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Belgium

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Initial neutrality

Because of its location at the crossroads of Western Europe, Belgium has historically been the route of invading armies from its larger neighbours. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic Constitutional monarchy, whereby the The Constitution of Belgium dates back to 1831 Since then Belgium has been a Parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of Ministerial Monarchy in Belgium is Constitutional and popular in nature The hereditary Monarch Life Prince Albert was sent to the Swiss private school Institut Le Rosey for his pre-university education Biography Prince Philippe was educated at the Belgian Royal Military School The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers la Chambre des Représentants The Belgian Senate (de Senaat le Sénat der Senat is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the The Belgian Chamber of Representatives ( Dutch: de Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants, German The executive branch of the Belgian federal government consists of ministers and secretaries of state ("junior" ministers or smaller departments This is a list of Prime Ministers of Belgium, known regionally as Premier Ministre in French, Eerste Minister in Dutch, Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (born 6 October 1960 is a Belgian politician a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party ( CD&V) The Constitutional Court of Belgium (Grondwettelijk Hof Cour constitutionelle Verfassungsgerichtshof plays a central role within the federal Belgian state The Court of Cassation (Hof van Cassatie Cour de cassation Kassationshof is the main court of last resort in Belgium. Council of State (Raad van State Conseil d'État Staatsrat in Belgium, is an organ of the Belgian government it is the Supreme Administrative Court of Belgium Elections in Belgium gives information on Election and election results in Belgium. The 2007 Belgian general election took place on Sunday June 10, 2007. The Belgian municipal elections 2006 took place on Sunday October 8, 2006. On June 13, 2004, regional Elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders The May 18 2003 Belgian general elections were the first Belgian elections to be held under a new electoral code The Belgian municipal elections 2000 took place on Sunday October 8, 2000. Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities, three regions, and four language areas. Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities, three regions, and four language areas. Belgium is divided into three regions two of them are subdivided into five Provinces each The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy Belgium is a federation with a Multi-party political system with numerous parties who factually have no chance of gaining power alone and therefore must work with each other to form Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' With virtually defenceless borders, Belgium has traditionally sought to avoid domination by the more powerful nations which surround it through a policy of mediation. The Concert of Europe sanctioned the creation of Belgium in 1830 on the condition that the country remain strictly neutral. The Concert of Europe also known as the " Congress System " was the result of a custom following the era of Napoleon and the French Revolution adopted by The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those For other uses of Neutral and Neutrality see Neutral A neutral country takes no side in a War between other parties This policy neutrality ended after the experience of German occupation during World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All In the years preceding World War II, Belgium tried to return to a policy of neutrality, but once again, Germany invaded the country. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In 1948, Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and one year later became one of the founding members of the Atlantic Alliance. This article is on the 1948 treaty which served as a basis for the Western Union The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The North Atlantic Treaty

European integration

The Belgians have been strong advocates of European integration, and most aspects of their foreign, economic, and trade policies are coordinated through the European Union (EU), which has its main headquarters (the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and sessions of the European Parliament) in Brussels. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. The Council of the European Union is the principal decision making institution in the European Union (EU The European Parliament ( Europarl or EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU Belgium's postwar customs union with The Netherlands and Luxembourg paved the way for the formation of the European Community (precursor to the EU), of which Belgium was a founding member. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 Likewise, the Benelux abolition of internal border controls was a model for the wider Schengen Accord, which today is integrated in the acquis communautaire and aims at common visa policies and free movement of people across common borders. The term Schengen Agreement is used for two agreements concluded among European states in 1985 and 1990 which deal with the abolition of systematic Border controls The term acquis communautaire, or (EU acquis (aˈki is used in European Union law to refer to the total body of EU law accumulated thus far At the same time the Belgians, perceiving their diminutive role on the international scene, are strong advocates of strengthening economic and political integration within the EU. Recently, having federalised their own country, many Belgians view themselves as the ultimate "European federalists". Belgium actively seeks improved relations with the new democracies of central and eastern Europe through such fora as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, EU association agreements, and NATO's Partnership for Peace with the former Warsaw Pact countries and several others. The North Atlantic Treaty Partnership for Peace (PfP is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe.

