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Wallonia and Brussels are unlike other regions. Indeed the Regions and Communities that make up the Belgian federal state have an original status within the European Union. They have a decision-making capability and scope for independent action that are particularly important in the many fields relating to their exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, within their areas of competence, their decision-making autonomy extends to the international stage.
On the European stage
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Wallonia and the French Community (the authority associating it with Brussels) therefore play an active role in the elaboration and implementation of European policies. Representatives of the Regions and Communities of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and Belgium’s German-speakers have a voice on behalf of Belgium in the Council of Ministers of the European Union. A regional or community minister may therefore be called upon to chair meetings of the Council in the same way as a federal minister, according to their responsibilities within the country. This institutional system also means that the ratification of international treaties by Belgium requires the assent of regional and community parliaments. Adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon therefore required the assent of the Walloon Parliament and the French Community Parliament. As such, Wallonia and the French Community play a positive and voluntaristic role in implementation of the “EU 2020” economic, social and environmental strategy, in the elaboration of which they were actively involved. Wallonia and the French Community are also particularly attentive to maintaining and even strengthening the Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion Policy, to allow all European Regions to overcome structural difficulties impeding the creation of activity and jobs. They work for the establishment of an ambitious, long-lasting and cohesive industrial policy based on greater investment in research and training in order in particular to gain a better understanding of the problem of industrial transformation. They also promote the establishment of European policies that give more support to cultural diversity in Europe and throughout the world.
On the international stage
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On the basis of their exclusive competences and their extension into the international arena, Wallonia and the French Community have developed a particularly dense network of international relations. Resolutely open to the world, they have put in place cooperation programmes with many countries or regions in a spirit of mutual exchange and enrichment and, where relevant, solidarity. Wallonia and the French Community have concluded around seventy bilateral agreements. Together they have woven a network of representations around the world. Fifteen delegations with diplomatic status in Algiers, Berlin, Bucharest, Dakar, Geneva, Hanoi, Kinshasa, Paris, Beijing, Quebec, Rabat, Santiago, Tunis, Warsaw and within the European Union and around a hundred economic and trade attachés ensure the presence and visibility of Wallonia and Brussels on every continent.
Economy and quality of life
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Wallonia is a land steeped in history, advanced and mature in industrial terms and home to many artists and inventors. It is resolutely focused on the future and ready to take up new challenges. It intends to do so by exploiting an open approach to the world that has always been part of its make-up. Occupying a pivotal position in close proximity to Europe’s three capitals (Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg), it has been an exceptional meeting place and forum and an ideal incubator both for ideas and foreign investors for may centuries. Its economy is largely centred on innovation and research and its human resources can boast one of the highest rates of productivity in the world. Forward-looking, in collaboration with Brussels, Wallonia’s regional development strategy known as the Green Marshall Plan 2.0 seeks to return Wallonia to the ranks of Europe’s most attractive economies by concentrating important resources on a number of socio-economic priorities chosen for their structural capacities. Its clear aim is to support the creation of activities and jobs by promoting the excellence of its human capital, research, innovation and international outlook. With the support of the French Community, Wallonia and Brussels have also developed a particularly fertile creative genius. Who has not heard of the painters René Magritte and Paul Delvaux, the composers Roland de Lassus, André-Modeste Grétry, César Frank and Guillaume Lekeu, the writers Georges Simenon and Amélie Nothomb, the pioneering cartoonists Hergé, Franquin and Peyo, not to mention Adolphe Sax, the gifted inventor of the saxophone. Nor should we neglect the successes of Walloon cinema, and in particular the Dardenne brothers – two-time winners of the Palme d’or at Cannes, and actors such as Benoît Poelvoorde, Olivier Gourmet, Emilie Dequenne and Cécile de France. All of the above are part of the rich heritage of Wallonia and Brussels and the vibrancy that characterises these two partner regions, each in their own way. We invite you to discover the strengths and benefits of this dynamic Wallonia.