KINGDOM OF

BELGIUM
Public Administration Country Profile
Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) United Nations March 2006

All papers, statistics and materials contained in the Country Profiles express entirely the opinion of the mentioned authors. They should not, unless otherwise mentioned, be attributed to the Secretariat of the United Nations. The designations employed and the presentation of material on maps in the Country Profiles do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Table of Contents Table of Contents........................................................................................... 1 Country ........................................................................................................ 2 1. General Information ................................................................................... 4 1.1 People.................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Economy .............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Public Spending ..................................................................................... 5 1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages....................................................... 5 2. Legal Structure .......................................................................................... 6 2.1 Legislative Branch.................................................................................. 6 2.2 Executive Branch ................................................................................... 7 2.3 Judiciary Branch .................................................................................... 7 2.4 Local Government.................................................................................. 8 3. The State and Civil Society .......................................................................... 9 3.1 Ombudsperson ...................................................................................... 9 3.2 Civil Society .......................................................................................... 9 4. Civil Service .............................................................................................10 4.1 Legal basis...........................................................................................10 4.2 Recruitment .........................................................................................10 4.3 Promotion............................................................................................11 4.4 Remuneration ......................................................................................11 4.5 Training...............................................................................................12 4.6 Gender................................................................................................13 4.7 Representation in the civil service ...........................................................14 5. Ethics and Civil Service ..............................................................................15 5.1 Corruption ...........................................................................................15 5.2 Ethics..................................................................................................16 6. e-Government ..........................................................................................17 6.1 e-Government Readiness .......................................................................17 6.2 e-Participation ......................................................................................18 7. Links .......................................................................................................19 7.1 National sites .......................................................................................19 7.2 Miscellaneous sites................................................................................19

Belgium
Country Click here for detailed map Government type Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch Independence 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declares independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King Leopold I ascends to the throne) Constitution 7 February 1831; amended many times; revised 14 July 1993 to create a federal state Legal system Civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations Administrative divisions
Source: The World Factbook Belgium

10 provinces (and 3 regions);

Source: The World Factbook Belgium

With a surface area of 30,500 km and a population of 10,446,000, Belgium is one of the smallest Member States in the European Union. However, it has a GDP of 288.09 billion Euros (in 2004) and is one of the ten largest trading nations in the world. Historically, the Belgian Provinces gained their independence after the 1830 Revolution after domination of the Burgundian, Spanish, Austrian, French and Dutch. In that year, Belgium officially came into being as an independent state organised as a constitutional and parliamentary monarchy. Recent political history has been dominated by issues to do with the country's various communities, and four national reforms have gradually transformed Belgium into a federal state. At the same time, Belgium remains highly committed in the international arena, being a founder member of what is currently the European Union and a member of the United Nations. In peacekeeping missions around the world, Belgium regularly commits its troops to participate in international actions and dispatches observers to flashpoints. Belgium has also been a founding member of the European Union, the NATO, the Council of Europe and the United Nations.

From the historical point of view, constitutional reform in Belgium has come as a result of two divergent political movements. Since the end of the 19th century, the Flemish Movement ("Vlaamse Beweging") has aspired to cultural and linguistic emancipation in a country where public life is dominated by the French language. Subsequently, but essentially since 1960, another movement grew up as Wallonia strove for greater autonomy, especially in the economic domain.
Source: Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs Belgium (2006) & Belgium National Portal (2006) edited :

1. General Information
1.1 People
Population Total estimated population (,000), 2003 Female estimated population (,000), 2003 Male estimated population (,000), 2003 Sex ratio (males per 100 females), 2003 Average annual rate of change of pop. (%), 2000-2005 Youth and Elderly Population Total population under age 15 (%), 2003 Female population aged 60+ (%), 2003 Male population aged 60+ (%), 2003 Human Settlements Urban population (%), 2001 Rural population (%), 2001 Urban average annual rate of change in pop. (%), 00-05 Rural average annual rate of change in pop/ (%), 00-05 Education Total school life expectancy, 2000-2001 Female school life expectancy, 2000-2001 Male school life expectancy, 2000-2001 Female estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000 Male estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000 Employment Unemployment rate (15+) (%), 2000 Female adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001 Male adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2001
Notes:i 1998/1999, ii Month of April, iii

