Bastogne and Bertogne plan to merge into a single municipality following the 2024 municipal elections, a first for Wallonia.
The newly merged entity in the Ardennes will be called Bastogne and include eight sections, Bertogne, Longchamps, Flamierge, Noville, Wardin, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, Longville, and Bastogne. Mergers such as the Bastogne and Bertogne proposal have occurred before but in Flanders. In 2018, 15 Flemish municipalities voluntarily merged.
The Bastogne and Bertogne are currently part of the same police area, relief area, and tourist area. By combining, the joint municipality will have 20,355 inhabitants; a population considered vital for guaranteeing schools in the region remain strong and improving the efficiency of municipal administrative services, including waste collection, according to a joint statement released by the municipalities.
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“Every day, hundreds of contacts take place between the inhabitants of our two municipalities,” says the joint statement from the municipalities. “In short, the Bastognards and Bertognards already live largely together on a daily basis.”
Additionally, by combining, the merged municipality will receive increased funding from the Municipalities Fund. In 2020, Bastogne received €7,276,451 from the fund. Bertogne received €1,720,161. Following the merger, the combined municipality predicts receiving €10,283,199 from the fund in 2025.
