Brussels Finance Minister Sven Gatz (Open VLD) has asked departments across the Capital Region to find a way to cut their current budgets by 10%, Le Soir reports. Some concerned departments have said this is "unrealistic".
The Minister recently sent two separate circulars to regional administrations regarding money saving measures, according to Le Soir.
One sent out last week concerns the preparation of the adjusted budget for 2024, and asks administrative departments to propose savings measures to help recoup a total of €240 million underspent in recent budgets.
The other, sent out at the end of May, outlines Gatz's expectations for each department to propose savings of 10% on their budgets. Monday 17 June was the deadline for departments to make their cost saving proposals.
The request is a simulation exercise to help the next executive prepare the 2025 budget, which is due to be presented to parliament in October.
Growing public debt in Brussels
The ministerial circulars come against the backdrop of an accelerating deterioration in the Brussels-Capital Region's finances.
The Region's consolidated debt reached €13 billion at the end of 2023. According to projections by the Centre for Research in Regional Economics and Economic Policy (CERPE) at the University of Namur, this figure will rise to €19 billion by 2028 if no policy changes are made.
US credit rating agency Standard and Poor (S&P) recently downgraded Brussels' credit rating from AA- to A+, and has already threatened to crack down again if substantial efforts are not made in 2025 and 2026.
'Unrealistic' request
Gatz's office told Le Soir that the requested cost saving proposals would equate to around €1 billion over two years, but that any measures would have to be decided during the next legislature.
A number of regional departments believe that the Minister's demands are "unrealistic". Regional employment office Actiris, for instance, has warned that a 10% budget cut would be a "strategic error" which could compromise federal objectives, such as achieving its employment rate of 80% by 2030.
Meanwhile, waste disposal department Bruxelles-Propreté said there is a lack of clarity within the ministerial circular about how to calculate each department's total budget, and it is unrealistic to achieve further cost savings without jeopardising collection and cleaning services.
