The German-speaking community (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft: DG) is a federated state of Belgium enjoying wide-ranging autonomy. The official language of the region, also for schools and courts of law, is German. The DG has its own parliament, government and administration. Its areas of competence are, for the most part, Culture, Education, Training and Employment, Family and Social policy, as well as the supervision of local authorities. The DG has a population of around 75,000 in an area of 854m².
The DG lies to the east of the country adjacent to Germany, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. It is a member of several trans-frontier alliances, among which features the Maas-Rhine Euregio.
Frontier region DG – making a virtue of necessity
The DG counts Germany, Luxemburg and the Netherlands among its immediate neighbours. Such frontier topography, formerly a source of danger, has now become an advantage. East Belgians live on the fault line of the Romanic and Germanic cultures, which can be felt in their lifestyle and character.
Today’s companies value the multi-cultural competence of the East Belgians. Thus the DG finds itself in the centre of a trans-frontier market for employment and services. International commuting is a daily occurrence for the DG’s citizens, as well as a working reality in the life of its institutions. The DG is increasingly called upon at the federal level to serve as a bridge to the German-speaking countries and regions of Europe.
Vacation land East Belgium
The East Belgians have the good fortune to live where others, from home or abroad, take their holidays: meadows and fields alternate with wide expanses of forest, which cover roughly half of East Belgium. A comprehensive network of cycle and trekking paths attracts lovers of fresh-air and unspoilt nature, while many tourists punctuate their visit with the kind of fine culinary experience for which Belgian cuisine is famous.
Tourism, Youth and Sport
In the context of Belgium’s EU-presidency, the DG assumes chairmanship for the field of Tourism, in which Minister Isabelle Weykmans will preside the Council composed by representatives of all 27 member states.
In the domains of Youth policy and Sports, the DG holds the Belgian chair in the Council and the various meetings.