in 1996 were products from the automotive, chemical, metallurgical and textile industries. Exports of food products, precious stones, and transport equipment are significant. The main import items are usually mechanical engineering products, chemical products, transport equipment and fuel. Three quarters of all trade is with EU countries, mainly Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK.

The state budget.

In 1996, government revenues were estimated at $77.6 billion, and expenses at $87.4 billion. Taxes, income and profit, amounted to 35% of revenues, deductions from the income of regions and communities - 39%, and tax on added value and excise taxes – 18%. Pension costs were 10% and debt service interest was 25% (the highest for industrialized countries). The total debt was $314.3 billion, 1/6 of which was due to foreign creditors. The debt, which was already larger than annual GDP since the early 1980s, led within a few years to cuts in spending on central and regional governments. In 1997, public debt was 122% of GDP.

Money circulation and banking.

The monetary unit since 2002 is the euro. The Belgian banking system is characterized by a high level of capital concentration, and bank mergers since the 1960s have only intensified this process. The state owns 50% of the shares of the National Bank of Belgium, which serves as the country's central bank. There are 128 banks in Belgium, of which 107 are foreign. The oldest and largest commercial bank, as well as the largest holding company in the country, is Societe Generale de Belgique. There are also specialized financial institutions - savings banks and agricultural credit funds.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Social Security.

Social Security is a combination of public and private insurance programs, although all of its branches received government subsidies. It was necessary to take strict measures to reduce these costs in order to meet the criteria required to join the European Monetary Union in 1999.

Health insurance is provided primarily by private mutual benefit societies, which pay their members up to 75% of health care costs. Such expenses are fully covered for the majority of pensioners, widows and disabled people, for inpatient treatment in hospitals, for caring for the disabled, some seriously ill people, and for obstetric care. Working women are provided with 16 weeks of paid leave for pregnancy and caring for a newborn, with 3/4 of their salary retained, and the family is paid a lump sum upon the birth of a child, and then monthly for each child. Unemployment benefits are 60% of final salary and are paid for one year.

Unions.

80% of all workers and employees are members of trade unions. There are several trade union organizations in the country. The largest of them is the General Federation of Labor of Belgium, founded in 1898 and closely associated with the socialist parties, in 1995 it had 1.2 million members. The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (1.5 million members), created in 1908, is under the influence of the CHP and the SHP. During the Second World War, it acted as a united front with the socialist trade unions against the German occupiers, and after the liberation of Brussels in 1944, it began to pursue an independent policy. Founded in 1983, the General Center of Liberal Trade Unions and the Union of Civil Servants have more than 200 thousand members each.

Culture.

The year 1830, associated with the revolutionary upsurge, turned out to be a turning point in the social life of Belgium, which was directly reflected in art. In painting, this was the heyday of the romantic school, which was replaced by impressionism. A noticeable mark was left by Georges Lemmen and James Ensor. Félicien Rops and Frans Maserel were among the best graphic artists in Europe. Among the surrealist artists, the most famous are Paul Delvaux and Rene Magritte.

Famous writers include the great romantic and symbolist poet Maurice Maeterlinck, novelist Georges Rodenbach, playwrights Michel de Gelderode and Henri Michaud, poet and playwright Emile Verhaerne. Georges Simenon, one of the prolific masters of the detective genre, the creator of the image of Commissioner Maigret, also won worldwide recognition. The most famous Belgian composer was the Liege-born Cesar Frank, an innovator in chamber music.

Many of Belgium's intellectual leaders are Flemish but identify with the French-speaking part of European civilization. Brussels, the country's largest cultural center, is essentially a French-speaking community. There are delightful old districts preserved there, examples of European Gothic and Baroque architecture - such as the Grand Place, which is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful squares in the world. At the same time, Brussels is one of the most modern cities in Europe, especially after the completion of large-scale construction carried out in connection with the International Exhibition of 1958. Among the many attractions of Brussels, the Théâtre de la Monnaie and the Théâtre du Parc (often called the third building of the Comedie Française) stand out ). The city also has famous art museums, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, the Communal Museum of Fine Arts in Ixelles, and the Royal Museum of Art and History (known for its rich Egyptian collection). The Royal National Library of Albert I contains more than 3 million volumes, including 35 thousand manuscripts (mainly medieval). This is one of the most valuable collections of its kind in Europe. Brussels has a scientific and artistic center on the Mount of Arts, where there is also a large library. The capital is home to numerous scientific institutions, such as the Royal Institute of Natural History, which has an extensive paleontological collection, and the Royal Museum of Central Africa.

Education.

The French, Flemish and German communities are responsible for education in Belgium. Education is compulsory and free for all children from 6 to 16 years of age and in evening schools until the age of 18. Illiteracy has been practically eliminated. Half of Belgian children attend private schools, most of which are run by the Catholic Church. Almost all private schools receive government subsidies.

The first stage of schooling is six-year primary school. Secondary education, the first four years of which are compulsory, is divided in most cases into three levels of two years each. About half of the students in the first and second stages receive general pedagogical training, artistic education, or undergo technical or vocational training; others undergo general training. Of the latter group, about half of the students continue to attend higher secondary school, the completion of which gives the right to enter the university.

There are 8 universities in Belgium. In the oldest state universities - in Liege and Mons - teaching is conducted in French, in Ghent and Antwerp - in Dutch. The Catholic University of Louvain, the oldest and most prestigious in Belgium, and the privately funded Free University of Brussels were bilingual until 1970, but due to increasing conflicts between Flemish and Walloon students, each of them was divided into independent Dutch- and French-speaking departments. The French department of the University of Louvain has moved to a new campus near Ottigny, located on the “linguistic frontier”. The country's colleges and universities enrolled approx. 120 thousand students.

STORY

Ancient and medieval periods.

Although Belgium was formed as an independent state in 1830, the history of the peoples inhabiting the Southern Netherlands goes back to the period of Ancient Rome. In 57 BC Julius Caesar used the name "Gallia Belgica" to refer to the territory he conquered, located between the North Sea and the rivers Waal, Rhine, Marne and Seine. Celtic tribes lived there and fiercely resisted the Romans. The most famous and numerous was the Belg tribe. After bloody wars, the lands of the Belgae were finally conquered by the Romans (51 BC) and became part of the Roman Empire. The Roman conquerors introduced the Latin language into circulation among the Belgae, a legislative system based on Roman law, and at the end of the 2nd century. Christianity spread throughout this area.

