The Federal State and Brussels

The federal state is omnipresent in Brussels. It exercises competences that directly affect the daily lives of Brussels residents: social security, justice, federal police, railways, taxation. Brussels is also the federal capital, which entails specific responsibilities and funding.

Federal competences in Brussels

Social security (unemployment, pensions, healthcare) — Justice (courts, administration, penitentiary) — Federal police — Railways (SNCB/NMBS) — National taxation (personal income tax, VAT, corporate tax) — Defence — Migration and asylum policy.

Beliris: the federal-Brussels link

The Beliris cooperation agreement, concluded between the federal state and the Region, finances major infrastructure projects in Brussels: the metro (line 3), renovation of public buildings, cultural and sports projects. Beliris represents approximately 125 million euros per year and constitutes a form of compensation for the capital role that Brussels plays.

Justice in Brussels

Brussels houses the Palace of Justice (the largest in Europe by surface area), the courts of appeal, the courts of first instance and the federal penitentiary administration. Justice is an exclusively federal competence. Investments in Brussels' judicial infrastructure — including the seemingly endless renovation of the Palace of Justice — depend entirely on the federal budget.

Security

In Brussels, security rests on two pillars: local police (6 police zones, funded by municipalities and the Region) and federal police (funded by the federal state). Coordination is ensured by the Region's governor. The federal state also funds the security plan for Brussels through Beliris and the federal security fund.

The fiscal question

The federal state collects personal income tax and redistributes part of it to the Regions through the special financing law. Brussels is disadvantaged by this mechanism: commuters (360,000 per day) pay their tax in their municipality of residence, not in Brussels. The refinancing of Brussels, negotiated during the 6th State Reform (2012-2014), partially compensated for this imbalance but remains insufficient according to regional analyses.