Belgium's Prime Minister, Charles Michel, on Friday blamed the worsening of the country’s federal budget deficit on technical reasons. Speaking on Bel RTI from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly, he explained that “reforms that structurally modify the economy make budget estimates more difficult”. The head of Belgium’s government did not say whether the target of achieving a balanced budget by 2018 need to be reviewed, but he noted that the priority for next year would be to put public accounts in order. “We have no choice,” he said, stressing that the first equation to resolve would be to “identify the effort to be made in 2017” and that his government aimed to “confirm European commitments, to continue to improve the situation”.
Balancing the budget has to be the focus of discussion within the government, Mr. Michel said, reserving his position for the discussions to be held within his team. “It is very important to launch an investment plan, put the budget back on track and take still more measures on employment,” the Prime Minister added.
(Source: Belga)
