Institutional reform: merging 25 structures into 4 pillars

Institutional milestones completed

The institutional calendar has reached its key milestones:

• Monday 23 February — the Minister-President presented the Regional Policy Declaration (DPR) to the Brussels Parliament in plenary session
• Monday 23 February at 4:30 PM — Ahmed Laaouej (PS) presented the Community Policy Declaration (DPC) of the Cocof to the French-speaking Brussels Parliament
• Wednesday 25 February — vote of confidence in the Brussels Parliament

Cocof: presidency and competences

The agreement on the presidency of the French-speaking Brussels Parliament (Cocof assembly) was finalised on 23 February 2026:

• Rudi Vervoort (PS) serves as president until 1 November 2027
• Gladys Kazadi (Les Engagés) takes over for the remainder of the legislature
• Remuneration: +35,000 EUR/year on top of the parliamentary allowance

The distribution of Cocof competences has drawn criticism:

The Employment/Training split places Actiris and Bruxelles Formation under different ministerial oversight — a choice contested by the opposition (Bernard Clerfayt, DéFI, citing OECD recommendations in favour of integration).

Bilingualism: commitment and controversy

The RPD lists bilingualism as an institutional priority. The Minister-President publicly acknowledged his insufficient command of Dutch, stating he owes it to Brussels residents to improve. The Dutch-language press covered this issue extensively, highlighting its significance in an officially bilingual region. The issue remains sensitive in the Brussels-Capital Region, where institutional bilingualism is a legal obligation.

The delay in finalising the Dutch-language version of the RPD — still unavailable five days after the agreement, according to BRUZZ (17 February 2026) — has reignited the debate on institutional bilingualism. The language question remains a structural issue in Belgium: the 1831 Constitution only received an official Dutch text in 1967 — for 136 years, only the French text had legal standing. The German version was not adopted until 1991.

Bilingualism Masterplan ("Masterplan Tweetaligheid")

The RPD announces a cross-cutting Bilingualism Masterplan with several simultaneous tracks:

• Hospitals: each Brussels hospital must submit a language policy plan ("taalbeleidsplan"). Staff will be able to follow funded language training. The aim is to guarantee access to care in both official languages — a sensitive point since the baby Cisse case (failure of Dutch-language communication in the emergency department).
• Regional administration: additional funding for language training in autonomous public bodies (OIP) and the regional public service (SPRB). Talent.brussels already manages bilingualism premiums (600 to 3,200 EUR/year depending on SELOR/CEFR level).
• Municipalities and CPAS: guidance to strengthen bilingualism in local public services.
• Jobseekers: mandatory language test upon registration with Actiris; mandatory FR/NL training if the test is failed (see Employment card).

In parallel, at the Flemish Community level, Minister Cieltje Van Achter (N-VA) is developing a separate "totaalplan" through the Huis van het Nederlands to boost Dutch usage in Brussels. Both plans (regional and Flemish community) overlap on the ground but fall under different levels of government — a typical illustration of Brussels' institutional complexity.

Cocof Presidency and DPC

On 20 February 2026, the Cocof college approved the Community Policy Declaration. Ahmed Laaouej (PS) is Minister-President of the Cocof, in keeping with the convention assigning this role to the second-largest French-speaking coalition party. The community majority comprises MR, PS and Les Engagés.

The DPC was presented to the French-speaking Brussels Parliament on 23 February 2026. The announced priorities include subtitling BX1 (Dutch, English, accessibility), combating school dropout, vocational training, an integrated social-health plan, and expanding childcare places.

RPD commitments

The Regional Policy Declaration of 13 February 2026 provides for the most ambitious restructuring in the history of the Brussels administration. Chapter 4 details the merger of 25 regional structures into 4 pillars.

Pillar 1: Brussels-Cross-cutting (shared support)

Groups the common support services for the entire Region:

• SPRB Human Resources, Talent.Brussels
• Finance & Budget, Connect IT, Paradigm
• Equal.Brussels, Easy.Brussels
• Regional Land Agency, IBSA (statistics)
• Brussels Fiscality (including LEZ, ANPR, kilometre tax)

Pillar 2: SPRB Core missions

Groups the policy administrations:

• Brussels-International, Brussels-Mobility
• Brussels-Economy, Brussels-Employment (with Actiris?)
• Brussels-Local Authorities, Brussels-Housing (with Homegrade)
• Brussels-Environment (excluding parks), Brussels-Urban Planning (merger of perspective.brussels + urban.brussels)
• Safe.Brussels

Pillar 3: infrastructure.brussels (new public-law corporation)

New autonomous corporation grouping:

• Build/Maintain/DITP from Brussels-Mobility
• Port infrastructure
• Parks and green spaces (transferred from Brussels-Environment)

Deadline: 2027

Pillar 4: Land coordination

Coordinates regional land actors:

• Regional Land Agency, SAU, citydev
• SLRB, Port of Brussels (concessions), Housing Fund

Timeline

• 2026: Pillars 1 & 2 operational (priority)
• 2027: Pillar 3 (infrastructure.brussels)
• Progressive mergers Pillar 2: Urban Planning → International → Economy → Employment

COCOM: provisional twelfths extended

The COCOM college decided on 26 February 2026 to extend provisional twelfths until 1 June 2026. The regional budget 2026 will be submitted to Parliament on 6 March 2026; the COCOM budget will follow on 20 April 2026.

According to the government note, 98% of the 2026 budget is already committed (family allowances are guaranteed). However, subsidised non-profits remain in uncertainty: provisional twelfths prevent them from accessing their normal funding and contracting bridging loans from banks, leading to service cuts and staff reductions.

Parliament: tensions over the Equal Opportunities Commission

On 26 February 2026, the bureau of the Brussels Parliament examined a proposal to transform the permanent Commission on Equal Opportunities and Women's Rights into a simple advisory committee attached to the Interior Affairs Commission. This change would have removed its legislative and budgetary oversight powers.

The proposal drew reactions within the majority:

• The PS (Jamal Ikazban) expressed "stupefaction" and demanded the permanent commission status be maintained
• The MR (Loubna Azghoud) discovered the proposal "with surprise"
• Ecolo (Zakia Khattabi) claimed to have prevented the point from passing: "without the Greens, this point would have gone through"

The point was postponed to the next bureau meeting. The Equal Opportunities portfolio is held by Ahmed Laaouej (PS) in the government.

Institutional complexity: Belgium's "lasagne"

The Brussels Region operates within an institutional network of unique density in Europe. Across 19 municipalities and 6 levels of government (federal, regional, community, COCOM/COCOF/VGC, municipal), competences are fragmented and intertwined. The oft-cited example: health falls under no fewer than 9 ministers in Belgium. This phenomenon, called the "institutional lasagne", makes integrated policymaking particularly difficult in Brussels. The reform of 25 structures into 4 pillars is an attempt at simplification at the regional level, but does not touch the community-level architecture.

Sources and methodology

The commitments documented above come from the official text of the RPD (chapter 4) and from concordant press sources covering the government agreement of 12 February 2026.