Belgium
10,319 5,260 5,059 96 0.21 17 19 25 97 3 0.15 -2.25 16 16 16 .. .. 3.3 ii 54 73

Netherlands
16,149 8,137 8,012 98 0.5 18 21 16 90 10 0.46 -0.65 16 15.9 16.1 .. .. 3.3 ii 54 73

Germany
82,476 42,177 40,299 96 0.07

1 a

15 27 21
c

88 12 0.17 -1.55
d

15.3i 15.1 .. .. 7.9ii 7.9ii 7.8ii

i i

1 1 1 2 2

15.4

e
1 2 2

1.2 Economy
GDP GDP total (millions US$), 2002 GDP per capita (US$), 2002 PPP GDP total (millions int. US$), 2002 PPP GDP per capita(int. US$), 2002 Sectors Value added in agriculture (% of GDP), 1994 Value added in industry (% of GDP), 1994 Value added in services (% of GDP), 1994 Miscellaneous GDP implicit price deflator (annual % growth), 2004 Private consumption (% of GDP), 1994 Government consumption (% of GDP), 1994
Notes: i 2003.

Belgium
247,634 23,996 275,496 26,695 1.3 i 26.5 i 72.2 i 2.4 54.8i 22.8i

Netherlands
413,741 25,628 440,322 27,275 3.7 28.5 18.2 1.2 49.4 24.2

Germany
1,976,240 23,956 2,171,624 26,324

2 a

1.1ii 29.4ii 69.4ii

c

1.1 58.6i 19.3

i

1 a

United Nations Statistics Division: Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN Secretariat; b Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN Secretariat; c Population Division of the UN Secretariat; d1 UNESCO ; d2 UNESCO; e1 ILO; e2 ILO/OECD 2 World Bank - Data and Statistics: a Quick Reference Tables; b Data Profile Tables ; c Country at a Glance

1.3 Public Spending

Public expenditures Education (% of GNP), 1985-1987 Education (% of GNP), 1995-1997 Health (% of GDP), 1990 Health (% of GDP), 1999 Military (% of GDP), 1990 Military (% of GDP), 2000 Total debt service (% of GDP), 1990 Total debt service (% of GDP), 2000
i

Belgium
5.1ii 6.9 i a 6.6 6.3 2.4 1.4 .. ..

Netherlands
6.9 5.1 i 5.7 6 2.5 1.6 .. ..
ii

Germany
3

.. 4.8i 5.9 7.9 2.8 iii 1.5 .. ..

Data refer to the ministry of

a a

b b

Notes: .Data may not be strictly comparable with those for earlier years as a result of methodological changes, education only, iii Data refer to the Federal Republic of Germany before reunification.

1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages

Data from the latest year available

Belgium 1991-1995

Belgium 1996-2000

European Union Average4 1996-2000

High income OECD average4 1996-2000

High income group average4 1996-2000

Employment
Civilian Central Government5 Sub-national Government5 (,000) (% pop.) (,000) (% pop.) (,000) (% pop.) (,000) (% pop.) (,000) (% pop.) (,000) (% pop.) (,000) (% pop.) (,000) (% pop.) 174 1.7 231 2.3 280 2.8 79 0.8 .. .. 47 0.5 120 1.2 931 9.20

Education employees

Health employees

Police

Armed forces

SOE Employees

Total Public Employment

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
2.1 13.5 .. .. ..

4.1

..

2.8

4.1

..

2.8

1.2

..

1.3

1.2

..

1.1

..
.. .. ..

..
0.5 .. 0.5

..

..

..

..

..

..

Total Central gov't wage bill Total Central govt wage bill Average gov't wage Real ave. govt wage ('97 price)

(% of GDP) (% of exp) (,000 LCU) (,000 LCU)

2.4 14.8 1,759 1,895 2.4

3.6 12.8

.. ..

4.2 16.4

Average govt wage to per capita GDP ratio

..

..

..

