The leaders of PS, MR and Ecolo have been secretly negotiating an agreement over the past few months for a reform of the French-speaking institutions, Le Soir and Sudinfo report on Thursday.
Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), Paul Magnette (PS) and Jean-Marc Nollet (Ecolo) have agreed on a roadmap for the overhaul of the French Community Government (the Wallonia-Brussels Federation – FWB), which they are seeking to present as a resolution to the French-speaking parliament.
Between July 2022 and April 2023, leaders of the French-speaking socialists, liberals and greens have negotiated a compromise, although some sticking points remain.
The three major parties have agreed on two principles: retaining the French Community, also known as the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, and streamlining it.
It would be refocused on four competencies: education, culture, audiovisual and research. The others (youth aid, houses of justice, early childhood, civil service, equal opportunities, health, and training) would go back to the Walloon and Brussels Regions.
Hurdles ahead
The roadmap of the three parties cedes the competency for sport to the regions, but MR is pushing to keep it at the FWB.
To make savings, gain efficiency and respond to the call from citizens, the reform would result in a reduction in the number of ministers and parliamentarians at the Federation.
However, this project faces major hurdles that could prevent it from being put into practice.
In the event of the regionalisation of certain powers currently held by the French Community of Belgium, Flanders would itself have to agree to transfer powers (equivalent to those transferred on the French-speaking side) to the Brussels Region.
Pro-Francophone party DèFI, Francois De Smet, warned on Wednesday that moving competencies will create "more disorder, more competition between entities, more administrative difficulties and more costs for the community." He added that transferring these matters to the Regions would "go against the grain of history."
