The parliament of the Wallonia/Brussels Federation, FWB, on Tuesday rejected a resolution seeking greater transparency regarding the cost of ministers’ overseas trips.
The proposal had been submitted by the opposition Belgian Workers Party, PTB, in the wake of the controversy over a trip in April by FWB Minister-President Elisabeth Degryse (Les Engagés) to Canada, where she led a large delegation at public expense.
The cost of the mission, over €400,000, was not immediately disclosed by the minister, sparking criticism from the Marxist opposition at a time when the government is imposing cuts across all sectors of the Federation.
The rejected resolution aimed to establish proactive disclosure of the estimated cost and participant numbers for each trip, with updates or corrections made afterwards, if necessary, as is the practice in Sweden.
On Tuesday, the Mouvement Réformateur-Les Engagés majority, voted against the measure.
MR representative Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven condemned the text as “malicious,” accusing it of undermining ministers’ trips by portraying them as “pleasure outings.”
“It’s a dangerous approach,” the liberal politician charged.