Source: World Bank - Public Sector Employment and Wages

3
a b

UNDP - Human Development Report 2002 Data refer to total public expenditure on education, including current and capital expenditures. As a result of a number of limitations in the data, comparisons of military expenditure data over time and across countries should be made with caution. For detailed notes on the data see SIPRI (2001). 4 Averages for regions and sub regions are only generated if data is available for at least 35% of the countries in that region or sub region. 5 Excluding education, health and police if available (view Country Sources for further explanations).

2. Legal Structure
Belgium became a unitary state in 1830 where the decision-making power derives from a national parliament and a national government. Institutionally, the Flemings' call for greater cultural autonomy and the Walloons' aspiration to economic independence have been reflected in an original federal structure made up of Communities which are responsible for cultural matters and issues directly related to the individual, and Regions that are responsible for economic affairs and other matters to do with collective local concerns. This arrangement has led to some territorial overlapping: the bilingual BrusselsCapital region, for example, has become a Region in its own right, but the Flemish Community and French Community also have some authority there; the Germanspeaking region is essentially run by the Walloon Region for local issues, but also by the German-speaking Community with respect to cultural affairs. Belgium has thus evolved from a unitary, decentralised state into a fully federal state.
Source: Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs Belgium (2006) & Belgium National Portal (2006) edited

2.1 Legislative Branch

bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) 6 Women in parliament: lower house 55 out of 150 seats (36.7%) and 22 out of 75 (29.3%)7

In the Chamber of Representatives, the 150 representatives are directly elected by universal suffrage. The Senate is 71 members. The senate is divided as followed: 40 senators (25 Dutch-speaking and 15 French-speaking) elected by the population, 21 senators appointed by the Communities (10 from the Flemish Community, 10 from the French Community and 1 from the German-speaking Community) and 10 coopted senators (6 Dutch-speaking and 4 French-speaking).

Some powers are exercised exclusively by the Chamber. This concerns the control of the Federal Government and the State accounts. The Chamber is also allowed to propose a noconfidence motion. The Federal Parliament (Chamber and Senate) votes on laws. The Senate in turn has sole powers to settle conflicts of interest that may arise between the Federal Parliament and the Councils of the Communities and the Regions. Other powers are exercised alternately by the Chamber and the Senate: the introduction of candidates for the Court of Arbitration, the Court of Cassation and the Council of State (the Supreme Administrative Court).

elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies last held 18 May 2003 (next to be held no later than May 2007) election results: Senate seats by party - SP.ASpirit 7, VLD 7, CD & V 6, PS 6, MR 5, VB 5, CDH 2, other 2 (note there are also 31 indirectly elected senators); Chamber of Deputies seats by party - VLD 25, SP.A-Spirit 23, CD & V 21, PS 25, VB 18, MR 24, CDH 8 Ecolo 4, other 2

For the most important powers, the two assemblies act on an equal footing. Revision of the Constitution, approval of certain laws and ratification of international
6 7

Source of fact boxes if nothing else stated: The World Factbook Belgium Inter-Parliamentary Union - Women in National Parliaments

conventions. Both assemblies exercise all other powers, but it is the Chamber that has the final say. The Senate is a forum for reflection and is therefore only expected to pronounce on draft laws or proposals if it considers it necessary. The Senate may also take the initiative in putting forward a proposal for a law.
Source: Belgium National Portal (2006)

2.2 Executive Branch

cabinet: Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch and then approved by parliament

Prime Minister is the head of government. It implies that he chairs the council of ministers and the inner cabinet. In addition, the Prime Minister has a number of collaborators in this function, but as the head of government and as a coordinator, he has to take up the reins himself and no file can replace his personal dedication. As the head of the government, the Prime Minister consults regularly with the king, the constitutional head of the executive. However, he is accountable to parliament whose members and senators can question or call upon him. The Prime Minister and his ministers can also introduce bills and explain them to the competent Chamber or Senate commissions.

