The N-VA demands compliance with linguistic legislation in the periphery

Flemish MPs Inez De Coninck and Nadia Sminate demand better compliance with linguistic legislation in the municipalities with language facilities. “The six municipalities around Brussels have been refusing to respect language legislation for decades. It has been no different during this coronavirus crisis. Even more than that, they are using the momentum to push their French-speaking agenda through even more. We demand that Minister Bart Somers takes firm action, reminds the municipalities of their obligations and rigorously annuls municipal decisions that violate language legislation.”

Certain municipal authorities are exploiting the pandemic to erode language legislation, Nadia Sminate notes. “We recently saw the example of Sint-Genesius-Rode, which single-handedly bombarded residents with ‘fake letters of invitation’ for the vaccination in several languages. This was extremely confusing for the residents, who thought it was a real letter of invitation for a vaccination. And moreover, disloyal to the Flemish government, which sends out the real invitations.”

It is not only municipalities with language facilities that are flouting language legislation

Unfortunately, such practices are not limited to municipalities with language facilities. The municipality of Zaventem sent out a trilingual information brochure, and in Vilvoorde, they stated earlier that during the coronavirus crisis, the language legislation is “disruptive”. “Certain local Flemish politicians are apparently no longer fighting for respect for Dutch and the Flemish character of the Flemish periphery. In 2021, it seems that we must not only stand up against French-speaking obstructionists, but also against overly benevolent Dutch-speaking politicians who think they can gain electoral advantage from non-compliance with clear rules,” Nadia Sminate says.

Kraainem calls on French-speaking residents to register their language preference

According to Inez De Coninck, the persistent language problems will continue to fester in this way. She cites the example of Kraainem, where a municipal decision approves language registration as a permanent instrument. The French-speaking residents were called upon via the municipal newspaper to register their language preference. “This is a clear violation of language legislation. This is diametrically opposed to the many efforts that Flanders is rolling out in the Flemish periphery, for example, with regard to integration and education,” Inez De Coninck says. “Such decisions must therefore be annulled without question.”

Dutch has absolute priority in Flanders

“The municipalities with language facilities are located on Flemish territory, and in Flanders, Dutch has absolute priority. Certain people flatly refuse to adapt to the rules in force that we have jointly agreed upon and repeatedly confirmed across party lines. We demand that Minister Bart Somers takes firm action and proactively reminds the municipalities of their obligations.”