Due to the decline of the Roman Empire in the 3rd–4th centuries. The lands of the Belgae were captured by the Germanic tribes of the Franks. The Franks settled mainly in the north of the country, marking the beginning of a linguistic division between population groups of Germanic and Romance origin. This border, stretching from Cologne to Boulogne-sur-Mer, has remained virtually unchanged to this day. To the north of this line, the Flemings formed - a people related in language and culture to the Dutch, and to the south - the Walloons, close in origin and language to the French. The Frankish state reached its peak during the 46-year reign of Charlemagne (768–814). After his death, according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the Carolingian Empire was divided into three parts. The middle part, which went to Louis Lothair, who retained the imperial title, included, in addition to Italy and Burgundy, all the lands of the historical Netherlands. After the death of Lothair, the empire gradually disintegrated into many independent fiefs, the most significant of which in the north were the County of Flanders, the Duchy of Brabant and the Bishopric of Liege. Their vulnerable position between the French and German powers, which had emerged by the 11th century, played a significant, if not decisive, role in their subsequent development. Flanders contained the French threat from the south, Brabant directed efforts to conquer the Rhine trading zone and actively participated in the international trade of Flanders.

In a constant struggle against foreign interference and vassalage from the German emperors, Flanders and Brabant entered into an alliance in 1337, which laid the foundation for the further unification of the Dutch lands.

In the 13th–14th centuries. In the Southern Netherlands, cities grew rapidly, commercial farming and foreign trade developed. Large, rich cities such as Bruges, Ghent, Ypres, Dinan and Namur became self-governing communes as a result of a persistent struggle against the feudal lords. With the growth of cities, the need for food increased, agriculture became commercial, sown areas expanded, land reclamation work began, and social stratification among the peasantry worsened.

Burgundian era.

In 1369, Philip of Burgundy entered into a marriage alliance with the daughter of the Count of Flanders. This led to the extension of Burgundy's power to Flanders. From this time until 1543, when Gelderland annexed the Netherlands, the Burgundian dukes and their Habsburg successors extended their power to an increasing number of provinces in the Netherlands. Centralization increased, the power of city-communes weakened, crafts, art, architecture and science flourished. Philip the Just (1419–1467) practically reunited the lands of Lorraine within the borders of the 9th century. Burgundy became France's main rival, and at the end of the 15th century. even surpassed it when the only daughter of Charles the Bold, Mary of Burgundy, married Maximilian of Habsburg, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor. Their son married the heiress to the throne of Spain, and their grandson, Charles V, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain; he surrounded France with his vast possessions, which included the Belgian provinces. Charles V, who ruled the Netherlands from 1506 to 1555, forced the French king to cede to him a fifth of Flanders and Artois in 1526 and eventually united the Netherlands under the rule of one dynasty, annexing Utrecht, Overijssel, Groningen, Drenthe and Gelderland in 1523–1543. By the Treaty of Augsburg of 1548 and the "Pragmatic Sanction" of 1549, he united the 17 provinces of the Netherlands into an independent unit within the Holy Roman Empire.

Spanish period.

Although the Augsburg Agreement united the Netherlands, freeing the provinces from direct imperial subordination, the strong centrifugal tendencies that took place in the Netherlands and the new policy of Philip II of Spain, in whose favor Charles V abdicated the throne in 1555, hampered the development of a single, integral state. Already under Charles V, a religious and political struggle developed between the Protestant north and the Catholic south, and the laws passed by Philip II against heretics affected various segments of the population of the Netherlands. The sermons of Calvinist priests attracted an increasing number of people, and open protests began against the Catholic Church, which was accused of abuses and robbery of the people. The pomp and idleness of the royal court, with residences in Ghent and Brussels, displeased the burghers. Philip II's attempts to suppress the liberties and privileges of the cities and to govern them with the help of foreign officials, such as his chief adviser Cardinal Granvella, displeased the Dutch nobility, among whom Lutheranism and Calvinism began to spread. When Philip sent the Duke of Alba to the Netherlands in 1567 to suppress the actions of his opponents, an uprising of the opposition nobility broke out in the north, led by Prince William of Orange, who declared himself protector of the northern provinces. A long and fierce struggle against foreign rule was not crowned with success for the southern Dutch provinces: they capitulated to Philip II and remained under the rule of the Spanish crown and the Catholic Church, and Flanders and Brabant eventually submitted to the Spaniards, which was secured by the Union of Arras in 1579. The seven northern ones separated The provinces, in response to this act, signed the text of the Union of Utrecht (1579), declaring themselves independent. After the deposition of Philip II (1581), the Republic of the United Provinces arose here.

From 1579 to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, while the Republic of the United Provinces fought against Spain, England and France in European wars on land and sea, the southern provinces sought to avoid dependence on the power of the Spanish Habsburgs, the French and the Dutch. In 1579 they recognized Philip II as their sovereign, but insisted on internal political autonomy. First, the Spanish Netherlands (as the southern provinces were now called) were turned into a Spanish protectorate. The provinces retained their privileges; executive councils operated locally, which were subordinate to the governor of Philip II, Alexander Farnese.

During the reign of Philip II's daughter Isabella and her husband Archduke Albert of Habsburg, which began in 1598, the Spanish Netherlands was a separate state with dynastic ties to Spain. After the death of Albert and Isabella, who had no heirs, this territory returned again to the rule of the Spanish king. Spanish patronage and power in the 17th century provided neither security nor prosperity. For a long time, the Spanish Netherlands served as an arena for the struggle between the Habsburgs and the Bourbons. In 1648, at the Peace of Westphalia, Spain ceded parts of Flanders, Brabant and Limburg to the United Provinces and agreed to close the mouth of the Scheldt River, as a result of which Antwerp virtually ceased to exist as a seaport and trading center. In the wars against France in the second half of the 17th century. Spain lost some of the southern border regions of the Spanish Netherlands, ceding them to Louis XIV. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1713), the southern provinces became the scene of military operations. Louis XIV persistently sought to conquer these territories, but in fact for several years (until the conclusion of the Treaty of Utrecht) they were under the rule of the United Provinces and England.

Partition of the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century. increased political, religious, cultural and economic divisions between north and south. While the south, ravaged by numerous wars, continued to be under the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs and the Catholic Church, the independent north, which had adopted Calvinism, with its social and cultural values ​​and traditions, experienced rapid economic growth. For a long time there was a linguistic difference between the northern provinces, where Dutch was spoken, and the southern ones, where French was spoken. However, the political border between the Spanish Netherlands and the United Provinces lay north of the linguistic border. Most of the population of the southern provinces of Flanders and Brabant spoke Flemish, a dialect of Dutch that became even more distinct from Dutch after the political and therefore cultural separation. The economy of the Spanish Netherlands fell into complete decline, all economic ties were destroyed, and the once flourishing Flemish cities were abandoned. The darkest times in the country's history have arrived.

Austrian period.

According to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the Spanish Netherlands became part of the Austrian Habsburgs and under Charles VI became known as the Austrian Netherlands. At the same time, the United Provinces received the right to occupy eight fortresses on the border with France. The transition of the Southern Netherlands to Austria changed little in the internal life of the provinces: national autonomy and traditional institutions of the local nobility continued to exist. Neither Charles VI nor Maria Theresa, who inherited the throne in 1740, ever visited the Austrian Netherlands. They ruled the provinces through governors in Brussels in the same way as the Spanish kings did. But these lands were still the object of French territorial claims and the site of trade competition between England and the United Provinces.

