The Ecolo group in the Walloon Parliament announced on Saturday that it had filed a motion on Friday to challenge the federal government’s unemployment reform due to a conflict of interest.
The motion aims to temporarily halt the federal legislative process and compel a dialogue that the federal government allegedly refuses, despite the substantial and uncoordinated impacts of the reform on Wallonia, according to regional deputies Stéphane Hazée and Bénédicte Linard.
The ecologists, like other opposition parties, consider this reform to be “socially unjust and economically absurd,” particularly because it shifts substantial burdens to the Regions, municipalities, and Public Centres for Social Welfare (CPAS).
The unemployment reform was approved early Saturday morning in a Chamber committee but will undergo a second reading requested by the Socialist Party (opposition). Meanwhile, the joint committee in the Brussels Region activated a conflict of interest procedure on Thursday, which does not prevent the continued processing of the texts in the Chamber.
If the Ecolo motion is passed by the Walloon Parliament, the discussion of the reform in the Chamber would be suspended for 60 days, according to the ecologists. This period should be used for genuine consultation between levels of government, according to the party. However, the likelihood of the motion being adopted in Namur is low, as a similar proposal by DéFI in the Brussels Francophone Parliament was rejected on Friday.
By submitting its motion, Ecolo seeks a clear stance from all political groups represented in the Walloon Parliament: “Should Wallonia and its municipalities bear the consequences of a reform decided without discussion, transparency, and resources, yes or no?”
