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The venues on ICTG
General Informations
Year of EU entry: Founding member
Political system: Constitutional monarchy
Capital city: Brussels
Total area: 30 158 km²
Population: 10.5 million
Currency: euro
Belgium is a federal state divided into three regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south where the language is French, and Brussels, the bilingual capital, where French and Dutch share official status. There is also a small German-speaking minority of some 70 000 in the eastern part of the country. Belgium’s landscape varies widely: 67 kilometres of seacoast and flat coastal plains along the North Sea, hills in the centre and the uplands forests of the Ardennes region in the southeast. Brussels hosts several international organisations: most of the European institutions are located there as well as the NATO headquarters. Independent since 1830, Belgium is a constitutional monarchy.The two houses of Parliament are the Chamber of Representatives, whose members are elected for a maximum period of four years, and the Senate or upper house, whose members are elected or co-opted. Given its political make-up, Belgium is generally run by coalition governments.
Among the best known Belgians are Georges Rémi (Hergé), creator of Tintin, writers Georges Simenon and Hugo Claus, composer and singer Jacques Brel and cyclist Eddy Merckx. Painters like James Ensor, Paul Delvaux and René Magritte are the modern-day successors of Rubens and the other Flemish masters of yesteryear. Belgium is famous for its chocolates, which are appreciated the world over. Its favourite dish is mussels and chips (French fries) which, according to legend, are a Belgian invention.
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