Talk:Fusion of the Belgian municipalities

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Belgium

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When was the fusion process devised and begun ?

I removed a whole inaccurate paragraph:

The project of merging a number of local authorities to improve service delivery by streamlining administration and creating economies of scale was the work of the government headed by Leo Tindemans (1974–1978), and in particular of Interior Minister Joseph Michel. :The legal framework in which the mergers would be implemented was laid out in an act passed by the Belgian Parliament on 30 December 1975.<:ref>M. Lazzari, P. Verjans and A.-L. Durviaux, La fusion des communes: une réforme trentenaire (Merger of municipalities: a thirty-year old reform), Territoire(s) wallon(s), special issue (August 2008), pp. 27-34.<:/ref>

The historical fact is that the fusion was a project initiated in the 1961 Loi unique, implemented in several steps, in 1961, 1965, 1971, 1977 and finally in Antwerp in 1983. This can be verified in both the Dutch-speaking and francophone articles. Joseph Michel implemented the biggest move in this process, but it was only a step in a 22 years process. Afterwards it stopped, then it was transferred to the regions, it was no longer a matter pertaining to the federal government. Minorities observer (talk) 18:28, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

A reference (or a link) to a reliable source would be useful. As best as I can tell in the absence of one, the Loi unique simplified the process, and over the following decade a couple of hundred municipalities vanished as a result — but what happened in the mid-seventies was on an entirely different scale, with well over a thousand vanishing at a stroke. --Andreas Philopater (talk) 20:25, 13 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
- Actually, there were several successive laws initiated by the Loi unique, this is (usually unlikely for "Belgian" political articles, but true in this case) more clearly and extensively explained and sourced in the French article. Joseph Michel finalized the process begun in 1964, as the few 1960s fusions were seen as experimental. --Minorities observer (talk) 21:43, 5 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]