The Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (or VGC, or, in English, the Flemish Community Commission) is the local representative of the Flemish authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. The VGC depends on the Flemish Parliament, and its council is made up by the members of the Dutch linguistic group of the Brussels Parliament, whereas its executive is made up of the two Flemish ministers and the Flemish secretary of the Brussels-Capital Government.
The VGC was established by the special (constitutional) law of 12 January 1989.
The VGC has competencies for cultural, educational, well-being and health for Flemings in Brussels. It reaches and estimated 200.000 inhabitants of Brussels with its services, mostly Dutch-speakers, and a significant number of migrants. However, several of these competencies are rather limited in practice, e.g. it has not the slightest authority for hospitals.
Strictly legally speaking, the VGC is only competent for institutions depending from the Flemish government, and not for individual persons. This was a consequence of the fact that no formal Flemish citizenship was established. The VGC is the successor from the Nederlandse Commissie voor de Cultuur van de Brusselse agglomeratie (NCC) (in Dutch), established in 1971. The VGC also assumed all Flemish community-specific responsibilities in Brussels from the former province Brabant when it was split up.
It does not have legislative power contrary to the other two community commissions.
Famous quotes containing the words flemish, community and/or commission:
“These Flemish pictures of old days;
Sit with me by the homestead hearth,
And stretch the hands of memory forth
To warm them at the wood-fire’s blaze!”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)
“The peace loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those violations of treaties and those ignorings of humane instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality.... When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Yesterday the Electoral Commission decided not to go behind the papers filed with the Vice-President in the case of Florida.... I read the arguments in the Congressional Record and can’t see how lawyers can differ on the question. But the decision is by a strictly party vote—eight Republicans against seven Democrats! It shows the strength of party ties.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)