Belgium’s federal government must cut public spending and boost economic growth in the coming budget talks, MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez said on Sunday, ruling out any new taxes or a rise in VAT.
Speaking at a party gathering near the Lion’s Mound in Waterloo, Bouchez said the government should focus on savings rather than tax increases as it searches for ways to bring the budget back into line with European spending rules by 2029.
The government is expected to look for €10 billion over the coming weeks. Prime Minister Bart De Wever is initially relying on discreet bilateral contacts to prepare the ground for the negotiations.
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A VAT increase is widely expected to return to the table. Bouchez made clear that his Francophone liberal party will resist that option.
“If everyone comes back with their own symbols, we will head in the same direction as last year,” Bouchez said. His remarks suggest he does not rule out another protracted dispute that could again put pressure on the coalition.
Last year’s budget deadlock forced the prime minister to postpone his state of the union speech for several weeks, and the government had to switch to provisional twelfths at the start of this year. Officials at 16 Rue de la Loi are keen to avoid a repeat.
Bouchez told party members that MR has prepared a “growth plan” which it will present to the government in the coming days. Neither he nor his ministers gave details of the measures included.
According to Bouchez, the document sets out a costed path towards €16 billion to €17 billion in savings across all levels of government without raising a single tax.
He said the savings would be spread over different timeframes and would not necessarily have an immediate effect on the deficit. But, he argued, that should not be a problem.
“We must reassure the financial markets,” Bouchez said. “Our savings take a little more time than a tax, but that is not a fundamental problem.”
In De Morgen this weekend, Budget Minister Vincent Van Peteghem of CD&V warned that the government must find measures that deliver results straight away. He pointed to the threat of a so-called interest snowball from 2031 onwards.
