Attendees also called for the 'global city' of Brussels to become better coordinated with neighbouring regions of Belgium.
The conference gathered all the major Belgian political parties, except Flemish nationalist group Vlaams Belang, to discuss the relationship between the French and Dutch-speaking communities of Brussels.
Despite obvious differences, politicians and civil society representatives reached agreement on a number of key issues, including:
- The need for strong institutional coordination between Brussels and its natural hinterland, particularly French-speaking Brabant and Flemish Brabant (in which the city's airport and much of its ring road lie).
- The need for bilingual lists in Brussels elections, ensuring that voters are not forced to choose from exclusively French or Flemish-speaking candidates.
- Non-Belgian residents of Brussels should be allowed to vote in such elections, and should be consulted in discussions on the capital's future.
Multinational, multilingual Brussels
Over half of the Belgian capital's population is of foreign origin, and almost half of its households are multilingual, reported the Brussels Citizens' Forum.
But Brussels "is not yet a model sustainable city, it is not truly a place of intercultural dialogue, and it is not a place where there are equal opportunities for everyone," its final document concluded.
Indeed, non-Belgian EU nationals resident in Brussels have the option of registering to vote in their adopted country in European and local elections to the 'communes', but most prefer to vote at home or not at all.
Such residents do not have the right to vote in elections to the Brussels regional parliament, which has a bigger role to play in shaping the city's future.
