Prime Minister Bart De Wever criticised a parliamentary question asked in German to a French-speaking MP.
During a budget debate on Thursday evening, MP Lode Vereeck of Vlaams Belang directed a question in German to Aurore Tourneur, leader of Les Engagés. Tourneur, a French-speaking MP, admitted she did not understand the question, and Vereeck appeared to make light of this.
De Wever (N-VA) expressed disapproval over Vereeck’s actions, emphasising that speaking German in parliament should never be used to insult a colleague. “Sometimes I speak German in parliament, but that is always out of respect for the German-speaking Community,” said De Wever.
Vereeck defended his choice, saying it was intended to show respect for Frank Luc, a German-speaking politician from Tourneur’s parliamentary group. Luc, formerly the mayor of Kelmis, a German-speaking municipality in Liège Province, stepped down in 2024. Vereeck explained, “I assumed the faction would be bilingual.”
Speaker of the Chamber, Peter De Roover (N-VA), also criticised Vereeck’s approach. "The fact that you posed a question in German to a French-speaking colleague seems to have been a deliberate choice," he said.
