The Province of Antwerp will no longer be funding political parties, the provincial government announced in a statement on Wednesday.
Coalition partners Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) and Christen Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V) had prioritised putting an end to party funding, the province explained. Their representatives have now presented the provincial council with a proposal to entirely abolish the regulation on political party sponsorship.
Alongside federal and regional public grants, Belgium's political parties also receive funding at the provincial level. However, most Belgian provinces are seeing a downward trend in this regard. In 2021, the Waloon province of Namur terminated subsidies for political parties.
In Antwerp, political parties have hitherto been eligible for funding to cover operational costs and, within certain limits, election expenses. The budget for party funding totalled around €550,000 in 2018. From 2019 onwards, the province gradually reduced it.
“Antwerp province is the first level of power in Flanders to choose to eliminate party funding,” provincial legislator Luk Lemmens (N-VA) noted.