NATO

Belgium remains a strong proponent of NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty It cooperates closely with the United States within the alliance framework, in addition to supporting European defense efforts through the Western European Union (WEU). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Western European Union ( WEU) is a partially dormant European defence and security organization established on the basis of the Treaty of Brussels of 1948 Both NATO (since 1966) and the EU have their headquarters in Brussels; SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) is in the south of the country, near Mons. The North Atlantic Treaty Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE) is the central command of NATO Military forces Since January 1993, the WEU has been headquartered in Brussels.

Subregional integration with The Netherlands and Luxembourg

Belgium has been involved in (sub)regional integration since the first half of the twentieth century, first with the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union, founded in 1925, and then, since 1944, with The Netherlands and Luxembourg in the Benelux. The Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (Belgisch-Luxemburgse Economische Unie Union économique belgo-luxembourgeoise, Belsch-Lëtzebuerger Wirtschaftsunioun abbreviated to Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe that includes three neighboring monarchies, '''Be'''lgium, the '''Ne'''therlands, and

Belgium's federalism and international relations

A peculiar feature of Belgian federalism is the fact that the country's Communities and Regions maintain their own international relations, including the conclusion of treaties. Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities, three regions, and four language areas. Thus, there are a number of bilateral Dutch-Flemish international institutions, such as the Dutch Language Union or the institutions for the control of the river Scheldt, in which only Flanders takes part. See also Dutch orthography List of language academies The Scheldt (Dutch Schelde, French Escaut, Latin Scaldis) is a 350 km[http //www Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Likewise, only the French Community of Belgium takes part in La Francophonie. The French Community of Belgium (Communauté française de Belgique Franse Gemeenschap van België Französische Gemeinschaft Belgiens is one of the three official communities La Francophonie is an international organisation of French-speaking countries and governments and in French, the community of French-speaking peoples Ministers of the Communities and the Regions represent Belgium in the Council of the European Union when their competencies are dealt with.

Former colonies

Belgium retains special (important) but often stormy relationships with its former colonies, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the Burundi (buˈɾundi officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda The current constitution of Democratic Republic of the Congo was designed with the assistance of Belgian legal scholars.

International disputes

Belgium has resorted several times to international dispute settlement, notably in cases at both the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration with the Netherlands concerning the diversion of water from the Meuse (1937) the frontier at the enclave of Baarle-Hertog (1959) and the revitalisation of the so called Iron Rhine railroad (2005). See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour The Permanent Court of Arbitration ( PCA) is an International organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands. Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Baarle-Hertog is a Municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Iron Rhine ( Dutch: IJzeren Rijn / German: Eiserner Rhein) is a freight railway connecting the port of Antwerp in Belgium Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. There have been other points of contention with the Netherlands, such as the deepening of the river Scheldt or the route for the high speed rail link between Brussels and Amsterdam. This does however not influence the overall amicable character of Belgo-Dutch relationship. Other former cases at international courts between Belgium and other countries are — in chronological order — the Oscar Chinn Case of 1934 (with the United Kingdom, the Borghgrave Case of (1937), the cases of the electricity company of Sofia (with Bulgaria) and of the "société commerciale de Belgique" (with Greece) of 1939, the case concerning the Barcelona Traction Company of 1970 (with Spain), the arrest warrant case of 2002 (with the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the case concerning legality of use of force of 2004 (with Serbia and Montenegro). Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Barcelona Traction was a corporation that controlled light and power utilities in Spain and was incorporated in Toronto, ( Canada) September 12 1911 by Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (Државна заједница Србија и Црна Гора / Državna zajednica Srbija i Crna Gora, abbreviated

The arrest warrant case of 2002 was caused by the application of Belgium's so called genocide law, providing for universal jurisdiction over the gravest international crimes. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group Universal jurisdiction or universality principle is a controversial principle in International law whereby States claim criminal Jurisdiction The same law stirred relations with, amongst others, Israel and the United States, since complaints were filed against high ranking politicians and officials of both countries. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The law was therefore repealed in 2003. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

See also

References

External links

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