**The Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB, aka the French Community) continues to grant more than 400,000 euros per year to French-speaking cultural associations in Flanders. Twenty years ago, the Constitutional Court annulled such practices. This time, the FWB transfers the money via the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie and PointCulture. Is this a new mechanism to circumvent the Constitution?**
In the framework of our investigation on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), we discovered that the Parliament of the Walloon-Brussels Federation granted two allocations to the Belgian section of this international French-speaking organisation: an operating allocation of 285,000 euros and an additional allocation of 471,000 euros per year.
As a de facto association, the Belgian section of the APF is under no legal obligation to publish its accounts. The section’s balance sheet for the year 2022, which we were able to obtain, shows income and expenditure relating to the endowment of 285,000 euros. 285,000, which is mainly used for the organisation of diplomatic trips abroad.
However, there is no trace of this additional allocation of 471,000 euros in the accounts.
But what is the purpose of this additional allocation and why is the Wallonia-Brussels Federation transferring these amounts to the Belgian section of the APF?
Philippe Courard (PS), former president of the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and member of the Belgian section of the APF, explains: “This grant aims to promote French through culture and libraries. It is given to a whole series of associations throughout Belgium, where French is not always subsidised as it can be in Wallonia, for example.
In concrete terms, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation transfers the 471,000 euro grant to the APF’s account and then transfers it to Pointculture, which in turn distributes it to French-speaking associations in Flanders. The thirty or so recipient organisations are mainly cultural associations, cultural centres or libraries in the Flemish periphery. The non-profit organisation l’Action fouronnaise, initiated at the time by José Happart, receives €80,000 per year.
“For the festival of the people of Flanders, we are going to organise a show about the sixty years of Flemish occupation. We have our own free, non-denominational French-speaking school to escape Flemish control. There is also a sports hall and a library. It’s thanks to the help of subsidising authorities such as the Wallonia-Brussels Federation that we can continue to exist as a French-speaking community,” explains Nico Droeven, administrator of the non-profit organisation Action fouronnaise.
**Not a first**
In the past, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation already subsidised French-speaking associations in Flanders. The Flemish government protested against what it saw as an intrusion into its competences. As a result, in October 1996, the Court of Arbitration (later the Constitutional Court) annulled a decree of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation of 22 December 1994 authorising credits for the benefit of French-speaking associations in certain communes with facilities in the Brussels periphery and in the Fourons.
“According to the Court, it is not a question of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation implementing its cultural promotion powers, but rather of protecting the French-speaking minorities in Flanders,” comments Lucien Rigaux, assistant researcher in constitutional law at the ULB.
The Wallonia-Brussels Federation did not seem to comply with the Court of Arbitration’s ruling: a few years later, the Flemish government had to resort to the same Court of Arbitration again. In 2000, the Constitutional Court annulled the budgetary programmes of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, even though they were justified by its competences in the field of cultural promotion.
**Brussels > Paris > Flanders**
The Wallonia-Brussels Federation did not want to leave the French-speaking people of Flanders to their fate. Another way had to be found to continue subsidising French-speaking activities in Flanders. The Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie came into play.
Thanks to the “aid fund for French-speaking associations” set up in 2003 by the APF, the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation channelled the funds for French-speaking associations through the APF headquarters in Paris. This international organisation then transferred the money to Pointculture, which in turn distributed the money to French-speaking associations in Flanders. Thus, it is no longer the FWB that directly subsidises French-speaking associations in Flanders.
However, in 2015, the Luxembourg treasurer of the APF at the time put an end to this practice, which did not meet the objectives of the international organisation: “In fact, for many years, only the Belgian section has contributed, with Belgian associations benefiting. […] In view of this situation, which does not correspond to the initial multilateral objectives, and insofar as there is no longer any credit available on the fund, your Treasurer proposes to the Board that this fund be dissolved,” reads the Fund report drawn up by the Treasurer in 2016.
Why go through Paris to transfer money to French-speaking associations in Flanders? “These are amounts that are to be allocated to organisations that defend the French-speaking world. It was necessary to find a mechanism that could be done legally,” concedes Jean-Paul Wahl, then MR deputy and in charge of Europe for the APF at the time.
Since 2015, the additional allocation has been transferred to the account of the Belgian section of the APF, which in turn transfers it to the account of Pointculture. Just as in the budgets of the Belgian section, this annual allocation of 471,000 euros does not appear anywhere separately in the activity reports of the non-profit organisation, which is undergoing a profound transformation.
“Concerning the lack of separate visibility in the activity reports. Thank you for your comment, in the future we will make sure that the data is clearly shown in future reports”, Edith Bertholet, the new general director of Pointculture, replied by e-mail.
