ABSTRACT
In Belgium, both the government and the parliament together form the legislative power. Without cooperation between government and parliament, no policy can be decided or enacted. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of how the different parliamentary assemblies in Belgium work. It presents the two chambers of the federal parliament, the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the parliaments of the regions and communities. The chapter discusses the lawmaking and government-controlling function, as well as the reasons that explain the loss of control of parliament vis-à-vis government. It explains how some of these reasons are particular to the Belgian federal system, but also how especially at the substate level, parliaments develop initiatives of democratic innovation. The chapter demonstrates how individual MPs use the little room they have to play an active role to their advantage.
