Abstract

In Belgium, the number of municipalities was reduced from 2,663 to 596 by means of amalgamation.In the sketching of the framework of this reform, attention is first of all given to the manner in which the consensus required for it could be obtained. At the same time, the criteria employed and the pragmaticapplication thereof are investigated.Then, the new municipal division is tested for the motives and objectives that lay at the foundation of this reform. The expectations involved were in large measure, related to the effects that were seen as the inherent consequence of the expansion of the territoria! scale of the municipalities.Finally, this reform is tested with respect to other than territorial components of the municipal administrative power. The reform remains incomplete on several points. This appears, for example, from the continuing absence of functional reforms with regard to decentralisation and from the lack of attention for the adjustment of the municipal working rules both in the area of effective administration as wellt as in the area of open and democratie administration.