Fact box: chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent Prince PHILIPPE, son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Guy VERHOFSTADT (since 13 July 1999)

Article 99 of the Constitution provides that the Council of Ministers consists of at most 15 members and that the Council of Ministers, with the possible exception of the Prime Minister, comprises an equal number of Dutch-speaking and Frenchspeaking ministers. In addition, Article 104 of the Constitution expressly provides that Secretaries of State are not members of the Council of Ministers.
Source: Belgium National Portal (2006)

2.3 Judiciary Branch

Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the Government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice Council)

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally respects this provision in practice. The judicial system is organized according to specialization and territorial jurisdiction, with 5 territorial levels: Canton (225), district (27), provinces and Brussels (11), courts of appeal (5), and the Cour de Cassation, which is the highest appeals court. The Cour de Cassation or Supreme Court of Justice is at the top of the judicial hierarchy. Judges are appointed to the Cour de Cassation for life by the monarch. The five courts of appeal, both criminal and civil, are referred to the courts of appeal by the courts of assize, where 12 jurors decide all cases by majority vote. Each judicial district has a Labor Court, which deals with litigation between employers and employees regarding wages, notice, competition clauses, and social security benefits. There is also a magistrate in each district to monitor cases involving religious groups. The law provides for the right to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally

enforces this right. A High Council on Justice supervises the appointment and promotion of magistrates. The Council serves as a permanent monitoring board for the entire judicial system and is empowered to hear complaints against individual magistrates. In 1999, Parliament enacted legislation that further defines crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide and also imposes penalties for such crimes. The law provides that Belgian courts have jurisdiction over such crimes no matter where they were committed, and it does not grant immunity to heads of state or government. As a result of the new law, commonly known as the law on universal jurisdiction.
Source: Comparative Criminology Europe - Belgium

2.4 Local Government A structure of Belgium is on three levels: the upper level comprises the Federal state, the Communities and the Regions; the middle level is occupied by the Provinces; and the lower level is that of the Communes. The redistribution follows two broad lines: one linguistic (and more broadly, everything relating to culture), the other economic. Belgium today has 3 Communities (the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community), based on language, and 3 regions (the Flemish Region, the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region) with autonomous economic powers. The country is further divided into ten provinces (Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Lige, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur) and 589 communes. The federal State retains important areas of competence such as foreign affairs or justice. The Regions are competent to deal with territorial matters such as town planning, the environment and employment. The Provinces act within the framework of competencies at the federal, Community or Regional level, being primarily also under the tutelage of these various authorities. The Communes are the seats of power that are closest to our citizens. Like the Provinces, they are under the tutelage of the various other authorities.
Source: Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs Belgium (2006)

3. The State and Civil Society

3.1 Ombudsperson The Belgium Ombudsman was created on 22 March 1995 and consisted of a Dutch as well as French federal ombudsman. The Federal Ombudsman can initiate an investigation, provide recommendation to the parliament and mediate between the Federal Government and individuals.
Source: Federal Ombudsman of Belgium (translated) edited (2006)

3.2 Civil Society The Belgian nonprofit sector, is in great measure a product of the welfare state model the country adopted in the immediate post-World War II period. This model, a combination of the principle of subsidiarity and centralized public administration, facilitates cooperation between associations without profit purposes, as many nonprofit organizations are known in Belgium, and government agencies to provide social welfare services such as health care and education. Thus, like much of Western Europe but unlike most other countries, Belgiums nonprofit sector relies on government sources for the majority of its revenue. Still, volunteers, who make up more than a third of the sectors total human resource pool, are crucial to the sectors activity and impact.
Source: Center for Civil Society Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies Belgium (2005)

4. Civil Service
The Belgian federal ministries employed about 60,500 staff. The Ministry of Finance employs more than half of the federal civil service. As a result of the federalising reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, the federal civil service has been reduced in terms of function and number. The federal level now employs two-thirds of public employees. This reflects the long-standing Belgian tradition of autonomous nongovernmental executive agencies.
Source: Labor relations in the Belgian, French, German and Dutch public services (2001) & Chris Hanretty, the senior civil service in Belgium (1999)

