Flemish Budget and Finance Minister Ben Weyts has said the Flemish government must aim for a balanced budget through to 2030 while continuing to invest in what it sees as essential areas such as education, welfare and mobility.
Speaking on De Ochtend on Saturday, the N-VA minister said the government should not focus solely on cuts but also offer people a sense of perspective.
Talks are still ongoing over the exact scale of the budget effort facing the Flemish government. After an earlier adjustment of €1.5 billion, Weyts said a larger effort of around €2 billion is now taking shape.
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He described it as the biggest budget exercise the government has ever had to undertake.
Weyts repeated that he wants not only a balanced budget in 2026, but also in each of the following years up to 2030.
At the same time, he stressed that the government must continue to invest in what it considers truly essential, including education, welfare and mobility. He said the government must also provide a forward-looking vision.
Weyts declined to speculate on where exactly cuts would have to be made, saying he did not want to complicate the budget negotiations.
Asked whether savings in education were unavoidable because it accounts for the largest share of spending, he said only that a collective effort would be needed.
He did say, however, that he is considering several measures to reduce the flow of subsidies in Flanders, which he said has gone too far.
“When you are faced with such a major effort, you have to look at government itself, at expenditure, and therefore also at subsidies,” Weyts said.
