Provinces of Belgium
Most of the provinces take their name from earlier duchies and counties of similar location, while their territory is mostly based on the departments installed during French annexation. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant, which held the city of Brussels. In 1995, Brabant was split into three areas: Flemish Brabant, which became a part of the region of Flanders; Walloon Brabant, which became part of the region of Wallonia; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which became a third region. These divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish; the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual.
Brussels and the European Union
Belgium operates a complex federal system between the two main groups: Flemish and Walloons. There's a division of Belgium into three regions, where Brussels-Capital Region is an independent region, next to Flanders and Wallonia. The regions are mostly responsible for the economy, mobility and other territory-related matters. But there's also a division of Belgium into three communities: the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-speaking Community. These communities are responsible for language-related matters like culture or education. Brussels doesn't belong to any community, but has a bilingual status. So the Brussels inhabitants may enjoy education or cultural affairs or education organised by the Flemish and/or the French community.