Introduction

Before giving a brief overview on the evolution of Belgian migration control policy, it is important to outline its institutional framework, particularly because Belgium has been a federal state since 1985. Migration control is located at all levels of government: the federal, the community (i.e. the French-speaking Community, the Flemish Community, the German-speaking Community) and the regional (Wallonia, Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region). The control of entry, stay and exit in the Belgian territory is to a large extent a federal competence. The Federal Public Service for Home Affairs, also known as the Ministry for the Interior, and, notably, its Aliens Office are responsible for immigration control. They work in collaboration with the Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs on visa-related matters, with the Federal Public Service for Employment to oversee workplace controls and the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (FEDASIL).

Belgium's communities are competent for person-linked matters such as education and therefore are also responsible for enacting integration policy. The regions are competent for territorial matters such as employment (e.g. issues regarding labour permit delivery). In 1994, the Walloon Region and the French Community Committee of the Brussels Capital Region received new competencies from the French Community. The responsibilities included reception and integration policies for immigrants and youth of foreign origin, which would be assisted by state-funded organisations to develop integration activities as well as moral and religious assistance for immigrants. Today it is precisely the Walloon Region that is competent for integration policy in Wallonia. However, the region has not yet developed a full-fledged integration policy despite having already set up regional integration centres for the purpose of promoting migrant integration. In Wallonia, migrant integration emphasises, albeit indirectly, policies that fight social exclusion. By contrast, the Flemish Community, through its Interdepartmental Ethnic-Cultural Minorities Committee, has had its own policy on minorities since 1998 and recently began developing one on diversity in Flanders and Brussels. In 2003, the Flemish government also introduced a compulsory integration programme for newcomers in Flanders. During the negotiations that took place after federal elections in June 2007, the Flemish government would come to claim more responsibilities over immigration control, which would mean increased efforts to promote migrant integration in Flanders and to fight its challenges along the way.