Digital: Brussels Digital ordinance adopted, 36% digital vulnerability, Big Bang 25→4

Brussels Digital ordinance: legal framework in force

The Brussels Digital ordinance (joint decree + ordinance Region + COCOM + COCOF) was adopted on 25 January 2024 and published in the Belgian Official Journal on 21 February 2024 (No. 2024000830). It guarantees formal citizen rights on public procedures:

• Online procedures + mandatory offline channels (counters, telephone, mail)
• eBox (secure electronic mailbox)
• Disability accessibility
• Adapted opening hours
• European framework: eIDAS, Single Digital Gateway, Web Accessibility Directive

Compliance deadlines:

• 6 months for new procedures
• 60 months for existing procedures

A request for annulment was filed before the Constitutional Court in 2024 by 24+ actors (Lire et Ecrire, MOC, Gang des Vieux en Colère, fedabxl…). An interpretative ruling has since been issued, lifting the main ambiguities.

See the cross-cutting dossier: Brussels Digital.

Sources: Belgian Official Journal No. 2024000830; ordinance + decree of the Region + COCOM + COCOF.

'L'humain d'abord !' rally (23 April 2026)

On 23 April 2026, Lire et Ecrire organises a rally at Place Fernand Cocq in Ixelles: 'L'humain d'abord !'. Civil-society mobilisation since September 2022 (24+ actors: MOC, Gang des Vieux en Colère, fedabxl…). Goal: maintain pressure on administrations for effective compliance with offline channels, while 75% of low-skilled people are in digital difficulty according to the 2022 Barometer.

Source: Lire et Ecrire; relayed by MOC and fedabxl.

Digital vulnerability: 36% of Brussels residents affected

According to Paradigm (CIRB), about 340,000 Brussels residents (36%) are in digital vulnerability. The Digital Appropriation Plan is funded at €900,000/year — a budget deemed insufficient given the scale. Distribution is uneven:

• 75% of low-skilled people in difficulty
• Strong concentration among 65+
• Territorial inequalities (north-west / south-east ring)

Source: Paradigm (CIRB); Digital Inclusion Barometer (2022).

Administrative Big Bang: 25 entities → 4 pillars

The RPD (12 February 2026) announces a major administrative reform: merger of 25 regional structures into 4 pillars (see the Administrative Reform dossier):

• Pillar 1, Shared support service (HR, IT, finance, budget, statistics: Paradigm and Smart City are integrated here)
• Pillar 2, Core missions (SPRB)
• Pillar 3, infrastructure.brussels
• Pillar 4, Land platform

Schedule: the second reading of Pillar 1 was approved by the government on 5 June 2026. Digital implication: the regional Smart City strategy is now run from Pillar 1, which inherits Paradigm's competences.

Source: Brussels RPD (12 February 2026); BX1 / RTBF analyses (February 2026).

Ecosystem: ~1,200 startups, 40,000 jobs

Brussels has approximately 1,200 active technology startups, 40,000 digital jobs (Agoria / hub.brussels). Innoviris (regional R&D) has had its budget cut to €30M in 2026 (from €39M in 2025, -23%), with a full freeze on new project calls for the year. BeCode (alternative coding training) is one of the major accelerators of professional retraining in digital.

Source: BX1 (7 April 2026).

The ecosystem is trilingual (FR/NL/EN) and largely European — immediate proximity to EU institutions.

Coalition agreement measures affecting digital

• Administrative reform (Big Bang 25 → 4 pillars): Paradigm merged into Pillar 1 (shared support service); impact on IT public procurement not yet specified
• Brussels Digital: maintain compliance deadlines (6 months / 60 months)
• ACS (Subsidised Contractual Agents): effort reduction 40 → €28M (April 2026); impact to be measured on digital-inclusion NGOs partly funded via ACS