From animal welfare to toilet resolution: the Flemish parliament voted on these topics yesterday and today | Domestic

The Flemish Parliament has approved the animal welfare codex of competent minister Ben Weyts. That didn’t exactly happen without a fight. The opposition’s help was necessary, because coalition partners CD&V and Open VLD were opposed to the standstill principle in the decree. This establishes that the protection of animals must not deteriorate, but CD&V and Open VLD warned about the possible legal scope and wanted to remove the principle from the codex. The CD&V amendment on the deletion of the principle did not obtain a majority (thanks to the opposition). Finally, the entire codex was given the green light. Several members of CD&V voted against or abstained.

From 2026, there will be a joint preliminary process for adoption and foster care candidates. The intention is to have part of the preparation process for candidate adoptive parents and candidate foster parents coincide. Parents could then make their choice between adoption or foster care during the course of the process. This is stated in the decree that was approved in the Flemish Parliament on the night of Wednesday to Thursday. The plans for the joint preliminary process for foster care and adoption are included in the adjustment of the rules regarding intercountry and domestic adoption and foster care.

In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the Flemish Parliament gave the green light to the decree of Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) that provides for a pilot project in which certain re-inspections of cars can be carried out at recognized repairers instead of at the car inspection center. . This is a five-year pilot project that can be extended for another five years if the evaluation is positive.

The draft decree ‘Early and Near’ was also approved. The government wants to streamline youth care, ten years after the introduction of the integrated youth care decree and the preventive family support decree. The government has been working on the ‘integrated family and youth care policy’ decree for much longer, also known as the anchoring of the ‘early and close’ principle. The intention is to provide support pathways for children and young people without fractures. The decree also ensures more appropriate services for children with multiple and complex problems.

In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the Flemish Parliament gave the green light to the new minimum targets for the first year of secondary education and for the seventh year of vocational secondary education (BSO). More sobriety and more focus are the common thread and in terms of content the emphasis is on Dutch, languages ​​and mathematical sciences.

A decree was also unanimously approved on Thursday morning to guarantee education in community institutions. It therefore responds to a number of recommendations that were formulated following an investigation by the education inspectorate. There has been a major problem within youth care, and especially in community institutions, for years due to a lack of official education, which means that not all young people have access to full education. For many of these young people, their educational path has come to a standstill. Flanders previously laid down a decree that minors in youth care have the right to education. According to the decree, this education should best take place in the school that the young person already knows, but if that is not possible, this must be arranged in the facility.

Parliament also approved a proposed decree on Thursday morning allowing the De Warande cultural center in Turnhout to remain part of the province of Antwerp for the time being pending a definitive solution. The Flemish government appointed an intendant for the Warande in the summer of last year. He was instructed to investigate all possible future scenarios for the Warande. Mylle concluded in his report that it would be best for Warande to remain with the province for the time being. After all, the city of Turnhout does not have sufficient resources of its own.

From now on, young mothers who attend secondary education will always receive the lowest childcare rate. This is stated in a proposal by Katrien Schryvers (CD&V), Koen Daniëls (N-VA) and Freya Saeys (Open VLD) that was unanimously approved in the Flemish Parliament on Thursday. Until now, this minimum rate only applied to underage mothers.

The Flemish Parliament unanimously approved the 101 recommendations of the special committee on sexual abuse in the Church and other authority relationships on Thursday morning. The committee requests, among other things, the establishment of a fund that gives all victims of sexual violence access to psychological care. The Church must contribute financially to this and the federal level will examine whether perpetrators of a sexual crime can also be sentenced to make a financial contribution.

The Flemish Parliament unanimously gave the green light on Thursday morning for the ‘toilet resolution’ at the initiative of Flemish MP Katrien Schryvers. In the resolution, which was symbolically added to the agenda ‘with great urgency’, the CD&V MP advocates a ‘toilet plan’ that calls for more public and accessible toilets.

Finally, the Flemish Parliament has given the green light for a thorough reform of the licensing procedures. With a decree, Flemish Minister of the Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA) is cutting back on the various procedures for applying for an environmental permit. There will be one basic procedure with a decision period of sixty days.

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