4.1 Legal basis In Belgium the civil service regulations takes the form of royal decrees, whereas the number of Parliamentary Acts on the civil service is very limited. There exists no general Civil Service Act. The Belgian federal civil service is ruled by the Camu statute, a royal decree from 1937, which was slightly modified on several occasions since then, but the basic principles of which have never been put into question. It contains detailed provisions about recruitment, selection, staff evaluation and promotion.
Source: Labor relations in the Belgian, French, German and Dutch public services (2001)

The legal rules governing relations between the Belgian State and its employees date from the Camu statute of 2 October 1937. They are built on the pillars of a neutral and apolitical administration and competition-based recruitment. They are traditionally underpinned by the principle of equality: equality between French and Flemish speaking employees, equal opportunity to join the civil service, equal chances of promotion, etc. While statutory employment is the standard in the Belgian administration (in theory at least), the administration increasingly calls upon the services of employees with contracts.
Source: Institut de la gestion et du dveloppement conomique - Public Management Outlook (2003)

4.2 Recruitment Access to the Belgian civil service is only possible after the successful passing of a competitive examination organised by the federal selection and recruitment office (SELOR). The recruitment and selection of state officials is covered in part III of the staff regulations for state officials (Articles 15 to 44). Persons may not be appointed as state officials unless they meet the general admission conditions such as conduct compatible with the requirements of the post and entitlement to full civil and political rights (Article 16). When they are recruited, established and contractual staff must supply a certificate of good conduct and moral standing. Article 17 also authorises special conditions of appointment, while Article 17.2 authorises additional conditions for posts open to corruption. For regional appointments, it is normal to examine criminal records for all posts, not just those open to corruption.

10

Article 1.2 of the royal decree of 22/12/00 lays down the conditions for recruitment to Brussels-Capital Region government departments and other public agencies and bodies. As at the federal level, established staff must be recruited via the permanent secretariat for state staff recruitment (SELOR). At federal level, as part of their preparation prior to formal appointment, established officials receive training on the staff regulations. This reflects the government's intention to develop in each department or agency an information and training function or unit answerable to the aforementioned integrity monitoring department. The project originated in a government agreement dated July 2003 (point 3). There are certain specific features of the training received by regional and local officials. During their preparatory course, future officials of the Brussels-Capital Region government and other public bodies are introduced to the rights and duties applicable to them during their careers.
Source: Council of Europe Group of States against corruption Second evaluation round of Belgium (2004) & Labor relations in the Belgian, French, German and Dutch public services (2001)

4.3 Promotion In principle, promotion is based on objective factors such as length of service, performance appraisal, and recommendations. However, the (informal) reality was often different from the (formal) rules and within the system political criteria have played a preponderant role in promotions of university graduated civil servants. The formal rules on promotion is set by the Camu Statute of 1937, which established a model for the civil service based on competitive examination and promotion on merit. The Camu Statute was applied to all ministries, harmonizing different regulations. Its rigid strictures provoked informal ways of countering regulations in order to ensure political control.
Source: Labor relations in the Belgian, French, German and Dutch public services (2001)

Promotion is almost always internal. However, the number of contractual officials has grown as a counter to rigidity. 13% of workers in Grade 1 are contractual. This may or may not be patronage-based. Fixed-term mandates have been introduced for the directors of executive agencies, and were intended to be introduced length of service is the first factor in determining promotion. To be considered for a top position, one must have spent at least fifteen years in Grade 1, but usually longer since vacancies only appear slowly. Performance reviews are a second factor in determining promotion. Historically, they have been mere formalities. A new system was recently introduced, but has not yet come into operation. A third factor is the advice of the Departmental Board of Directors, composed of the top two or three officials of the ministry. Historically, the Boards advice has been ignored by ministers who preferred to appoint candidates with the right political affiliations. However, since 1988, the directors advice has been followed more often..
Source: Chris Hanretty, the senior civil service in Belgium (1999)

4.4 Remuneration Remuneration is based on seniority, social security provisions are distinct from those applied in the private sector and civil servants enjoy a stand alone special pension

