Re-Bel Webinar, Monday 1 March 2021
Hoe kan het dialoogplatform over de toekomst van het Belgisch federalisme zo vruchtbaar mogelijk worden gemaakt ?
Comment rendre la plate-forme de dialogue sur l’avenir du fédéralisme belge aussi féconde que possible ?
How can the government’s “dialogue platform about the future of Belgian federalism” be made as fruitful as possible ?
In their joint policy note of 13 November 2020, the federal ministers for institutional reform and democratic renewal announced the creation of a “dialogue platform about the future of Belgian federalism” which they would chair and which would involve “a wide consultation of citizens, especially the young as well as civil society, the university world, experts and local authorities”. They also invite the Chamber to experiment with new forms of participation and set up panels that would be “invited to formulate recommendations to the Platform”. A report that includes the recommendations emerging from the Platform is expected to be submitted to the federal government by the end of 2021.
Such an unprecedented initiative is certainly a welcome response to the dissatisfaction with the current functioning of Belgium’s federalism, especially as it involves from the start in a common reflection citizens from both sides of the linguistic border. But is it not easy job to design it in such a way that it yields fruitful outcomes rather than even greater frustration. This webinar will invite the ministers in charge to explain how they see their bold initiative at this stage and it will share evaluations of analogous initiatives abroad and host a critical discussion of suggestions about what could be fruitful, by the stated deadline, in the present Belgian context.
Language regime: Dutch and French
Moderation : Béatrice DELVAUX (Le Soir) & Karel VERHOEVEN (De Standaard)
Welcoming: Philippe VAN PARIJS (Re-Bel & UCLouvain)
Prologue: David CLARINVAL and Annelies VERLINDEN (federal ministers for institutional reform and democratic renewal)
Lessons from experience abroad:
Conférences citoyennes (France): Hélène LANDEMORE (professeure de science politique à Yale University, auteure de Open Democracy, 2020)
Klimaattafels (Netherlands): Ed NIJPELS (kroonlid van de Sociaal-economische Raad, voorzitter van het Klimaatberaad)
How best to proceed in Belgium: David VAN REYBROUCK (historian, initiator of the G1000 initiative), Hugues DUMONT (professor of constitutional law, Université Saint Louis)
Concluding comments: David CLARINVAL and Annelies VERLINDEN (federal ministers for institutional reform and democratic renewal), Paul DE GRAUWE (Re-Bel & LSE)
Background documents
Burgerplatform: een echte dialoog of een schijnvertoning ?
Paul De Grauwe en Philippe Van Parijs, coördinatoren van het Re-Bel initiatief
De Standaard, 26 februari 2021
Dialogue citoyen sur l’avenir du fédéralisme belge: comment éviter le fiasco?
Paul De Grauwe et Philippe Van Parijs, coordinateurs de l’initiative Re-Bel
Le Soir, 26 février 2021
Dumont. Intervention Re-Bel-1-3-21
Intervention de Hugues Dumont lors du débat Re-Bel du lundi 1er mars 2021
Hugues Dumont, USL-B