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27 NOVEMBER 2013. - An Act respecting endowments and allowances granted to members of the Royal Family and the transparency of monarchy funding

PHILIPPE, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER 1^er. - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER 2. - General principles on staffing
and allowances to members of the Royal Family
Art. 2. An allocation may be made:
- to the presumptive heir of the Crown,
- to the King or Queen who abdicated,
- the surviving spouse or surviving spouse of the King or Queen,
- the surviving spouse or surviving spouse of the King or Queen who abdicated, and
- the surviving spouse or surviving spouse of the Crown's presumptive heir.
All endowments are laid down by law on a government proposal.
Art. 3. The allocations referred to in section 2 shall consist of:
1° of a party subject to income tax, corresponding to a treatment, which is fixed on the basis of the treatment of a higher function within the judiciary or the public service, below referred to as "part treatment";
2° of a part corresponding to operating and personnel expenses, hereafter referred to as "operational and personal portion".
Art. 4. The treatment portion referred to in Article 3, 1°, is changed in the same way as the treatment of the higher function on which it is based.
The operating and personal share referred to in Article 3, 2°, is changed in the same way as that provided for in the Act of 2 August 1971, which organizes a regime of linking to the Consumer Price Index, salary, pension, allowances and subsidies for the public treasury, certain social benefits, the limits of pay to be taken into account in calculating certain social security contributions of workers as well as social obligations imposed on independent workers.
Art. 5. The portion of the treatment referred to in section 3, 1°, is paid on a monthly basis, within seven days of the expiry of the period to which the allowance relates.
The operating and personal portion referred to in section 3, 2°, shall be paid on a quarterly basis, before the expiry of the period to which the allowance relates.
Art. 6. The benefit of an endowment as referred to in Article 3 is not compatible with the benefit of another taxable income from a professional activity.
Art. 7. The Act determines the maximum number of employees available to the recipient of the staffing.
In case of exceedance of the maximum referred to in paragraph 1^er, all staff costs that exceed this maximum, are borne by the operational and personnel costs.
Art. 8. Royal Donation Buildings may only be made available to members of the Royal Family after the agreement of the Minister of Finance.
Art. 9. Members of the Royal Family who do not receive any endowments under section 2 may, by Royal Decree deliberated in the Council of Ministers, be awarded an allowance for the exercise of general interest benefits.
The Royal Order sets out the scope of the benefits, the duration of the benefits and the height of the allowance that is allocated for this purpose.
Art. 10. The equivalent of two diplomats is made available to the Royal Family member accompanying commercial missions.
Art. 11. Members of the Royal Family who receive an allocation under section 3 shall adhere to the rules set out in Chapter 4.
In the event of a breach of these provisions, the Government may, after hearing the interested person, propose to the House of Representatives a deduction on the allocation referred to in section 3 assigned to it.
CHAPTER 3. - Transparency and control
Art. 12. Endowments are included annually in the general budget for the expenses of the Kingdom.
All expenditures related to the Royal Family are listed in a common budget program.
Art. 13. All expenses on the basis of Article 3, 2° are recorded. Each year, the main sections of the accounts relating to operating expenses and personnel referred to in Article 3, 2° are published.
Art. 14. The first President and the President of the Court of Auditors examine the legality and regularity of expenses charged to the working and personal portion.
Art. 15. Each year, members of the Royal Family who receive an endowment referred to in section 3 or who, if any, receive an allowance under section 9, shall provide the Prime Minister with a report of the general interest activities they have carried out in the past year. The Prime Minister transmits this report to the Federal Chambers.
CHAPTER 4. - Rules of conduct
Art. 16. As part of their activities, members of the Royal Family participate in public meetings or events for which their presence or competition is sought, provided that such participation does not prejudice the dignity and respectability of their functions and does not threaten their neutrality.
They move in this quality both in Belgium and abroad.
Art. 17. In order to take into account the possible political implications that may arise from the movement of members of the Royal Family, any travel project outside the European Economic Area, whether public or private, is communicated to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Any displacement abroad that may be politically meaningful and, in particular, if it involves contact with the high authorities of the State concerned, is communicated to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Minister shall, within eight days, render an opinion on the appropriateness of such a displacement and, if any, on the conditions under which it may be realized. In any event, such travel may only take place in the Minister's opinion.
Art. 18. With the exception of contacts that may take place in the context of representation activities, contacts of members of the Royal Family in Belgium with the authorities of foreign States, international organizations or their representatives are subject to the rules defined in Article 17.
Art. 19. At any time, members of the Royal Family ensure that they do not jeopardize the dignity and respectability of their words, attitudes or behaviours that relate to their functions.
Art. 20. In the performance of their duties, members of the Royal Family shall exercise reserve in the public expression of their views, regardless of the material or media used.
The members of the Royal Family testify respect for the political, philosophical, ideological or religious conceptions that express themselves in a democratic society.
CHAPTER 5. - Endowments allocated
members of the Royal Family referred to in section 2
Art. 21. It is allocated to Her Majesty Queen Fabiola for an annual and lifespan of 461,500 euros.
The amount of treatment referred to in Article 3, 1°, is the raw starting treatment of a State advisor.
CHAPTER 6. - Transitional provisions
Art. 22. § 1. It is allocated, at the expense of the public treasury, an annual allocation of 320,000 euros to Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid.
The provisions of Chapters 2 to 4 apply to this allocation.
The share of treatment referred to in Article 3, 1°, amounts to the gross treatment of departure of a State adviser.
§ 2. A non-commissioned officer and a subordinate officer are, to the maximum, made available to Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid.
Art. 23. § 1^er. It is allocated, at the expense of the public treasury, an annual allocation of EUR 307,000 to His Royal Highness Prince Laurent.
The provisions of Chapters 2 to 4 apply to this allocation.
The share of treatment referred to in Article 3, 1°, amounts to the gross treatment of departure of a State adviser.
§ 2. A non-commissioned officer is, to the maximum, made available to His Royal Highness Prince Laurent.
CHAPTER 7. - Abrogatory provisions
Art. 24. The Act of November 16, 1993 establishing the Civil List for the duration of King Albert II's reign, the allocation of an annual and lifetime endowment to Her Majesty Queen Fabiola and the allocation of an annual endowment to Her Royal Highness Prince Philippe is repealed.
Art. 25. The law of May 7, 2000 assigning an annual endowment to His Royal Highness Prince Philippe, an annual endowment to His Royal Highness Princess Astrid and an annual endowment to His Royal Highness Prince Laurent is repealed.
CHAPTER 8. - Entry into force
Art. 26. This Act comes into force on 1^er January 2014.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels, 27 November 2013.
PHILIPPE
By the King:
The Prime Minister,
E. DI RUPO
Minister of Finance, Public Service,
K. GEENS
State Secretary to Institutional Reforms,
S. VERHERSTRATEN
State Secretary to Institutional Reforms,
Mr. WATHELET
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
____
Note
(1) Documents of the House of Representatives:
53-2960 -2012/2013:
No. 1: Bill.
No. 2: Amendments.
Number three: Report.
No. 4: Text corrected by the commission.
53-2960 -2013/2014:
No. 5: Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate.
Full report: 10 October 2013.
Documents of the Senate:
5-2283 -2013/2014:
Number 1: Project referred to by the Senate.
No. 2: Amendments.
Number three: Report.
No. 4: Decision not to amend.
Annales du Senate: October 24, 2013.