Several efforts were made to revive the depleted economy of the Austrian Netherlands - the most notable was the creation in 1722 of the East India Company, which carried out 12 expeditions to India and China, but due to competition from the Dutch and English East India Companies and pressure from governments both countries were dissolved in 1731. Joseph II, Maria Theresa's eldest son, who ascended the throne in 1780, made several attempts to reform the system of internal government, as well as reforms in the fields of law, social policy, education and the church. However, the energetic reforms of Joseph II were doomed to failure. The emperor's desire for strict centralization and the desire to go ahead in achieving his goals led to growing resistance to reforms from various segments of the population. Joseph II's religious reforms, which undermined the establishment of the dominant Catholic Church, provoked opposition throughout the 1780s, and his changes to the administrative system in 1787, which were supposed to deprive the country's inhabitants of local institutions of power and national autonomy, became the spark that led to the revolution.

Brabant and Hainault refused to pay taxes to the Austrians in 1788, and the next year a general uprising broke out, the so-called. Brabant revolution. In August 1789, the population of Brabant rebelled against the Austrian authorities, and as a result, in December 1789, almost the entire territory of the Belgian provinces was liberated from the Austrians. In January 1790, the National Congress proclaimed the creation of the independent state of the United Belgian States. However, the new government, consisting of representatives of the conservative aristocratic party "Nootists", who enjoyed the support of the Catholic clergy, was overthrown by Leopold II, who became emperor in February 1790 after the death of his brother Joseph II.

French period.

The Belgians, once again ruled by foreigners, looked with hope to the development of the revolution in France. However, they were greatly disappointed when, as a result of long-term Austro-French rivalry (the Belgians sided with the French), the Belgian provinces (from October 1795) were included in France. Thus began a period of 20 years of French domination.

Although Napoleon's reforms had a positive impact on the development of the economy of the Belgian provinces (the abolition of internal customs and the liquidation of workshops, the entry of Belgian goods into the French market), continuous wars, accompanied by conscription calls, and increased taxes caused massive discontent among the Belgians, and the desire for national independence fueled anti-French sentiments. moods. However, the relatively short period of French domination played a very important role in Belgium's progress towards independence. The main achievement of this period was the destruction of the estate-feudal order, the introduction of progressive French legislation, administrative and judicial structure. The French declared freedom of navigation on the Scheldt, which had been closed for 144 years.

Belgian provinces within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

After Napoleon's final defeat in 1815 at Waterloo, by the will of the heads of the victorious powers who gathered at the Congress of Vienna, all the provinces of the historical Netherlands were united into a large buffer state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. His task was to prevent possible French expansion. The son of the last Stadtholder of the United Provinces, William V, Prince William of Orange, was proclaimed sovereign sovereign of the Netherlands under the name of William I.

The union with the Netherlands provided certain economic benefits to the southern provinces. The more developed agriculture of Flanders and Brabant and the prosperous industrial cities of Wallonia developed thanks to Dutch maritime trade, which gave southerners access to markets in the overseas colonies of the mother country. But in general, the Dutch government pursued economic policy exclusively in the interests of the northern part of the country. Although the southern provinces had at least 50% more inhabitants than the northern ones, they had the same number of representatives in the States General and were given a small number of military, diplomatic and ministerial posts. The short-sighted policies of the Protestant King William I in the field of religion and education, which included granting equality to all faiths and the creation of a system of secular primary education, caused discontent in the Catholic south. In addition, Dutch became the official language of the country, strict censorship was introduced and the creation of various types of organizations and associations was prohibited. A number of laws of the new state caused massive discontent among the population of the southern provinces. Flemish traders resented the advantages their Dutch counterparts had. The indignation was even greater among Walloon industrialists, who felt disadvantaged by Dutch laws that could not protect the nascent industry from competition.

In 1828, the two main Belgian parties, Catholics and Liberals, spurred by the policies of William I, formed a united national front. This alliance, called “unionism,” was maintained for almost 20 years and became the main engine of the struggle for independence.

Independent State: 1830–1847.

The July Revolution of 1830 in France inspired the Belgians. On August 25, 1830, a series of spontaneous anti-Dutch protests began in Brussels and Liege, which then quickly spread throughout the south. At first, not all Belgians favored complete political separation from the Netherlands; some wanted his son, the popular Prince of Orange, to become king instead of William I, while others demanded only administrative autonomy. However, the growing influence of French liberalism and the Brabant national spirit, as well as the harsh military actions and repressive measures of William I, changed the situation.

When Dutch troops entered the southern provinces in September, they were greeted as invaders. What was merely an attempt to expel Dutch officials and troops became a concerted movement towards a free and independent state. Elections to the National Congress took place in November. Congress accepted the declaration of independence drawn up in October by the provisional government led by Charles Rogier and began work on a constitution. The constitution came into force in February. The country was declared a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament. Those who paid taxes of a certain amount had the right to vote, and wealthy citizens received the right to several votes. Executive power was exercised by the king and the prime minister, who had to be approved by parliament. Legislative power was divided between the king, parliament and ministers. The fruit of the new constitution was a centralized bourgeois state, which combined liberal ideas and conservative institutions, supported by an alliance of the middle classes and the nobility.

Meanwhile, the question of who would be the king of Belgium became the subject of widespread international discussion and diplomatic battles (a conference of ambassadors was even convened in London). When the Belgian National Congress elected Louis Philippe's son, the new French king, as king, the British protested and the conference considered the proposal inappropriate. A few months later, the Belgians named the relative of the English queen, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg from Gotha. He was an acceptable figure to the French and English and became King of the Belgians on July 21, 1831 under the name of Leopold I.

The treaty to regulate the separation of Belgium from the Netherlands, drawn up at the London Conference, did not receive approval from William I, and the Dutch army again crossed the Belgian border. The European powers, with the help of French troops, forced her to retreat, but William I again rejected the revised text of the treaty. A truce was concluded in 1833. Finally, in April 1839 in London, all parties signed agreements on the most important points on the borders and division of the internal financial debt of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Belgium was forced to pay part of the military expenses of the Netherlands, to cede parts of Luxembourg and Limburg and Maastricht.

In 1831, Belgium was declared by the European powers to be an "independent and eternally neutral state", and the Netherlands only recognized Belgium's independence and neutrality in 1839. Britain fought to preserve Belgium as a European country, free from foreign influence. At the initial stage, Belgium was “helped” by the Polish revolution of 1830, since it diverted the attention of the Russians and Austrians - potential allies of the Netherlands, who otherwise could have helped William I re-occupy Belgium.

