The Council of the Flemish Community Commission (VGC) has approved a €284,000 savings plan after an investigation by La Libre exposed the institution’s spending habits and perks enjoyed by Dutch-speaking Brussels MPs.
The VGC's move comes just days after the newspaper scrutinised expenses linked to the 17 Dutch-speaking Brussels MPs. La Libre found several examples of questionable spending, including the use of a cook during meetings, costly art rentals and political group allowances.
La Libre also pointed out that all members of the assembly benefit from a special allowance on top of a monthly gross salary of €8,990.68 and additional expense compensation.
The agreement, reached on Thursday by the bureau of the VGC Council, aims to reduce the institution’s budget by 6%. “We will make savings amounting to €284,000,” Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), president of the VGC Council, said in comments reported by La Libre.
Fewer perks and frozen allowances
As part of the reform, the VGC will merge its Bureau and Enlarged Bureau, two bodies whose memberships largely overlapped. According to the institution, the merger alone should save €66,750.
Members’ allowances will also be cut by 5%, while subsidies granted to political groups will remain frozen between 2026 and 2029. Several day-to-day perks are also being scrapped, including the reimbursement of phone expenses for bureau members, free printing and parking tickets for staff members. Travel expenses for parliamentary committees will meanwhile be capped at €5,000.
AI to replace some administrative tasks
The VGC also plans to reduce administrative costs through staff rationalisation measures and greater reliance on artificial intelligence.
From 2027 onwards, AI-generated transcriptions for full parliamentary reports are expected to save around €41,000 annually. Some support services, including finance, HR and IT, will also be merged under a single management structure.
The institution additionally confirmed the end of several activities considered “non-essential”, including the annual “Theatre Week”.
