Partition of Belgium of Belgium in the east is in fact more an observer than a player in the difficult negotiations between Flanders and Wallonia. The region of Eupen-Malmedy was given to Belgium in the aftermath of the First World War. (The former German city of Malmedy and the surrounding villages are Walloon and therefore are not part of the German-speaking Community.) The territory consists of two detached parts with a total area of about . Approximately 75,000 people live there. The conflict between Walloons and Flemings provided the German-speaking Community with considerable autonomy. Although the region is too small to play a
German-speaking Community of Belgium in the border region next to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg speak Luxembourgish, a West Central German language, they are not considered part of the German-speaking Community. The German-speaking Community of Belgium is composed of the German-speaking parts of the lands that were annexed in 1920 from Germany. In addition, in contemporary Belgium there are also some other areas where German is or has been spoken (the difference line between German, Dutch, Luxembourgish and Limburgish is very slight since they are all part of the same dialect continuum) that belonged to Belgium even before 1920, but they are not currently