
In Flanders, changes introduced this year require migrant newcomers to undergo a standardised Dutch language test as part of integration programmes, affecting their eligibility for Belgian nationality and access to social housing. Previously, education centres ran their own Dutch courses and tests for approximately 26 000 non-native speakers: half participated voluntarily and half we required to do so.
The standardisation of the Dutch lanugage test has a cost of 180 euros for those mandated to take it. Earlier this year various basic education centres in Flanders and Brussels (Ligo), two non-profit organisations (Netwerk tegen Armoede and Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen), and the ACV union challenged these new regulations before the Constitutional Court of Belgium. They emphasised the importance of not creating unnecessary barriers to integration and asserted that enrollment fees and mandatory tests could pose significant obstacles for learners, particularly those who are financially vulnerable.
The Constitutional Court took the positive step of cancelling several provisions on adult education in the Flemish decree on civic integration. The annulled articles prevented participants obliged to follow an integration programme from claiming fee exemptions, reduced fees or fee reimbursement when registering for the standardised Dutch test, while participants who were not required to undergo an integration programme could still benefit from these social adjustments. The Court deemed these provisions unfair as they reduced access to language learning by creating unjustified differential treatment between adults undergoing the integration programme and those who are not, in violation of the constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination.
In its ruling, the Court stated that both mandatory and voluntary attendees may face difficult socio-economic circumstances and found that these differential treatments lacked reasonable and proportionate justifications, all the while targeting foreigners, a group with a significantly higher percentage of people mandated to participate in an integration programme. The ruling of the Constitutional Court highlights that this unequal treatment results in “specific prejudice indirectly linked to their nationality”.
Regulations specific to Flanders indicate that Belgians aged 18 or older, born outside of Belgium and having at least one parent not born in Belgium, are considered part of the target group for civic integration in Flanders and are required to follow an integration course if their first registration with the National Register does not exceed 12 consecutive months. The mandatory participants who fail to meet their civic integration obligation risk an administrative fine.
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- Flanders
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- Belgium
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