Belgium this week took the first steps to abolish the senate, the upper house of the Belgian parliament with the matter arriving in the institutional reform select committee of the lower house of parliament. Originally, a chamber where laws voted in the chamber of representatives, the lower house of the Belgian parliament, were vetted, as a result of the state reforms of 1993 the senate was given a new role, as a meeting place between the new federal government and Belgium’s three regions and communities. Report: Michaël Van Droogenbroeck.
The abolition of the senate is one of the planks of PM Bart De Wever’s 5-way federal government accord. The process involves changes to Belgium’s constitution or basic law and that requires a double two-thirds majority in parliament i.e. a majority in both the chamber of representatives and the senate. If everything goes according to plan the abolition will be complete by 2029.