The Belgian Socialist Party (PS) plans to introduce a proposal to eliminate the status of cohabitants from social security allocations.
The party believes nothing should obstruct its proposed legislation, which has long been called for by unions, women’s rights organisations, and anti-poverty campaigners.
The Belgian Parliament had approved a socialist resolution in March requesting the Court of Auditors to assess the budgetary impact of aligning cohabitant allocations with those granted to single individuals.
According to estimates by the Court of Auditors, the operation would cost €1.86 billion, a sum the socialists deem manageable, and benefit 584,000 people.
Social security, established in 1945, was originally formed around a family-based model in which direct rights were given to the head of the family – the working individual – and derived rights to their unemployed partner.
Critics argue that this model is increasingly unrepresentative of modern society and penalises individuals based on their lifestyle choices.
“It would be a significant social advancement for over 500,000 people. The goal is to grant the same rights to people, regardless of their family situation,” said Ahmed Laaouj, head of the PS group in Parliament.
“The PS has been fighting this battle for a long time,” he added. “There is no reason for to be impoverished in this country simply because one is a spouse or partner.”
“The individualisation of social rights is a fundamental measure of justice and equality between women and men,” Laaouj stressed.
On financing, he pointed out that “we are far from the alarming figures proposed by some.”
The PS believes recent debates on tax reform have indicated that the wealthy can contribute more to social security.
Moreover, the Court of Auditors’ estimates are dwarfed by the social contribution exemptions granted during the last legislature by the then majority.
“We can now propose legislation to eliminate the cohabitant status and put the text on the Social Affairs Committee’s agenda as soon as possible. There is no time to lose,” said Laaouej.
He added that he hoped for a vote before the end of the legislature.
