Brussels’ compliance with language legislation is worsening year after year

The latest language report by the Brussels Vice-Governor shows that compliance with language legislation by Brussels local authorities is worsening significantly once again. The managerial positions have been filled equally in barely two of the 19 municipalities and in three of the 19 Public Social Welfare Centres - this is divided equally between the two language groups. “However, instead of making efforts to rectify the situation, the Brussels government seems to be throwing in the towel,” the N-VA concludes.

The situation is very problematic. “The Vice-Governor suspended 2,371 recruitments in the past year, of which the government again did not annul any. Year after year, compliance with language legislation is getting worse. In the meantime, this government no longer seems to be concerned: instead of stepping up efforts, they are throwing in the towel,” responds Cieltje Van Achter, N-VA group chair in the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region.

Minister for the Erosion of Bilingualism

“Our resolutions calling for compliance with language legislation are being voted down repeatedly - including by the Brussels Dutch-speaking government parties Groen, One.Brussels-Vooruit and Open Vld. Meanwhile, the Brussels liberals are launching a proposal to regularise English as an official language at the Brussels counters. If they already fail to offer good service in Dutch, how do they want to offer services at the counters in yet other languages?” asks Van Achter. “The new ministerial post for Multilingualism (Sven Gatz, Open Vld party) looks increasingly like a ministerial post for the erosion of bilingualism.”

Massive violation of Brussels Flemish people’s rights

Flemish MP Annabel Tavernier also comments on the figures: “The report once again painfully confirms that the rights of the Flemish people in Brussels are being violated on a massive scale. The language legislation must nevertheless guarantee the right to be helped in your own language at a counter, by the police and in a hospital. It is an absolute disgrace that people in Brussels continue to look the other way. Flanders is nevertheless reaching out to Brussels municipalities to learn Dutch, but even with a new and expanded offer from the Huis van het Nederlands, this is apparently not a priority for the majority of Brussels municipalities.”