The budget of the Region

The budget is "a legislative deed containing the table of revenues and expenditure estimated for a defined period and constituting as such the rule to be followed by the executive power and by the Administration that is accountable to it". But the budget is more than a simple estimate of revenues and expenditure, it is the action programme of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region.

In this sense, the budget has a number of functions:

• It is a deed of estimate: the budget is an estimate of the revenues and expenditure for a defined period, that is the budget year under consideration. Every year the Region’s Parliament votes on a budget for the Region and for the Agglomeration and it can also vote on one or two adjustments to the budget in the course of the year. In Belgium the budget year corresponds to the calendar year: it begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December.
• It is a deed of authorisation: the budget is the authorisation given by the Region’s Parliament to the Government to spend the funds stated in it and to collect the revenues defined in it.
• It is a legislative deed: the budget is a legal document but it is not an ordinary act of law. It is not a source of law and it is by its very nature only valid for one year. Budget proposals consisting of estimates of revenues and expenditure prepared by the Government are submitted to the Parliament in the form of draft orders, which are published in Moniteur belge once they are approved.
• It is a political deed: the budget is more than a simple estimate and authorisation. It is the action programme of the Government voted on by the Council of the Region and expresses the policies to be pursued in the form of figures.