Vooruit proposes mandatory municipal mergers in Flanders

The political party Vooruit has proposed a radical restructuring of Flanders' administrative landscape, aiming to reduce the number of municipalities from 285 to approximately 98 by 2036. According to Kurt De Loor, the party suggests that these mergers should become mandatory starting in 2030.

The proposal seeks to align new municipal boundaries with existing police zones, creating larger administrative entities with roughly 50,000 inhabitants each. Vooruit argues that smaller local authorities struggle to manage increasingly complex administrative tasks and face severe personnel shortages. They contend that the current policy of voluntary mergers is ineffective and results in inconsistent groupings.

However, Minister Hilde Crevits (cd&v) has rejected the idea of forced mergers. She maintains that increasing the size of local administrations can alienate citizens and undermine trust in political institutions. Instead, her policy focuses on providing financial incentives to encourage municipalities to merge voluntarily.