The first 15 years of independence demonstrated the continuation of the policy of unionism and the emergence of the monarchy as a symbol of unity and loyalty. Almost until the economic crisis of the mid-1840s, the coalition of Catholics and liberals pursued a single domestic and foreign policy. Leopold I turned out to be a competent ruler, who also had connections and influence in European royal houses, especially good relations were established with his niece, Queen Victoria of England.

Period from 1840 to 1914.

Mid and late 19th century. were marked by the unusually rapid development of Belgian industry; Until approximately 1870, the new country, along with Great Britain, occupied one of the first places among the industrialized countries of the world. Mechanical engineering, the coal mining industry, and the construction of state railways and canals acquired a large scale in Belgium. The abolition of protectionism in 1849, the creation of a national bank in 1835, and the restoration of Antwerp as a center of trade - all this contributed to the rapid industrial growth in Belgium.

Belgium experienced outbreaks of the Orange movement in the 1830s, and the difficult economic situation in the mid-1840s had a particularly hard impact on agriculture. Nevertheless, Belgium managed to avoid the revolutionary unrest that swept across Europe in 1848, partly thanks to the adoption in 1847 of a law lowering the voting qualification.

By the middle of the 19th century. the liberal bourgeoisie could no longer act as a united front with Catholic conservatives. The subject of dispute was the education system. Liberals, who favored formal secular schools in which the course of religion was replaced by a course of morality, had a majority in Parliament from 1847 to 1870. From 1870 to 1914 (except for the five years between 1879 and 1884), the Catholic Party was in power. Liberals managed to pass through parliament a law providing for the separation of schools from the church (1879). However, it was abolished by Catholics in 1884 and religious disciplines were returned to the primary school curriculum. The Catholics consolidated their power in 1893 by passing a law granting the right to vote to all adult men over 25, a clear win for the Catholic party.

In 1879, the Belgian Socialist Party was founded in Belgium, on the basis of which the Belgian Workers' Party (BWP), led by Emile Vandervelde, was formed in April 1885. The BRP abandoned the revolutionary struggle, being strongly influenced by Proudhonism and anarchism, and chose the tactics of achieving its goals through parliamentary means. In alliance with progressive Catholics and liberals, the BRP managed to push a number of democratic reforms through parliament. Laws were passed regarding housing, workers' compensation, factory inspection, and child and female labor. Strikes in industrial areas in the late 1880s brought Belgium to the brink of civil war. In many cities there were clashes between workers and troops, and there were killed and wounded. Unrest also spread to military units. The scale of the movement forced the clerical government to make some concessions. This concerned, first of all, amendments to the law on electoral rights and labor legislation.

Belgium's involvement in the colonial division of Africa during the reign of Leopold II (1864–1909) laid the foundations for another conflict. The Congo Free State had no official relations with Belgium, and Leopold II persuaded the European powers at the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, where the question of the partition of Africa was decided, to place him as autocratic monarch at the head of this independent state. To do this, he needed to obtain the consent of the Belgian parliament, since the constitution of 1831 prohibited the king from being simultaneously the head of another state. Parliament adopted this decision by a majority vote. In 1908, Leopold II ceded the rights to the Congo to the Belgian state, and from that time on the Congo became a Belgian colony.

A serious conflict arose between the Walloons and the Flemings. The Flemish demands were that French and Flemish be equally recognized as the state languages. A cultural movement arose and developed in Flanders, exalting the Flemish past and its glorious historical traditions. In 1898, a law was passed confirming the principle of “bilingualism”, after which the texts of laws, inscriptions on postage and revenue stamps, banknotes and coins appeared in two languages.

World War I.

Due to its insecure borders and geographical location at the crossroads of Europe, Belgium remained vulnerable to possible attacks by more powerful powers. The guarantees of neutrality and independence of Belgium from Great Britain, France, Prussia, Russia and Austria, provided by the Treaty of London of 1839, rather turned it into a hostage of the complex diplomatic game of European politicians. This guarantee of neutrality was in effect for 75 years. However, by 1907 Europe was divided into two opposing camps. Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary united in the Triple Alliance. France, Russia and Great Britain were united by the Triple Entente: these countries feared German expansion in Europe and the colonies. Increasing tensions between neighboring countries - France and Germany - contributed to the fact that neutral Belgium became one of the first victims of the First World War.

On August 2, 1914, the German government presented an ultimatum demanding that German troops be allowed to pass through Belgium to France. The Belgian government refused, and on August 4 Germany invaded Belgium. Thus began four years of destructive occupation. On the territory of Belgium, the Germans created a “government general” and brutally suppressed the Resistance Movement. The population suffered from indemnities and robberies. Belgian industry was completely dependent on exports, so the severance of foreign trade relations during the occupation led to the collapse of the country's economy. In addition, the Germans encouraged division among the Belgians by supporting extremist and separatist Flemish groups.

Interwar period.

The agreements reached at the peace negotiations at the end of the war contained both positive and negative aspects for Belgium. Under the Treaty of Versailles, the eastern districts of Eupen and Malmedy were returned, but the more desirable Duchy of Luxembourg remained an independent state. After the war, Belgium actually abandoned its neutrality, signing a military agreement with France in 1920, occupying the Ruhr region with it in 1923 and signing the Locarno Treaties in 1925. According to the last of them, the so-called. The Rhine Guarantee Pact, the western borders of Germany, defined by the Treaty of Versailles, were confirmed by the heads of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium.

Until the end of the 1930s, Belgians' attention was focused on internal problems. It was necessary to eliminate the severe destruction caused during the war, in particular, it was necessary to restore most of the country's factories. The reconstruction of enterprises, as well as the payment of pensions to veterans and compensation for damage, required large financial resources, and the attempt to obtain them through emissions led to a high level of inflation. The country also suffered from unemployment. Only the cooperation of the three main political parties prevented the domestic political situation from becoming more complicated. In 1929 the economic crisis began. Banks burst, unemployment grew rapidly, and production fell. The "Belgian New Economic Policy", which began to be implemented in 1935 mainly thanks to the efforts of Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland, marked the beginning of the country's economic revival.

The rise of fascism in Europe in general and the economic collapse contributed to the formation in Belgium of such far-right political groups as Leon Degrelle's Rexists (Belgian fascist party), and such extremist Flemish nationalist organizations as the National Union of Flemings (with an anti-French and authoritarian bent). In addition, the main political parties split into Flemish and Walloon factions. By 1936, the lack of internal unity led to the annulment of agreements with France. Belgium chose to act independently of the European powers. This change in Belgian foreign policy greatly weakened the French position, as the French hoped for joint action with the Belgians to protect their northern border and therefore did not extend the Maginot Line to the Atlantic.

The Second World War.

