French-speaking liberals, MR, are threatening to block "any agreement’ within the Federal Government coalition if, on Friday, it does not approve any concrete support measures in response to rising energy prices.
Ahead of the Easter holidays, the so-called Arizona coalition (N-VA, MR, CD&V, Les Engagés and Vooruit) decided to allocate all additional tax revenue generated by rising energy prices – caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran – to fund support measures to help citizens alleviate the costs of yet another crisis.
In these measures, two groups were targeted: the most vulnerable households that heat their homes with gas or oil, and people facing increased costs for commuting between home and work.
A comprehensive and substantiated analysis of the budgetary impact of the crisis on Federal Government expenditure and revenue must be produced by the next Council of Ministers meeting scheduled for this Friday.
For MR, this deadline must be met, and concrete measures must be taken on Friday.
Either "it goes through", or the MR threatens to no longer enter into “any agreement” within the government, warned party president Georges-Louis Bouchez on Tuesday on Bel RTL, citing in particular the next budgetary year. "We are at the moment of truth," he emphasised.
Last month, Prime Minister De Wever rejected concrete support measures to reduce energy prices.
"We are carrying a legacy of poor management, rising interest rates, and a massive national debt. Everyone should realise that advocating for big gifts in all directions right now is hardly realistic," De Wever said.
"The budgetary situation is not good, and geopolitical circumstances could be an anchor pulling us down even further. Running to the cameras with all kinds of proposals to supposedly save the population is irresponsible," he added.
Both MR and N-VA have resisted Belgium taking a strong stance against the Israeli government – one of the belligerent parties in the war against Iran whose actions have contributed to pushing up energy prices.
