The Parliament of the German-speaking Community

The Parliament of the German-speaking Community represents the inhabitants living in the German language area of Belgium. The official language within this institution is German. The Parliament consists of 25 deputies directly elected every five years. The latest elections took place on 7th June 2009.

The major tasks of this Parliament are:

• The election and the supervision of the Government;
• The adoption of decrees (clauses that have legal force) for the German-speaking Community;
• The preparation and agreement of the annual budget.

Since 1973, the German-speaking Belgians have had their own Parliament. Originally called « Council of the German cultural community », it was termed « Council of the German-speaking Community» from 1984 to 2004. After a further modification of the Belgian constitution in July 2004, it is now officially named « Parliament of the German-speaking Community».

The Parliament is located in Kaperberg in Eupen. The Parliament building was erected in 1812 as the residence of the draper family Sternickel. The empire-style external façade is listed.

The building lodged many different owners until it was sold to the Belgian state in 1973 which transferred it to the German-speaking Community.