Brussels and Ixelles officials will deepen their cooperation to offer improved public services for municipal residents, who they no longer wish to see "punished" by the administrations' institutional cobwebs.
At a joint meeting on Wednesday, local officials said they work to further integrate public sectors across the bordering municipalities, which already share a police zone.
"It is essential that public powers work together as much as possible because citizens should never be punished by our institutional complexities," Christos Doulkeridis, a local Ixelles councillor said at the meeting, according to BX1.
Officials from both municipalities will work jointly in sectors ranging from mobility to education, and from public cleanliness to culture and sport.
Management of inter-municipal streets and squares, such as Avenue Louise, Avenue de la Toison d'Or and Place Lumumba were a central talking point during the first of two joint meetings expected to be held this year.
An initial objective adopted on Wednesday saw officials declare they would coordinate parking regulations for residents in peripheral zones of both Ixelles and Brussels.
They also talked of plans to create a common fresco and street art trail and a running trail or track across both municipalities.
In regards to education, plans to coordinate enrollment systems for elementary schools were discussed, and officials announced ambitions to develop an "intercommunal" vision for the ULB and VUB, Brussels' French and Dutch-speaking universities, respectively.
Plans to improve public cleanliness in both Brussels and Ixelles were seen as a priority for officials across the board, who said they would work to set up a "cleanliness cell" which would jointly manage and oversee bordering streets.
On Twitter, Brussels Mayor Philippe Close announced the first meeting had been held, calling for better cooperation between the municipalities of Brussels.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
