Province of East-Flanders
- 1 governor, 4 deputies, 36 councilors
- Elected member: Riet Gillis, Member of the Provincial Executive for External Relations and European Projects, Environment, Climate and Energy, Mobility
- 1 500 000 of inhabitants
- 274,6 million EUR budget
Province of East-Flanders
Let East-Flanders captivate you. "Europe’s best kept secret". That is what Lonely Planet travel guide publisher calls Ghent, promptly catapulting the City to the 7th place in the world-famous list of must-see cities in 2011.
And Ghent automatically brings to mind East-Flanders, home of Artevelde’s historically rebellious city. And 59 other cities and towns in the midst of forested hilltops or alongside long polder brooks. Four major rivers and streams – Scheldt, Lys, Dender and Durme – run through the area and lend their name, fame and strength to the region. It is one of the 5 provinces in Flanders, the northermost part of Belgium. Our 1.5 million inhabitants live in one of the most densely populated areas of Europe.
We invite you to discover our province in all its glory. The rural and agrarian Meetjesland with its extensive brooklands in the north. The equally flat Waasland in the northeast of Ghent with its typical ‘bulging’ farmland and the Port of Waasland. The Scheldeland area with its dykes and marshlands and flowery meadowlands. And finally the Flemish Ardennes in the south of our province, where the landscape rises to 180 meters above sea level. Green valleys, splashing brooks, wild forest, concealed ancient villages and meandering roads…on which the Tour of Flanders is contested.
Of course East-Flanders is also a centre of Knowledge with the University of Ghent, KULeuven Technology Campus, Artevelde Hogeschool, Hogent and several other knowledge centers where innovation is a thriving force of our economy and with 2 sea ports (North Sea Port and Waaslandhaven) as a motor for jobs and growth.
Province of East-Flanders and cross-border cooperation
East-Flanders has a long history in cross-border cooperation that started within Euregio Scheldemond when in 1989 a MoU was signed and the cooperation between East-Flanders, West-Flanders was born. The Province is from 1991 involved in the European cross-border subsidy-programmes called INTERREG. Cross border cooperation means tackling border-related issues and trying to erase the negative effects of borders.
But cross-border cooperation and exchange of knowledge can be a accelerator for innovation and enhances our universities, cities, businesses and citizens.
Province of East-Flanders and the Straits Committee
Due to the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union several regions started a new form of cooperation within the Straits Committee. There will be no longer the possibility yo cooperate within the framework of INTERREG 2 seas but we still have the ambition and willingness to cooperate with regions from the UK. This will enrich our knowledge on themes of great importance to the Province such as innovation, climate change and youth.