11

scheme. Salaries are low in comparison to the executive agencies and the private sector in general. There are four and a half grades: from highest to lowest, they are 1, 2, 2+, 3 and 4. Grade 1 is largely restricted for university graduates, but the possibility of promotion from grade 2 exists. Within grade 1, there are a number of sub-grades, distinguishing between secretary-general, director-general, counsellor general, middle ranking staff, and junior staff. Civil servants are appointed statutorily, giving them security of tenure, extensive social benefits, and defined career prospects. Final salary schemes are generous; few retire before the retirement age of 65.
Source: Chris Hanretty, the senior civil service in Belgium (1999) & Labor relations in the Belgian, French, German and Dutch public services (2001)

The Belgium civil service was divided into four levels (1, 2, 3, 4) but a fifth level was added (level 2+), to revalue specialized functions requiring a higher education. Before this reform, these functions were classified in level 2. Table 1: Levels in the public administration in Belgium Nature of the work level 1 Management, study work conception and Level of education University education + non-university higher education (long type) non-university higher education (short type) Higher secondary Lower secondary Primary education
Source: Paper for the International Conference on Civil Service Systems in a Comparative Perspective - University of Indiana the Belgium Civil Service (1997)

level 2+ level 2 level 3 level 4

Specialized work

Execution, management support Administrative office work Manual work

4.5 Training There is a budget and departments have also developed training policy. There is also training director in each ministry. Nevertheless, training and education are not as important as other criteria in the career of the civil servant. There is also a long tradition that civil servants follow a management training at the universities so that they get in contact with scientific research
Source: Paper for the International Conference on Civil Service Systems in a Comparative Perspective - University of Indiana the Belgium Civil Service (1997)

In the absence of any explicit provision arrangements for the regular rotation of federal staff are based on Articles 37 and 102.2 of the Constitution, which authorise the crown to determine the status of state officials. The recent regulations applicable

12

to government and other public officials of the federal State and the Brussels-Capital Region have introduced a series of postings for senior staff in managerial positions. As a result, these managerial posts are not filled by permanent appointments but by temporary and renewable postings, which creates a de facto rotation of the posts and learning opportunities for senior civil servants.
Source: Council of Europe Group of States against corruption Second evaluation round of Belgium (2004) & Source: Labor relations in the Belgian, French, German and Dutch public services (2001) - edited

4.6 Gender The representation of women in the administration is similar to the general position of women in the labour market. As shown in the table below, the number of women in the ministries has increased since the 1970s: 19% of civil servants were women in 1970 and 45% in 1995. Women are a majority in some ministries (e.g. Employment, Social Affairs, Health and Environment), but under-represented in others (e.g. Justice, Traffic and Infrastructure, Agriculture). These differences can be explained by the growth period of the ministry, but also by the nature of the work and the required qualifications. Like in other economic sectors, there is still a strong horizontal segregation of labour between men and women in the public sector. This horizontal segregation is also expressed in differences in status. Men hold more statutory nominations, while women are employed as contractual personnel. Table 7 in the appendix shows that whilst 45% of civil servants in the ministries are women they make up 71% of contractual personnel. Another difference is that 89% of male civil servants are statutory nominated against 67% of female civil servants. The core functions are mostly occupied by men, whilst female civil servants are concentrated in peripheral functions. Apart from horizontal segregation, there is also a strong vertical segregation. The higher the level in the hierarchy, the less women are found. In 1995, women held 24% of level 1 posts but only 9% of top management positions. The fact that women did not enter universities on a large scale until the 1970s can account in part for the under-representation of women in level 1. Today they make up 50% of university students and so their occupation of posts in level 1 is likely to increase. Whether this will be the case for top functions in the administration is less certain. The mobility of women into top positions is very difficult in all sectors of society. Since the 1980s there has been a policy of affirmative action to improve the position of women in the administration.
Source: Paper for the International Conference on Civil Service Systems in a Comparative Perspective - University of Indiana the Belgium Civil Service (1997)

Table 2: Representativeness according to sexe - federal ministries 1939 top civil servants (rank1516-17) 1953 1970 1988/89 1995

13

- Men - Women

98% 2%

96% 4%

91% 9%

level 1 - Men - Women total personnel - Men - Women 93% 7% 87% 13% 81% 19% 62% 38% 55% 45% 99% 1% 99% 1% 96% 4% 86% 14% 76% 24%

