Who decides what in Brussels?
Six levels of power impact the lives of Brussels residents. Here are their roles, their competences, and their current status.
Brussels is the most institutionally complex city in Europe. Six levels of power overlap, each with its own competences. In normal times, this complexity is invisible to the citizen. In times of crisis, it becomes the problem: when one level is blocked, the others cannot always compensate.
| Level | Key competences | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Funding (ERDF, ESF+), environmental standards, European Semester | Operational |
| Federal state | Social security, justice, taxation, SNCB/NMBS, defence | Operational (Arizona coalition) |
| Brussels-Capital Region | Housing, employment, mobility, environment, regional budget | Blocked (caretaker mode) |
| Community commissions | Health, social welfare, culture (COCOM, COCOF, VGC) | Partially blocked |
| 19 municipalities | Urban planning, civil registry, CPAS/OCMW, local police, roads | Operational (reduced resources) |
| Para-regional bodies | Actiris, STIB/MIVB, Brussels Housing, Brussels Environment | Reduced operations |
The European Union
The EU does not govern Brussels, but it shapes a significant part of its environment. European funds (ERDF, ESF+) finance infrastructure and social cohesion projects. European directives set binding targets for air quality, energy efficiency, and the labour market. The European Semester assesses Belgian budgetary policies, including the situation in Brussels.
Without a regional government, Brussels risks being unable to programme and spend European funds within the required deadlines. Some programmes require regional co-funding that the provisional twelfths mechanism cannot activate. The European Commission is monitoring the situation but has no direct lever to resolve it.
The federal state
The federal state manages social security (unemployment, pensions, healthcare), justice, the federal police, national taxation, railways (SNCB/NMBS), and defence. These competences directly impact Brussels residents: unemployment benefits, healthcare reimbursements, and the trains serving Brussels depend on the federal level, not the Region.
The federal government (Arizona coalition) has been operational since early 2025. It makes decisions that impact Brussels — tax reforms, refinancing of federated entities, cooperation agreements — without the Brussels Region having a fully empowered government to defend its interests in negotiations. This asymmetry is one of the most concrete consequences of the crisis.
The three Regions: an unprecedented asymmetry
Flanders and Wallonia formed their regional governments after the June 2024 elections. Brussels did not. This asymmetry creates a situation without precedent in Belgian history: two of three Regions can legislate, invest, and programme their policies, while the third operates on minimal management. On the same matters (housing, employment, mobility, environment), Flanders and Wallonia are moving forward while Brussels is falling behind.
Inter-regional cooperation agreements — necessary for issues such as commuter mobility or water management — are blocked on the Brussels side. Businesses active in multiple Regions face regulatory inconsistencies. Financial transfers between Regions continue on outdated parameters, with no possibility of renegotiation.
The community commissions: Brussels' institutional layer cake
The COCOM/GGC (Joint Community Commission) manages bi-community matters in Brussels: hospitals, nursing homes, homeless shelters, health policy coordination. Its government consists of the same ministers as the regional government. Direct consequence: the COCOM is paralysed by the same crisis. Investments in health and social welfare are frozen.
The COCOF (French Community Commission) manages French-speaking matters (culture, vocational training, personal assistance) and has its own budget. The VGC (Flemish Community Commission) fulfils the same role on the Dutch-speaking side but is structurally more linked to the Flemish government. During the regional crisis, the COCOF and VGC continue to function, but with constrained resources and without a regional strategic vision.
The 19 municipalities: crisis shock absorbers
The 19 Brussels municipalities (City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Molenbeek, Anderlecht, etc.) exercise proximity competences: urban planning, civil registry, local police, CPAS/OCMW (social welfare), municipal education, local roads. During a period without a regional government, the municipalities are often the only level of power that acts concretely for citizens in daily life.
But municipal resources are unequal. High-income municipalities (Uccle, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre) have solid tax revenues. Low-income municipalities (Molenbeek, Saint-Josse, Anderlecht) depend more on regional subsidies — subsidies that are frozen or reduced due to the absence of a new regional budget. The regional crisis deepens inequalities between municipalities.
The absence of a province: a unique exception
Brussels is the only Belgian Region without a province. In Flanders and Wallonia, provinces play a significant operational role: provincial education, cultural heritage, sports infrastructure, co-funding of local projects. In Brussels, the Region directly assumes these provincial competences, under the special law of 12 January 1989.
This absence means the Brussels Region carries a broader range of competences than the other two Regions. In normal times, this is an advantage (fewer intermediaries). In times of crisis, it is an additional handicap: there is no 'Brussels province' to take over certain matters when the Region is paralysed.
Para-regional bodies
The regional public interest bodies form the operational administration of Brussels: Actiris (employment), STIB/MIVB (transport), Brussels Housing (housing), Brussels Environment (environment), perspective.brussels (urban planning), Innoviris (research), Bruxelles-Proprete (waste). These bodies operate under multi-year management contracts and continue their missions during caretaker government.
But 'continuing' is not 'advancing'. Management contracts expire without being renewed. New investments are blocked. Projects requiring a political decision — a new tram line, an energy renovation programme, an employment aid reform — are frozen. The bodies manage what exists; they cannot innovate.
Police zones
Brussels has 6 local police zones (Brussels-Capital/Ixelles, South, West, Marlow, Montgomery, North), each managed by a police council made up of municipal representatives. The police operates independently of the regional crisis, but regional allocations for security are frozen at 2024 levels. Investments in equipment, recruitment, and police infrastructure are postponed.
Who decides what?
To understand the crisis, you need to know which level of power decides what. Here are the main competences and the responsible institution:
| Level | Key competences |
|---|---|
| Regional budget | Brussels Parliament (on proposal from the government — impossible under caretaker mode) |
| Social housing | SLRB (regional) + 16 social housing companies (local) — investments frozen |
| Public transport | STIB/MIVB (para-regional) + Beliris (federal for Metro 3) |
| Employment and training | Actiris (regional) + Bruxelles Formation / VDAB (community) |
| Health and social welfare | COCOM/GGC (bi-community) — blocked by the same crisis |
| Environment and climate | Brussels Environment (regional) — projects frozen |
Where is the blockage?
The blockage is concentrated at the level of the Brussels-Capital Region and the COCOM. These two levels — which share the same government — are the only ones without a fully empowered executive. The federal level, municipalities, para-regional bodies, and police zones continue to function. But they cannot compensate for the absence of a regional vision, investment budget, and legislative capacity. The Region is the strategic level: without it, the other levels manage day-to-day affairs without being able to prepare for the future.