The Federal Government has agreed to cut more than a billion euros from next year's budget following a marathon debate in the Chamber of Representatives.
Belga News Agency reports that a parliamentary plenary session was adjourned at 05:00 on Wednesday after a 15-hour discussion, during which the fine print of the highly controversial budget was vigorously debated.
The "Vivaldi" coalition government ultimately agreed to cut next year's deficit by an additional €1.2 billion, or 0.2% of annual GDP. The reduction will be made up of a combination of spending cuts, revenue increases, and other miscellaneous sources.
The new agreement means that the Federal Government will cut a total of €5 billion, or roughly 0.8% of annual GDP, from next year's budget.
A 'risky' proposal?
Opposition parties strongly criticised the government's budget agreement, citing a lack of reforms in multiple areas, including tax policy.
"I will do everything to prevent you from voting on this text, I will not let go of anything," said Catherine Fonck, the head of the parliamentary group of Les Engagés, a French-speaking centrist party.
Fonck added that the new budget constitutes a "facade that seeks to mask a situation that is far from being simple and reassuring". She also emphasised that her own party's proposed tax on non-profit organisations would raise €82 million for the federal coffers.
Sander Loones of the right-wing Flemish nationalist party N-VA similarly denounced the budget as "risky" and condemned the government's "weakening" of pension spending. "This budget will not automatically improve, but automatically make [Belgium's fiscal situation] worse."
Related News
- Region's debt will remain under control, says Brussels Finance Minister
- Belgian budget deficit to grow next year, serious savings required
The agreement follows the scathing assessment issued last month by the European Commission of Belgium's 2024 budget plan, in which it was claimed that the country's policymakers had made only "limited progress" in implementing the bloc's previous fiscal proposals.
The Commission also predicted that Belgium will be one of just eight EU countries that will run a deficit of more than 3% of annual GDP in both 2023 and 2024. (The other countries are Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia, and Slovakia.)
According to the Commission's latest forecast, Belgium's total budget deficit (which includes regional budgets) is set to remain at -4.9% next year before rising to 5.0% in 2025. This is well above the EU's deficit threshold of 3%, which was suspended at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 but is set to re-enter into force next year.
The new budget is expected to be formally approved by the Chamber of Representatives on Thursday.
