Government Donors

Belgium

• © Franky De Meyer - Central square in Brussels, with flower carpet

Belgium voluntary contributions to UNESCO in 2007 have amounted at US$ 4 millions, including the contribution of the Government of Flanders who has been an important partner of extrabudgetary funding in cooperation with UNESCO.

The Kingdom of Belgium is a constitutional monarchy. The 1993 reform of the Belgian Constitution was the latest in a series of constitutional changes (others occurred in 1970, 1980 and 1988) which have transformed the country into a federal state made up of three Communities and three Regions. The three Communities are the French Community, the Flemish Community and the German-speaking Community. The three Regions are the Brussels-Capital Region, the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region.

Decision-making power is shared by the Federal Government, the three Communities and the three Regions, which are equal in law and exercise their responsibilities independently in various fields. The Federal Government, Communities and Regions each have their own parliament and government, although the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region have merged their parliaments and governments. Following the principle “in foro interno, in foro externo”, the Regions and Communities in Belgium are externally competent for their internal competences.

The focal point for the extra-budgetary cooperation with the Federal Government is the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGDC). International cooperation for development is carried out by the Directorate-General under the supervision of the Federal Ministries of Foreign Affairs, commerce and cooperation for development. The Sciences Policy Office of the Federal Government also cooperates with UNESCO through a five years agreement (2002-2005) with the World Heritage Centre,which have been renewed in December 2006.

The Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs and the Flemish Department of Sciences, Economics and Innovation are the focal points in Flanders for the Flemish Funds in Trust.

The Commissariat général aux Relations internationales is the focal point for extra-budgetary cooperation with the Government of the French Community and of the Walloon Region.

UNESCO and Belgium’s extrabudgetary cooperation
UNESCO cooperates with Belgium through three channels, namely
• The Belgian Federal Government
• The Flemish Government (Belgium)
• The Government of the French Community (Belgium)

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