A majority coalition in the regional parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region must be quickly formed, the politicians leading the negotiations said after a special meeting was held on the second day of talks on Tuesday.
Informants Rudi Vervoort and Laurette Onkelinx, appointed to lead the negotiations, met with representatives of Flemish liberal party Open Vld, who abruptly refused to join other parties at the negotiating table during the first round of talks on Monday.
"We hope to have answered the questions raised by the Open Vld," Vervoort said at the end of Tuesday's meeting. "We expect a favourable outcome which could quickly lead to substantial negotiations in order to build the ambitious majority agreement that Brussels residents deserve."
The Open Vld's refusal to join the negotiations, which appeared poised to move quickly, was seen as a strategy to buy itself some time in the capital's regional parliament because the party's stance in both the Flemish and federal parliaments remains uncertain, as instability still dominates the negotiations
Both informants on Tuesday said that a majority coalition must be quickly formed so that the Brussels-Capital Region can continue to play its "leading" and "stabilizing" role in advocating for "cooperative federalism" in the country.
According to local media reports, Vervoort said that formal negotiations would resume next Monday, giving enough time to the Open Vld to decide whether to return to the negotiating table.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
