Belgium's Gender Mainstreaming Law (2007) — Mandatory Gender Note and Credit-Line Categorisation in the Federal Budget

Belgium adopted its Gender Mainstreaming Law on 12 January 2007. It obliges the federal government to integrate the gender perspective into all policies, measures, budgetary preparations and actions, covering all federal competences and all phases of the policy cycle.
For budgets, the law requires public institutions and ministries to identify funds that promote gender equality and to account for spending on gender equality measures in a 'gender note' attached to each draft of the general expense budget. The annual budget circular carries instructions, and a specific circular on gender budgeting prescribes the method: stimulating gender analysis of expenditure through an obligatory categorisation of all credit lines.
The Institute for the Equality of Women and Men published a manual for applying gender budgeting in the federal administration (2010) and conducts training. According to the European Commission's Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities (2022), the application of the method is evaluated every two years.
Limitations: EIGE reports there is no legal obligation to conduct gender impact assessments and describes gender budgeting as still at an early stage. The sources reviewed describe the framework and process rather than measured effects on gender equality or spending.

Read the full analysis: https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2022-12/Opinion_gender_mainstreaming_national_budgets_2022_EN.pdf