Citizens' assemblies: 6 commissions completed, 205+ recommendations, 7th in preparation

The deliberative commissions of the Brussels Parliament

Since December 2019, the rules of the Brussels Parliament (art. 28bis) allow the creation of deliberative commissions bringing together 45 randomly selected citizens and 15 MPs. The mechanism enables citizens to deliberate directly with their elected representatives over 4 to 5 days and to formulate recommendations transmitted to the relevant parliamentary committee.

Citizens are selected through a double random draw using national register numbers from among residents of the Brussels Region aged 16 and over. The democratie.brussels platform ensures the transparency of the process.

Six commissions completed (2021–2024)

Total: ~205 recommendations, transmitted to the relevant parliamentary committees. Follow-up is ensured by MPs, who must report back within six months.

7th commission: public cleanliness (2026)

On 23 January 2026, the Brussels Parliament approved almost unanimously (only the two N-VA MPs voted against) the creation of a deliberative commission on public space cleanliness. The topic had been proposed through a citizen suggestion (1,000 signatures required).

• 45 citizens will be randomly selected from 1,000 invitees
• Sessions planned for spring 2026
• First commission of the new legislative term

8th commission: mobility (postponed)

A second citizen suggestion on mobility had also gathered 1,000 signatures. The extended bureau of Parliament decided to postpone this commission to H2 2026, for budgetary reasons and to allow the cleanliness commission to take place first.

The permanent citizens' assembly for climate

Distinct from the deliberative commissions, the citizens' assembly for climate is a permanent body created by ordinance (2022, amended in March 2024). It is composed of 65 to 100 citizens randomly selected from 10,000 invited residents, renewed by thirds each year. Participants receive 75 EUR per full day of participation.

Three cycles completed

The recommendations from the first cycle were submitted to the government in June 2023. The permanent status of the assembly is conditional on the adoption of a ministerial decree defining the precise modalities — initially expected before the end of 2025.

AGORA: the independent citizens' initiative

AGORA is a citizens' movement (non-institutional) launched in 2019, inspired by the Irish model. 89 randomly selected citizens formulated concrete legislative proposals, one of which led to the ordinance on municipal popular consultations (2024).

Current status: inactive since 2024. Funding was not renewed. No mention in the 2026 DPR.

Municipal participatory budgets

Several Brussels municipalities have established participatory budgets allowing citizens to propose and vote on local projects:

• Ixelles: 4th edition (2025-2026), 170,000 EUR — citizen projects from 7,500 to 25,000 EUR
• Woluwe-Saint-Lambert: 200,000 EUR annually dedicated to projects of collective interest
• Watermael-Boitsfort, Uccle, Ville de Bruxelles, Auderghem: active schemes

In total, 148 participatory processes have been organised in Brussels since 2019, across all formats.

Legal framework: four distinct bases

1. Parliament Rules of Procedure, art. 28bis (December 2019) — deliberative commissions
2. Climate ordinance (2022, amended 2024) — permanent citizens' assembly for climate
3. Popular consultations ordinance (2024, originating from AGORA) — municipal consultations
4. New Municipal Law, art. 258bis — municipal participatory budgets

Critical perspectives

The CBCS (Centre Bruxellois de documentation sur l'action Sociale) and other observers have documented several limitations:

• Insufficient follow-up: MPs must report back within six months, but the non-binding nature of recommendations limits their real impact
• Risk of instrumentalisation: "the commissions could become performative without real political change" (CBCS)
• Competition with expertise: the commissions risk receiving more political attention than "the opinions of advisory councils and field professionals"
• Topic selection: 5G was chosen as the first topic, pushing back subjects deemed more urgent
• Impact of the political crisis: the 613 days without a regional government froze follow-up on recommendations from commissions 4 to 6

Issues to watch

• Cleanliness commission (spring 2026): first test of the new legislative term
• Mobility commission (H2 2026): link with the revision of Good Move
• Climate assembly ministerial decree: making the mechanism permanent
• Follow-up on 205+ recommendations: actual implementation rate
• DPR: the regional policy declaration provides for a citizen consultation on mobility and a roadmap for the climate assembly