Source: Paper for the International Conference on Civil Service Systems in a Comparative Perspective - University of Indiana the Belgium Civil Service (1997)

4.7 Representation in the civil service Language quotas have existed since the 1930s, with most ministries choosing to adopt parity between Flemish speakers and Francophones. A 1966 law formalised this system. From the middle ranks of grade 1 onwards, complete parity is required: 40% for Dutch-speakers, 40% for French speakers, 10% for bilingual Dutch-speakers, and 10% for bilingual French speakers. This favours the Francophones, since Dutch-speakers make up about 60% of the Belgian population. The federal and Flemish governments have also tried to limit the growth of the cabinet, with the federal government requiring that ministers met their secretary general and other top representatives at least once a week.
Source: Chris Hanretty, the senior civil service in Belgium (1999)

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5. Ethics and Civil Service

5.1 Corruption 2003 CPI Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
Corruption Perceptions Index
2003 CPI Score Surveys Used Standard Deviation High-Low Range Number Inst. 90 percent confidence range 9.5 - 9.9 7.1 - 8.1 0.9 - 1.7

Rank
1 17 133

Country
Highly clean Belgium Highly corrupt 9.7 7.6 1.3 8 9 8 0.3 0.9 0.7 9.2 - 10.0 6.6 - 9.2 0.3 - 2.2 4 5 6

Source: Transparency International - Corruption Perceptions Index 2003 Surveys Used: Refers to the number of surveys that were used to assess a country's performance. 17 surveys were used and at least 3 surveys were required for a country to be included in the CPI. Standard Deviation: Indicates differences in the values of the sources. Values below 0.5 indicate agreement, values between 0.5 and c. 0.9 indicate some agreement, while values equal or larger than 1 indicate disagreement. High-Low Range: Provides the highest and lowest values of the sources. Number Institutions: Refers to the number of independent institutions that assessed a country's performance. Since some institutions provided more than one survey. 90 percent confidence range: Provides a range of possible values of the CPI score. With 5 percent probability the score is above this range and with another 5 percent it is below.

There is no anti-corruption action plan or general strategy. However, at federal level the Belgian authorities have established an "integrity monitoring" department in the Federal Public Department (Ministry) on Budget and management control authority". The new department advises and provides operational support to all federal departments (FD) and proposes measures to prevent corruption. More targeted initiatives have been introduced in the federal police and the federal finance department. For example, the federal police director general of personnel has launched an integrity action plan. Finally, the Anti-Corruption Act of 10/2/99 has strengthened the penalties for public officials found guilty of corruption. There is no general system for assessing the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures concerning the public service as a whole. According to the Belgian authorities, such a system would be meaningless. It could not enforce its decisions on all the entities, as Belgium does not have an overall administrative structure but as many systems as it has entities, which have sovereign powers, at least as far as communities and regions are concerned.
Source: Council of Europe Group of States against corruption Second evaluation round of Belgium (2004)

In addition, there is a Court of Audit, which under Article 180 of the Constitution, that makes observations within the scope of its auditing missions and are forwarded to Parliament by way of yearly Reports of comments, published as parliamentary documents. Besides a succinct reminder of the various reports transmitted to Parliament in the course of the year (budget analyses, prefiguration with regard to the accounts of the preceding year, reports concerning the approval ("visa") with reservation, etc.), these Reports of comments set out the results of the main audits carried out in the various administrations and bodies falling under the Court of 15

Audit's remit. They also contain general information pertaining to public finances and, particularly, to the tasks and powers of the institution.
Source: Belgium Court of Audit (2002)

