The Flemish Government has started its search for an additional €2 billion in cuts for the 2027 budget.
While the federal government is spending its days arguing about where to find €10 billion, its Flemish counterpart is similarly searching for ways to balance its books.
Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) promised to erase the €4 billion budget deficit of his government in 2023 by 2027, while he was still Minister of Finance. Earlier this week, he indicated that another round of cuts amounting to €2 billion would be needed to achieve this goal.
Meanwhile, Flemish Minister of Education Hilde Crevits (CD&V) told Het Laatste Nieuws that she expects cuts to happen in both the Education and Welfare budgets.
"The Flemish budget totals approximately €67 billion. Of that amount, €20 billion is allocated to education and €18 billion to social services. It is impossible to curb spending without touching those departments," she said.
The negotiations are overshadowed by a dispute between two parties in the coalition. The provincial governor of West-Flanders, Carl Decaluwé of the christian democratic CD&V, is retiring at the end of the month. The agreement between the coalition parties is that socialists Vooruit can name his replacement, as they currently do not hold a government post in Flanders.
According to the commonly used distribution key, they should name the governor in West-Flanders, with Flemush nationalist N-VA being allowed to appoint the one after.
However, CD&V are not keen on letting go of the position in the province where they have the most electoral success. The party has appointed the governor in West-Flanders since the end of the Second World War, and is reportedly eyeing Crevits for the position.
According to reporting from VRT NWS, the issue has caused a rift between CD&V on one side and N-VA and Vooruit on the other. Following a meeting of the inner cabinet, all parties agreed that the issue should not become part of the negotiations.
