N-VA Vice-Prime Minister Jan Jambon said on Sunday that all five governing parties share responsibility for reaching a budget deal, warning that the responsibility for failure would be “unbearable.”
The federal core cabinet resumed talks shortly after 14:00 on Sunday on measures to restore the budget.
Several parties are looking to the socialist party Vooruit as negotiations enter a critical phase. When talks broke down two weeks ago, however, the main sticking point was said to lie with the francophone liberal party MR.
MR now appears more willing to compromise, while the socialists have said they will put forward proposals on Sunday that they consider realistic and achievable.
At the start of the talks, Jambon was the only deputy prime minister to speak publicly.
He said the negotiations would be no “walk in the park,” but stressed that reaching an agreement remains the aim.
Asked whether a deal was still possible, Jambon said it certainly was. He declined to single out Vooruit, saying: “It is the responsibility of all five of us to reach an agreement.”
