Because it is made up of both French and Dutch speakers the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual. Each of these communities pursues its own policies with regard to community responsibilities on the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region (such as culture, education, health care, assistance). To this end, they have established three Community institutions in Brussels.
A brief clarification
Belgium is a federal state made up of a federal level, three communities and three regions.
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The three regions of Belgium (the Walloon Region, the Flemish Region and the Brussels-Capital Region) are the competent authorities for territory-related matters (such as urban development, transport and the environment)
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The three communities of Belgium (the French Community, the Flemish Community and the German-speaking Community) are responsible for more individual and linguistic matters (such as teaching, culture, health care and assistance)
As a consequence, the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region is occupied by two communities: the French Community and the Flemish Community. This led to the establishment of special community commissions in Brussels.
Three community commissions
To exercise community responsibilities at the Brussels-Capital Region, the following community commissions have been created:
The action of the communities is based on the principle that there is no such thing as a "sub-nationality". The inhabitants of the Brussels-Capital Region cannot be obliged to make a choice between one of the two communities to access the services of this community.
