{"id":19112,"date":"2025-11-14T16:30:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T15:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=19112"},"modified":"2025-11-14T16:30:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T15:30:34","slug":"enforcing-bilingualism-in-brussels-a-law-under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/19112\/enforcing-bilingualism-in-brussels-a-law-under-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Enforcing Bilingualism in Brussels: A Law Under\u00a0Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"
Authors: Lara van Erp and Charlotte Buma\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n While Brussels is known as the heart of the European Union, it\u2019s also simply the capital of Belgium; a country divided linguistically between the Dutch-speaking Flanders and the French-speaking Wallonia. By law, all government institutions in Brussels must serve citizens in both languages. However, in practice, Dutch speakers say that rule is often ignored. French dominates daily life in the city, leaving many Flemish residents feeling ignored in their own capital.<\/strong><\/p>\n Earlier this year, the debate about the \u2018\u2019administrative language legislation\u2019\u2019 sparked again after an incident involving a train conductor greeting passengers bilingually. News outlet \u2018Bruzz\u2019 reported on a conductor who greeted passengers with both \u201cgoeiedag\u201d<\/em> and \u201cbonjour\u201d<\/em>, while the train was still technically in Flanders. That simple bilingual greeting was considered a violation of the language law, which requires public services on Flemish territory to address passengers exclusively in Dutch.<\/p>\n The incident triggered national discussion. The Belgian railway company NMBS, represented by spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman, said the company does everything possible to follow the law, but admits that strict compliance is not always easy. \u201cSometimes we wish the rules allowed a bit more flexibility,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n For Michael Discart, president of the Flemish nationalist movement Vlaamse Volksbeweging (VVB)<\/em>, the opposite is true. He argues that strict enforcement is essential. \u201cThere is a law for a reason\u2019\u2019 <\/em>the says. \u201cIf you allow people to freely speak two languages, after one generation Flemish will disappear and Brussels will be only French speaking.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n