On May 10, 1940, German troops invaded Belgium without declaring war. The Belgian army surrendered on May 28, 1940, and the second four-year German occupation began. King Leopold III, who in 1934 inherited the throne from his father, Albert I, remained in Belgium and became a German prisoner at Laeken Castle. The Belgian government, led by Hubert Pierlot, emigrated to London and formed a new cabinet there. Many of its members, as well as many Belgians, questioned the king's claim that he was in Belgium to protect his people, mitigate Nazi brutality, be a symbol of national resistance and unity, and questioned the constitutionality of his actions.

Leopold III's behavior during the war became the main cause of the post-war political crisis and actually led to the king's abdication of the throne. In September 1944, the Allies occupied Belgian territory, expelling the German occupation forces. Returning from exile, Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot convened parliament, which, in the absence of Leopold III, elected his brother Prince Charles as regent of the kingdom.

Post-war reconstruction and European integration.

Belgium emerged from the war with its industrial potential largely intact. Therefore, industrial areas in the south of the country were quickly modernized with the help of American and Canadian loans and Marshall Plan financing. While the south was recovering, the development of coal deposits began in the north, and the capacity of the port of Antwerp was expanded (partly through foreign investment, and partly through the capital of already quite powerful Flemish financial companies). Congo's rich uranium deposits, which became especially important during the nuclear age, also contributed to Belgium's economic prosperity.

The recovery of the Belgian economy was also facilitated by the new movement for European unity. Such well-known Belgian politicians as Paul-Henri Spaak and Jean Rey made a great contribution to the convening and holding of the first pan-European conferences.

In 1948, Belgium joined the Western Union and joined the American Marshall Plan, and in 1949 joined NATO.

Problems of the post-war period.

The post-war years are characterized by the aggravation of several political problems: dynastic (the return of King Leopold III to Belgium), the struggle between church and state for influence on school education, the growth of the national liberation movement in the Congo and a fierce war on linguistic grounds between the Flemish and French communities.

Until August 1949, the country was ruled by governments consisting of representatives of all major parties - socialists, social Christians, liberals and (until 1947) communists. The cabinets were headed by the socialists Achille van Acker (1945–1946), Camille Huysmans (1946–1947) and Paul-Henri Spaak (1947–1949). In the parliamentary elections of 1949, the Social Christian Party (SCP) won, which received 105 of 212 seats in the House of Representatives and an absolute majority in the Senate. After this, a government of Social Christians and Liberals was formed, led by Gaston Eyskens (1949–1950) and Jean Duviesard (1950).

King Leopold III's decision to become a German prisoner of war and his forced absence from the country at the time of its liberation led to strong condemnation of his actions, especially from the Walloon socialists. The Belgians debated for five years the right of Leopold III to return to his homeland. In July 1945, the Belgian parliament passed a law according to which the king was deprived of the prerogatives of the sovereign and he was prohibited from returning to Belgium. The Walloons were particularly concerned about the king's activities during the war and even accused him of collaborating with the Nazis. They also resented his marriage to Lilian Bals, the daughter of a prominent Flemish politician. A national referendum in 1950 showed that the majority of Belgians were in favor of the return of the king. However, many of those who supported the king lived in the north, and the vote led to considerable divisions in society.

The arrival of King Leopold in Brussels on July 22, 1950 caused violent protests, strikes involving up to half a million people, rallies and demonstrations. The government sent troops and gendarmerie against the protesters. Socialist trade unions planned to march on Brussels. As a result, an agreement was reached between the SHP, which supported the monarch, on the one hand, and the socialists and liberals, on the other. Leopold III refused the throne in favor of his son.

In the summer of 1950, early parliamentary elections were held, during which the SHP received 108 of 212 seats in the House of Representatives, while maintaining an absolute majority in the Senate. In subsequent years, the country was governed by the social-Christian cabinets of Joseph Folien (1950–1952) and Jean van Goutte (1952–1954).

The "Royal Crisis" escalated again in July 1951, when Leopold III was due to return to the throne. Protests resumed, escalating into violent clashes. Ultimately, the monarch abdicated the throne and his son Baudouin (1951–1993) ascended the throne.

Another issue that threatened Belgian unity in the 1950s was the conflict over government subsidies for private (Catholic) schools. After the general elections of 1954, the country was governed by a coalition of the Belgian Socialist and Liberal parties led by A. van Acker (1954–1958). In 1955, socialists and liberals united against Catholics to pass legislation that cut spending on private schools. Supporters of different points of view on the problem held mass demonstrations in the streets. Ultimately, after the Social Christian (Catholic) Party headed the government in 1958, a compromise law was developed that limited the share of parish church institutions financed from the state budget.

After the success of the SHP in the general elections of 1958, a coalition of Social Christians and liberals led by G. Eyskens (1958–1961) was in power.

The temporary balance of power was upset by the decision to grant independence to the Congo. The Belgian Congo was an important source of income for Belgium, especially for a small number of large, mainly Belgian companies (such as the Haut-Katanga Mining Union), in which the Belgian government owned a significant number of shares. Fearing a repetition of France's sad experience in Algeria, Belgium granted independence to the Congo on June 30, 1960.

The loss of the Congo caused economic difficulties in Belgium. To strengthen the economy, the coalition government, consisting of representatives of the Social Christian and Liberal parties, adopted a program of austerity. Socialists opposed this program and called for a general strike. Unrest spread throughout the country, especially in the Walloon south. The Flemings refused to join the Walloons and boycotted the strike. The Flemish socialists, who had initially welcomed the strike, were frightened by the unrest and withdrew their further support. The strike ended, but the crisis exacerbated tensions between the Flemings and Walloons to such an extent that Socialist leaders proposed that the unitary state of Belgium be replaced by a loose federation of three regions - Flanders, Wallonia and the area around Brussels.

This division between the Walloons and the Flemings became the most difficult problem in modern Belgium. Before World War I, the dominance of the French language reflected the economic and political supremacy of the Walloons, who controlled both local and national governments and major parties. But after 1920, especially after World War II, a number of changes occurred. The expansion of suffrage in 1919 (women were deprived of it until 1948) and laws in the 1920s and 1930s that established equality between the Flemish and French languages ​​and made Flemish the language of government in Flanders strengthened the position of the northerners.

Dynamic industrialization turned Flanders into a prosperous region, while Wallonia experienced economic decline. The higher birth rate in the north contributed to the increase in the proportion of Flemings in the Belgian population. In addition, the Flemish population played a prominent role in the political life of the country; some Flemings received important government posts that had previously been occupied by the Walloons.

After the general strike of 1960–1961, the government was forced to hold early elections, which brought defeat to the SHP. However, the Social Christians entered a new coalition cabinet led by the socialist Théodore Lefebvre (1961–1965). In 1965, the government of the SHP and BSP was headed by the social Christian Pierre Armel (1965–1966).

