The Belgian Court of Audit has issued an unfavourable opinion on the general accounts of several organisations in the Brussels-Capital Region, including the regional government services, Paradigm, and the Brussels Regional Housing Company.
The findings were presented in the Court’s 30th Book of Observations sent to the Brussels Parliament.
The court highlighted significant anomalies in the accounts, stating these irregularities have a widespread impact on the general accounts of the regional entity, which consists of government services and 21 autonomous public bodies.
Anomalies were also detected in the accounts of Siamu and the Regional Housing Fund. The Court refrained from delivering an opinion on these accounts.
Seven accounts of autonomous administrative bodies were certified with reservations, while ten others received certifications without conditions.
The net financing balance for the regional government services, excluding internal and debt-related operations, stood at -€1.648 billion, an improvement over the previously anticipated deficit of -€1.749 billion.
The court noted that this balance represents more than 31.5% of total revenue, excluding borrowing income. Revenue not derived from borrowing covers 79.7% of expenditures, excluding debt repayments.
The financing balance under the European System of Accounts (ESA), calculated by the National Accounts Institute (NAI), reached -€1.514 billion. This figure deviates significantly from the budgeted estimate of -€1.080 billion for 2024.
This disparity between forecasted and realised deficits amounts to an additional shortfall of €434.8 million.
The consolidated gross debt of the Brussels-Capital Region was €15.6 billion as of 31 December 2024, comprising €12.5 billion in direct debt and €3.2 billion in indirect debt.
The statement by the court comes in the wake of controversy over the way the Brussels budget was managed in recent years. Research by The Brussels Times in collaboration with De Tijd revealed that a series of unconventional techniques were used to draw up the region's budget.
At the time of publication, the regional government strongly defended the Brussels Debt Agency's practices and responded that all available information on the budget had always been shared with the Brussels Parliament.
