German-speaking Community of Belgium

The area known today as the East Cantons consists of the German-speaking Community and the municipalities of Malmedy and Waimes (), which belong to the French Community of Belgium. The East Cantons were part of the Rhine Province of Prussia in the German Empire until 1920 (as the counties (Landkreise) of Eupen and Malmedy), but were annexed by Belgium following Germany's defeat in World War I and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles. Thus they also became known as the '''', "redeemed cantons". The peace treaty of Versailles demanded the "questioning" of the local population. People who were unwilling to become Belgians and wanted the region to remain a part of Germany were required to register themselves along with their full name and address with the Belgian military administration, headed by Herman Baltia, and many feared reprisals or even expulsion for doing so. In the mid-1920s, there were secret negotiations between Germany and the kingdom of Belgium that seemed to be inclined to sell the region back to Germany as a way to improve Belgium's finances. A price of 200 million gold marks has been mentioned. According to the government of the German-speaking Community, special consideration should be given to regional autonomy for spatial planning, city building, and housing. == Geography ==

Location The territory of the German-speaking Community is bounded on the north by the Belgium-Germany-Netherlands border tripoint, on the east by Germany and on the south by Luxembourg, and on the west by the territory of the French-speaking Community of Belgium. Within Belgium, the German-speaking Community exercises its political powers on the German-speaking territory, which comprises nine municipalities. Eupen is the seat of the government, the parliament and the administrative centre. The municipalities of Malmedy and Weismes belong to the territorial community of the French Community of Belgium. The German minority has its own rights there. Occasionally, the nine German-speaking communities, together with the communities of Malmedy and Weismes, are historically called East Belgium or East Cantons because of their common political past, formerly also as Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith. In March 2017, the government of the German-speaking community decided to market the area as East Belgium. Analogous to South Tyrol (officially: Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol), the name of the German-speaking Community of Belgium will continue to be used on official documents, on the external presentation, on the Internet and on the official posters of the ministry, the government and the parliament. == Government ==

The German-speaking Community has its own government, which is appointed for five years by its own parliament. The Government is headed by a Minister-President, who acts as the "prime minister" of the Community, and is assisted by the Ministry of the German-speaking Community. The 2024–2029 government is formed by four Ministers: • Oliver Paasch (ProDG), Minister-President and Minister for Local Government • Gregor Freches (PFF), Minister for Culture, Media and Tourism • Lydia Klinkenberg (ProDG), Minister for Family, Social Affairs, Housing and Health • Jérôme Franssen (CSP), Minister for Education, Training and Employment Municipalities The German-speaking Community consists of nine municipalities, listed in the table below. Numbers on the map to the right correspond to the "Map #" column in the table below. ( = comparable to previous year). The population figures are those on 1 January 2020 (compare to a total of 73,675 on 1 January 2007). The municipalities are grouped into two cantons, namely the Canton of Eupen in the north and the Canton of Sankt Vith in the south. The wider region is included in the Arrondissement of Verviers. == Demographics ==

In 2007, 73,675 inhabitants (86.3 inhabitants / km2) lived in the area of the German-speaking community. However, the population density in the canton of Eupen (north) and the canton of St. Vith (south) is very different: • District of Eupen: 44 159 inhabitants – 196.4 inhabitants / km2. • District of St. Vith: 29 516 inhabitants – 46.9 inhabitants / km2 The north–south demographic gap is particularly evident when comparing the North and South of the community: • The most densely populated municipality is Kelmis (577.9 inhabitants / km2); • The least densely populated municipality is Büllingen (36.2 inhabitants / km2). By comparison, the population density is 346.7 in Belgium, 204.0 in Wallonia and 452.4 in Flanders. Men represent 49.72% with a slightly lower proportion of the total population of the German-speaking community, women are in the majority with 50.28%. As of 2020 over 21% of the community is foreign-born, with Germans representing the overwhelming majority of that group, followed by Turks. == See also ==