In 1966, new social conflicts broke out in Belgium. During a miners' strike in the province of Limburg, police dispersed a workers' demonstration; two people were killed and dozens were injured. The Socialists left the government coalition, and the cabinet of the SHP and the liberal Freedom and Progress Party (PSP) came to power. It was headed by Prime Minister Paul van den Buynants (1966–1968). The government has reduced funds allocated for education, health care, social security, and also increased taxes.

The early elections of 1968 seriously changed the balance of political forces. The SHP and the Socialists lost a significant number of seats in parliament. Success accompanied the regional parties - the Flemish People's Union (founded in 1954), which received almost 10% of the votes, and the bloc of the Democratic Front of Francophones and the Walloon Rally, which collected 6% of the votes. The leader of the Flemish Social Christians (Christian People's Party) G. Eyskens formed a government consisting of the CPP, SHP and Socialists, which remained in power after the 1971 elections.

The coalition was undermined by persistent disagreements over the "language question", the boundaries between the Flemish and Walloon regions, as well as worsening economic difficulties and strikes. At the end of 1972, the government of G. Eyskens fell. In 1973, a government was formed from representatives of all three major movements - the socialists, the Christian People's Party, the French-speaking SHP and the liberals; BSP member Edmond Leburton (1973–1974) took over as Prime Minister. The new cabinet increased salaries and pensions, introduced state subsidies for private schools, created regional administrative bodies and took measures to develop the cultural autonomy of the Walloon and Flemish provinces. Continued economic difficulties, rising inflation, as well as objections from Christian parties and liberals to the creation of a state-owned Belgian-Iranian oil company led to early elections in 1974. They did not noticeably change the balance of power in parliament, but led to a change in power. The government formed by CPP leader Leo Tindemans (1974–1977) included representatives of Christian parties, liberals, and, for the first time, ministers from the regionalist Walloon Union. The coalition was constantly rocked by disagreements between partners regarding the purchase of military aircraft, consolidation of lower administrative units - communes, funding of universities and measures to revive the economy. The latter included increases in prices and taxes, cuts in social and cultural spending, and increased investment and assistance to businesses. In 1977, trade unions held a general strike of protest. Then the Walloon regionalists left the government, and early elections had to be held again. After them, L. Tindemans formed a new cabinet, which included, in addition to Christian parties and successful socialists, regional parties of Flanders (People's Union) and Brussels (Democratic Front of Francophones). The government promised to improve the economic and social climate in the country, as well as, within four years, to prepare legislative measures to ensure the autonomy of the Walloon and Flemish communities and the creation of three equal regions within Belgium - Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels ( Communities Pact). The latter project, however, was rejected by the HPP as unconstitutional, and Tindemans resigned in 1978. P. van den Buynants formed a transitional government, which held early elections that did not lead to a noticeable change in the balance of power. CPP leader Wilfried Martens headed in April 1979 a cabinet of Christian and socialist parties from both parts of the country, as well as representatives of the DFF (left in October). Despite the remaining sharp differences between the Flemish and Walloon parties, he began to implement reforms.

Laws of 1962 and 1963 established a precise linguistic boundary, but hostilities persisted and regional divisions intensified. Both Flemings and Walloons protested against discrimination in employment, and unrest broke out at the universities of Brussels and Louvain, eventually leading to the division of the universities along linguistic lines. Although the Christian Democrats and Socialists remained the main rivals for power throughout the 1960s, both Flemish and Walloon federalists continued to make gains in general elections, largely at the expense of the Liberals. Eventually separate Flemish and Walloon ministries of education, culture and economic development were created. In 1971, a revision of the constitution paved the way for the introduction of regional self-government in resolving most economic and cultural issues.

On the way to federalism.

Despite the change in the previous policy of centralization, federalist parties opposed the course towards regional autonomy. Repeated attempts to transfer real legislative power to regional bodies were hampered by a dispute over the geographical boundaries of the Brussels Region. In 1980, agreement was reached on the issue of autonomy for Flanders and Wallonia, and additional amendments to the constitution expanded the financial and legislative powers of the regions. This was followed by the creation of two regional assemblies, consisting of existing members of the national parliament from the constituencies in their respective regions.

Wilfried Martens headed the Belgian government until 1991 (with a break of several months in 1981, when Mark Eyskens was Prime Minister). The ruling cabinets, in addition to both Christian parties (CNP and SHP), alternately included Flemish and French-speaking socialists (1979–1981, 1988–1991), liberals (1980, 1981–1987), and the People's Union (1988–1991). The rise in oil prices in 1980 dealt a severe blow to Belgian trade and employment. Rising energy prices have led to the closure of many steel, shipbuilding and textile enterprises. Given the current situation, parliament granted Martens special powers: in 1982–1984, the franc was devalued, wages and prices were frozen.

The aggravation of national contradictions in the small district of Le Furon led in 1987 to the resignation of the Martens government. The population of Le Furon, part of the Walloon province of Liege, opposed the administration of Flemish Limburg that governed it, demanding that the mayor be equally proficient in the two official languages. The French-speaking mayor, who was elected, refused to learn Dutch. After the next elections, Martens formed a government, inviting the socialists into it on the condition that they would not support Mayor Furon.

NATO's plan to station 48 US long-range missiles in Wallonia caused public concern, and the government approved the deployment of only 16 of the 48 missiles. In protest against the deployment of American missiles, extremist organizations carried out a series of terrorist attacks in 1984–1985.

Belgium took part in the Gulf War of 1990–1991 only through the provision of humanitarian assistance.

In 1989, Brussels elected a regional assembly, which had the same status as the assemblies of Flanders and Wallonia. Further constitutional controversy arose when King Baudouin asked in 1990 to be relieved of his duties for one day in order to avoid giving royal assent to a law allowing abortion (although the ban on abortion had long been ignored). Parliament granted the king's request, approved the bill, and thus saved the king from conflict with the Catholics.

In 1991, the Martens government held early elections after the exit of the Flemish People's Union party, which protested against the extension of export benefits for Walloon arms factories. In the new parliament, the positions of the Christian and socialist parties weakened somewhat, and the liberals expanded their representation. Success accompanied the environmentalists, as well as the far-right Vlaams Bloc party. The latter waged a campaign against immigration, which intensified after protests by North African immigrants and riots in Brussels in May 1991.

The new government of Christian parties and socialists was headed by the representative of the Christian People's Party, Jean-Luc Dean. It promised to halve the budget deficit, reduce military spending and implement further federalization.

The Dean government (1992–1999) sharply cut public spending and raised taxes to reduce the budget deficit to 3% of GNP, as envisaged by the EU's Maastricht Accords. Additional revenues were obtained through the privatization of state-owned enterprises, etc.

