The reform has caused some concern as the Dutch-speaking side will have 20% of the total number of magistrates, while it is expected to handle 30% of the cases. The proposal also includes a promise to measure the burden of work of the Dutch-speaking side, at which point the final number of magistrates can be adjusted. The prosecutor’s office will also be split, into a Dutch-speaking office in Halle- Vilvoorde and a bilingual office in Brussels.

Meanwhile the splitting of the electoral district of BHV, already approved by the committee, is presenting problems for the Flemish in Brussels, as changes mean that it will become virtually impossible to see a Fleming elected to the federal parliament for Brussels. Until now, the inclusion of the Flemish areas of Halle and Vilvoorde in the district compensated for the low numbers of Flemish voters in the capital itself. Now they will disappear into the provincial district of Flemish Brabant. A suggestion by CD&V chair Wouter Beke that all Flemish parties could present a united list in Brussels so as not to split the vote has received little support from other parties.