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**The Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB, aka the French Community) continues to grant more than 400,000 euros per year to French-speaking cultural associations in Flanders. Twenty years ago, the Constitutional Court annulled such practices. This time, the FWB transfers the money via the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie and PointCulture. Is this a new mechanism to circumvent the Constitution?**
In the framework of our investigation on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), we discovered that the Parliament of the Walloon-Brussels Federation granted two allocations to the Belgian section of this international French-speaking organisation: an operating allocation of 285,000 euros and an additional allocation of 471,000 euros per year.
As a de facto association, the Belgian section of the APF is under no legal obligation to publish its accounts. The section’s balance sheet for the year 2022, which we were able to obtain, shows income and expenditure relating to the endowment of 285,000 euros. 285,000, which is mainly used for the organisation of diplomatic trips abroad.
However, there is no trace of this additional allocation of 471,000 euros in the accounts.
But what is the purpose of this additional allocation and why is the Wallonia-Brussels Federation transferring these amounts to the Belgian section of the APF?
Philippe Courard (PS), former president of the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and member of the Belgian section of the APF, explains: “This grant aims to promote French through culture and libraries. It is given to a whole series of associations throughout Belgium, where French is not always subsidised as it can be in Wallonia, for example.
In concrete terms, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation transfers the 471,000 euro grant to the APF’s account and then transfers it to Pointculture, which in turn distributes it to French-speaking associations in Flanders. The thirty or so recipient organisations are mainly cultural associations, cultural centres or libraries in the Flemish periphery. The non-profit organisation l’Action fouronnaise, initiated at the time by José Happart, receives €80,000 per year.
“For the festival of the people of Flanders, we are going to organise a show about the sixty years of Flemish occupation. We have our own free, non-denominational French-speaking school to escape Flemish control. There is also a sports hall and a library. It’s thanks to the help of subsidising authorities such as the Wallonia-Brussels Federation that we can continue to exist as a French-speaking community,” explains Nico Droeven, administrator of the non-profit organisation Action fouronnaise.
**Not a first**
In the past, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation already subsidised French-speaking associations in Flanders. The Flemish government protested against what it saw as an intrusion into its competences. As a result, in October 1996, the Court of Arbitration (later the Constitutional Court) annulled a decree of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation of 22 December 1994 authorising credits for the benefit of French-speaking associations in certain communes with facilities in the Brussels periphery and in the Fourons.
“According to the Court, it is not a question of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation implementing its cultural promotion powers, but rather of protecting the French-speaking minorities in Flanders,” comments Lucien Rigaux, assistant researcher in constitutional law at the ULB.
The Wallonia-Brussels Federation did not seem to comply with the Court of Arbitration’s ruling: a few years later, the Flemish government had to resort to the same Court of Arbitration again. In 2000, the Constitutional Court annulled the budgetary programmes of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, even though they were justified by its competences in the field of cultural promotion.
**Brussels > Paris > Flanders**
The Wallonia-Brussels Federation did not want to leave the French-speaking people of Flanders to their fate. Another way had to be found to continue subsidising French-speaking activities in Flanders. The Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie came into play.
Thanks to the “aid fund for French-speaking associations” set up in 2003 by the APF, the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation channelled the funds for French-speaking associations through the APF headquarters in Paris. This international organisation then transferred the money to Pointculture, which in turn distributed the money to French-speaking associations in Flanders. Thus, it is no longer the FWB that directly subsidises French-speaking associations in Flanders.
However, in 2015, the Luxembourg treasurer of the APF at the time put an end to this practice, which did not meet the objectives of the international organisation: “In fact, for many years, only the Belgian section has contributed, with Belgian associations benefiting. […] In view of this situation, which does not correspond to the initial multilateral objectives, and insofar as there is no longer any credit available on the fund, your Treasurer proposes to the Board that this fund be dissolved,” reads the Fund report drawn up by the Treasurer in 2016.
Why go through Paris to transfer money to French-speaking associations in Flanders? “These are amounts that are to be allocated to organisations that defend the French-speaking world. It was necessary to find a mechanism that could be done legally,” concedes Jean-Paul Wahl, then MR deputy and in charge of Europe for the APF at the time.
Since 2015, the additional allocation has been transferred to the account of the Belgian section of the APF, which in turn transfers it to the account of Pointculture. Just as in the budgets of the Belgian section, this annual allocation of 471,000 euros does not appear anywhere separately in the activity reports of the non-profit organisation, which is undergoing a profound transformation.
“Concerning the lack of separate visibility in the activity reports. Thank you for your comment, in the future we will make sure that the data is clearly shown in future reports”, Edith Bertholet, the new general director of Pointculture, replied by e-mail.
Moi je parle aussi le français.
Tu peux donner tous à u/trogdor-brûles