In April 1993, parliament approved the last two of 34 planned amendments to the constitution, which provided for the transformation of the kingdom into a federation of three autonomous regions - Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. The transition to federation took place officially on May 8, 1993. The Belgian parliamentary system also underwent changes. From now on, all deputies were subject to direct election not only at the federal but also at the regional level. The House of Representatives was reduced from 212 to 150 deputies and was supposed to serve as the highest legislative authority. The reduced size of the Senate was intended to serve, first of all, to resolve conflicts between regions. The latter received broad powers in the field of agriculture, science, social policy, environmental protection, as well as the right to conclude international treaties, participate more widely in foreign trade and introduce their own taxes. The German linguistic community was part of Wallonia, but retained independence in matters of culture, youth policy, education and tourism.

In 1993, environmentalists achieved a fundamental decision to introduce an environmental tax. However, its actual implementation was repeatedly postponed.

In the mid-1990s, the country's crisis deepened due to government efforts to reduce the budget deficit and a series of scandals involving leaders of the ruling Socialist Party and police officials. Strict austerity measures and ever-increasing unemployment caused widespread labor unrest, which was fueled by the closure in 1997 of large steel plants in Wallonia and the Belgian car assembly plant of the French company Renault. In the 1990s, problems related to the former Belgian colonies resurfaced. Relations with Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo) became strained again in the early 1990s due to a dispute over the refinancing of Zaire's debt to Belgium and allegations of corruption against a number of officials who put pressure on the Zairean government. Belgium was drawn into a serious conflict that caused disasters in Rwanda (the former Belgian colony of Ruanda-Urundi) in 1990–1994.

Belgium at the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21st centuries.

In the fall of 1993, the government introduced Global Plan for Employment, Competitiveness and Social Security. It included the implementation of “austerity” measures: increasing VAT, property taxes, reducing child benefits, increasing payments to the pension fund, reducing medical expenses, etc. In 1995–1996, no real wage growth was envisaged. In response, strikes began, and in October 1993 a general strike took place. The government agreed to increase wages and pensions by 1%. The position of the ruling coalition was weakened by scandals in the Socialist Party; a number of its leading figures (including the deputy prime minister, the head of the Walloon government and the Walloon minister of the interior, the Belgian foreign minister) were accused of corruption and were forced to resign in 1994–1995. The same thing happened with the Minister of Defense, a member of the KNP. In the local elections in 1994, success accompanied the far-right parties Vlaams Bloc (28% of the vote in Antwerp) and the National Front.

In 1994, the Belgian government decided to abolish universal conscription and introduce a professional army. In 1996, Belgium was the last EU country to abolish the death penalty.

In the early parliamentary elections of 1995, despite the losses of the Walloon Socialists, the ruling coalition remained in power. In total, out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, Christian parties won 40 seats, socialists - 41, liberals - 39, environmentalists - 12, the Flemish bloc - 11, the People's Union -5 and the National Front - 2 seats. At the same time, the first direct elections to the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and the German Community took place. Prime Minister Dean formed a new government. It continued its policies of cutting government social spending, layoffs in the public sector, privatizing state-owned enterprises, selling gold reserves, and increasing VAT. These measures met resistance from trade unions, which again resorted to strikes (especially in transport). In May 1996, Parliament granted the Cabinet of Ministers emergency powers to take measures to increase employment, carry out social security reform and fiscal policy. At the same time, measures were taken to limit immigration and reduce opportunities for obtaining asylum in Belgium.

Since 1996, the country has been rocked by new scandals. The revelation of child sexual abuse and murder (the case of Marc Dutroux, who was involved in child pornography) revealed the involvement of influential persons from the spheres of politics, police and justice. The removal of judge Jean-Marc Connerot, who presided over the case, sparked widespread outrage, strikes, demonstrations and attacks on justice buildings. The king joined in criticizing the actions of the police and justice. On October 20, 1996, the largest protest demonstration in the history of Belgium took place - the “White March”, in which up to 350 thousand people took part.

The crisis was aggravated by scandals in the Walloon Socialist Party. A number of party figures were accused of organizing the murder of its chairman Andree Kools in 1991. Police arrested the former leader of the party's parliamentary faction and the former head of the Walloon government for accepting bribes from the French military concern Dassault; The chairman of the regional parliament resigned. In 1998, the court sentenced 12 prominent politicians in this case to suspended prison sentences ranging from 3 months to 3 years. The public reacted strongly to the expulsion of a Negirian refugee in 1998.

Socialist Interior Minister Louis Tobback was forced to resign from his post, and his successor was forced to promise to make asylum policy “more humane.”

In 1999, a new scandal followed, this time an environmental one, when dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered in chicken eggs and meat. The EU Commission imposed a ban on the purchase of Belgian food products, and the ministers of agriculture and health resigned. In addition, hazardous substances were discovered in Coca-Cola products in Belgium.

Numerous scandals ultimately led to the defeat of the ruling coalition in the parliamentary elections in 1999. The socialists and Christian parties suffered a heavy defeat, losing 8 seats each in the House of Representatives (they gained 33 and 32 seats, respectively). For the first time, the liberals who stood in the opposition came out on top, and together with the Democratic Front of Francophones and the Citizens' Movement for Change, they received 41 seats in the Chamber. Environmentalists almost doubled the number of votes cast for them (20 seats). The People's Union received 8 seats. The ultra-right also strengthened (15 seats went to the Vlaams Bloc, 1 to the National Front).

Flemish liberal Guy Verhofstadt formed a government with the participation of liberal, socialist and environmental parties (the so-called “rainbow coalition”).

Verhofstadt was born in 1953, studied law at Ghent University and worked as a lawyer. In 1976 he joined the Flemish liberal Party of Freedom and Progress, in 1979 he headed its youth organization, and in 1982 he became chairman of the party, which in 1992 was transformed into the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (FLD) party. In 1985 he was first elected to parliament, and in 1987 he became deputy head of government and budget minister in the Martens government. Since 1992, Verhofstadt has been a senator, and in 1995 he was elected vice-chairman. After failure in the 1995 parliamentary elections, he resigned as chairman of the FLD party, but again headed it in 1997.

The “rainbow” government gave tens of thousands of immigrants the opportunity to legalize, strengthened environmental controls over food quality, and recognized Belgium’s responsibility for policies in Africa that caused numerous casualties in Rwanda and the former Belgian Congo. In 2003, the Verhofstadt government did not support the US-British military intervention in Iraq. His continuation of tough economic and social policies (including pension reform) continued to cause discontent among the population. However, the liberal and socialist parties managed to emerge victorious in the 2003 general elections: the former won 49 seats in the House of Representatives, the latter – 48. The third partner in the ruling coalition, the environmentalists, suffered a crushing defeat this time, losing almost two-thirds of the votes. Flemish environmentalists generally lost representation in parliament, and Walloons received only 4 seats in the House of Representatives. The position of Christian parties weakened, losing 3 seats. But success again accompanied the ultra-right (FB won 12% of the vote and 18 seats in the Chamber, the National Front - 1 place). 1 mandate went to the New Flemish Alliance. After the elections, G. Verhofstadt remained at the head of the government, in which ministers from the liberal and socialist parties participate.