5.2 Ethics The first federal code of conduct was approved in 2004 for the FEDICT (the computer department), the prime minister's office, budget and management control, and personnel and organization. The integrity monitoring department now assists all federal departments to draw up and assess codes of conduct. It now plans to take a series of steps to put these codes into practice in the field. Examples include training in leadership ethics for different groups of managers, poster information campaigns, videos and so on. In Brussels-Capital Region, staff rights and duties are laid down in the aforementioned government decrees of 6/5/99 and 26/11/03 and royal decree of 22/12/00. At federal level, breaches of the ethical rules in the government codes of conduct are liable to disciplinary sanctions, under Articles 7 and 13 of the staff regulations. Article 77 lays down the following sanctions, which remain in individual staff files for periods of at least six months to three years: warning, reprimand, withholding of salary, disciplinary transfer, disciplinary suspension, relegation in step, downgrading and removal from post, with or without loss of pension rights. The avenues of appeal are laid down in Articles 82 to 95. Officials of Brussels-Capital Region are liable to the same sanctions, other than reprimand, disciplinary transfer and removal from post while retaining pension rights. There are no central data on the use of these sanctions but the integrity monitoring department hopes to introduce systematic recording in a central register as part of its proposed integrity policy for federal government.
Source: Council of Europe Group of States against corruption Second evaluation round of Belgium (2004)

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6. e-Government

e-Government Readiness Index: The index refers to the generic capacity or aptitude of the public sector to use ICT for encapsulating in public services and deploying to the public, high quality information (explicit knowledge) and effective communication tools that support human development. The index is comprised of three sub-indexes: Web Measure Index, Telecommunications Infrastructure Index and Human Capital Index.

6.1 e-Government Readiness

e-Government Readiness Index

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0
la nd Fr an pa n an y um U lg i G er m Ja U SA ce s K

Web Measure Index: A scale based on progressively sophisticated web services present. Coverage and sophistication of stateprovided e-service and e-product availability correspond to a numerical classification.

et he r

Be

Source: United Nations World Public Sector Report 2003

Web Measure Index

Telecom. Infrastructure Index

Human Capital Index

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Telecommunications Infrastructure Index: A composite, weighted average index of six primary indices, based on basic infrastructural indicators that define a country's ICT infrastructure capacity. Primary indicators are: PCs, Internet users, online population and Mobile phones. Secondary indicators are TVs and telephone lines.

an y

Be lg iu m

Ja pa n

an ce

nd s

er m

er la

et h

Source: United Nations World Public Sector Report 2003

Human Capital Index: A composite of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio, with two thirds of the weight given to adult literacy and one third to the gross enrolment ratio.

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Fr

SA

e-Participation Index: Refers to the willingness, on the part of the government, to use ICT to provide high quality information (explicit knowledge) and effective communication tools for the specific purpose of empowerring people for able participation in consultations and decision-making both in their capacity as consumers of public services and as citizens.

6.2 e-Participation

e-Participation Index

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

N et he r la nd s Fr an ce G er m Ja pa n gi um U SA an y U K

B el

e-information: The government websites offer information on policies and programs, budgets, laws and regulations, and other briefs of key public interest. Tools for disseminating of information exist for timely access and use of public information, including web forums, e-mail lists, newsgroups and chat rooms.

Source: United Nations World Public Sector Report 2003

e-information 30 25 20 15 10

e-decision making

e-consultation

e-decision making: The government indicates that it will take citizens input into account in decision making and provides actual feedback on the outcome of specific issues.

5 0

Ne th er la nd s

Be lg iu m

Fr an ce

G er m

Source: United Nations World Public Sector Report 2003

e-consultation: The government website explains e-consultation mechanisms and tools. It offers a choice of public policy topics online for discussion with real time and archived access to audios and videos of public meetings. The government encourages citizens to participate in discussions.

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Ja pa n

US A

an y

UK

7. Links

7.1 National sites Authority Topic

Federal Public Service Foreign Belgium Federal Ombudsman of Belgium Belgium Court of audit National portal of Belgium

Affairs

http://www.diplomatie.be/en/ http://www.federalombudsman.be/ http://www.courdescomptes.be/EN http://www.belgium.be/ http://www.ombudsman.nl/english/

National Ombudsman of the Belgium

7.2 Miscellaneous sites Institution Topic http://www.oecd.org http://www.worldbank.org http://www.europa.eu.int

OECD World Bank European Union Organization for Security operation in Europe (OSCE) and Co-

http://www.osce.org/

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