In June 2004, the high-profile trial of the century took place in Belgium. Serial killer Marc Dutroux was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping six girls and murdering four of them.

In November 2004, the nationalist political party Vlaams Bloc was declared racist and was subsequently disbanded. After 2004, the Vlemish Bloc was renamed the Vlemish Interest party, and the party program was adjusted and became more moderate.

Parliamentary elections took place in June 2007. The ruling coalition did not get the required number of votes. The Liberal Democrats won 18 seats, the Christian Democrats - 30 seats, the Flemish Interest - 17 seats, the Reform Movement - 23 seats, the Socialist Party (Wallonia) - 20 seats, the Socialist Party (Flanders) - 14 seats. Prime Minister Verhofstadt resigned after the defeat.

The most likely candidate for the post of prime minister, the leader of the Christian Democrats, Yves Leterme, was unable to agree on the creation of a coalition. He advocated the transfer of greater autonomy to the regions, but inter-party disputes over the transfer of powers led to a political impasse that lasted 9 months, and from then on the country began a political crisis.

The political crisis is also caused by the problem of the constituency Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. The essence of this problem lies in the peculiarities of the federal structure of Belgium. There are two types of federal subjects operating in parallel in the country – regions and communities. Belgium is divided into three regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) and three cultural communities (French, Flemish and German-speaking). Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde includes the territory of two regions: Brussels and part of Flanders. Halle-Vilvoorde is a district adjacent to Brussels in the province of Flemish Brabant, where a large French-speaking population lives. Thus, French speakers living in Flanders have special rights. They vote on Brussels electoral lists, not local ones. This issue was submitted for consideration to the Constitutional Court. In 2007 he ruled that the current electoral system does not comply with the Belgian constitution. Flemish politicians believe that this electoral system is discriminatory. But at present there is no solution to the problem, because... There is no common position among Flemish and Walloon politicians.

In December 2007, Verhofstadt was re-sworn in as caretaker prime minister. Negotiations between parliamentary parties continued. In March 2008, Yves Leterme became prime minister, and a government was formed in the same month. Proposals for constitutional reform to end the political impasse were due to be considered in the summer of 2008. In December 2008, Leterme resigned. The reason for the resignation was not a political crisis, but a financial scandal related to the sale of the banking and insurance group Fortis to the French bank BNP Paribas. That same year, Herman van Rompuy, leader of the Christian Democratic Party, became prime minister.

On June 13, 2010, early parliamentary elections took place. The largest number of votes (17.29%) were received by the New Flemish Alliance party (party leader - Bart De Wever) and the Walloon Socialist Party (14%) (leader - Elio di Rupo). However, a coalition government was never formed. Parliamentarians again failed to agree on a plan to reform the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency.

In December 2011, the cabinet of ministers was finally formed. Elio Di Rupo became Prime Minister. The coalition government included about 20 people, members from 6 parties. An inter-party agreement was signed, the text of which amounted to 200 pages.

In July 2013, King Albert II abdicated the throne in favor of his son Philip.

Literature:

Namazova A.S. Belgian Revolution of 1830 M., 1979
Aksenova L.A. Belgium. M., 1982
Gavrilova I.V. Economy of Belgium in the European Community. M., 1983
Drobkov V.A. At the crossroads of roads, cultures, stories. Essays on Belgium and Luxembourg. M., 1989
Country of the Blue Bird. Russians in Belgium. M., 1995



Water resources

The humid climate and uniform precipitation throughout the year are associated with an abundance of rivers that are characterized by high water content and the absence of sharp fluctuations in level between seasons. The low-lying terrain of most of Belgium, the large amount of precipitation and the seasonal nature of its fall determine the characteristics of the river regime. The Scheldt, Meuse and their tributaries slowly carry their waters across the central plateaus into the sea. The river beds gradually decrease and in some places are complicated by rapids and waterfalls. Most of the country's rivers are navigable, but it is necessary to regularly clear their beds of silt.

The Scheldt River crosses the entire territory of Belgium, but its estuary is located in the Netherlands. The River Leie flows northeast from the French border to its confluence with the Scheldt. The second place in importance is occupied by the Sambre-Meuse water system in the east. The Sambre flows from France and flows into the Meuse at Namur. From there r. The Meuse turns northeast and then north along the border with the Netherlands.

Climate

The climate of Belgium is typical of Western Europe. The proximity of the North Sea and the warm North Atlantic Current determines the formation in Belgium of a maritime, humid climate with mild winters and cool summers, quite favorable precipitation and temperature regimes for agriculture. Snow falls high in the Ardennes, where there are many excellent slopes for skiers. And the influence of the Gulf Stream means that there are no sudden temperature changes on the coast, although the prevailing westerly winds often bring rain clouds with them.

Humid, western and southwestern sea winds predominate, therefore cloudy weather with frequent fog and rain prevails in both winter and summer. Almost half of all days in the year are rainy.

There is no snow in the west of the country: when it falls, it immediately melts. Rivers don't freeze. As you move southeast, to the Ardennes, the influence of the sea decreases, the climate becomes more continental, although here frosty and snowy winters are rare. If the average January temperature for the whole of Belgium is +3°, then for the Ardennes it is below -1°; in general, the country is characterized by 80 frosty days a year, and the Ardennes - 120; the average July temperature is +18 and +14°, respectively. Annual precipitation is 700-900 mm, but in the Ardennes, where moist winds are blocked by mountains, it rises to 1500 mm.

belgium natural ethnic group geographical

Natural areas. Vegetation

Most of the country is flat and has a mild climate. The surface of the country gradually rises from the north-west. in the south-east, from the coastal lowland to the Ardennes. During low tides, a strip of sandy wattles up to 3.5 km wide is exposed. Dunes and dams protect from the tides a zone of fertile polders about 15 km wide, located below sea level (up to 2 meters). Behind the polders lie the flat lowlands of Low B.-Flanders and Campin (up to 50 meters high), composed of river and sea sediments; In some places in Flanders there are remnant hills (up to 150-170 meters high). Central Belgium is dominated by undulating plains (80-100 m high in the north, up to 180 m high in the south) with erosive landforms. On the extreme south-east. Limestone cuesta ridges are common (up to 460 m).

In Low Belgium the natural vegetation is represented by oak and birch, in Middle and High Belgium - beech and oak forests on podzolic and brown forest soils. Forests occupy about 18% of the country's area.

Red deer, roe deer, wild boar, wildcat, pine marten, and brown hare are preserved in the forests. Rodents are numerous: shrews, dormice, voles. The bird fauna is diverse, including hunting and commercial species (pheasants, partridges, woodcocks, etc.).