Belgium braces for tough budget talks as Justice minister seeks 1 billion euros and Liberals demand deeper cuts
The Belgian government is preparing for tough budget negotiations and further spending cuts in order to keep public finances on track. Ahead of the talks, Justice minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) has called for substantial additional funding for her department. Meanwhile, Georges-Louis Bouchez, leader of the liberal MR party, claims that an additional 20 billion euros is required in addition to the previously agreed 23 billion euro in adjustments to restore budgetary balance.
“To be honest, when I calculate what the justice system truly needs, I come up with an additional 1 billion euros,” Verlinden told Het Nieuwsblad. She specified that around half of this would go towards infrastructure, with the remainder going towards ensuring that the courts and the wider justice sector can function properly.
I see it as my duty to set the bar high
Verlinden acknowledged that such demands were ambitious, but insisted that 1 billion euros is her benchmark. "As Minister of Justice, I see it as my duty to set the bar high. If you fail to invest in security now, the costs will be even greater in the long run.”
Under the 'Easter Agreement', reached earlier this year, the justice department received an additional 150 million euros, partly earmarked to reduce chronic overcrowding in Belgian prisons. However, senior officials at the Federal Public Service Justice had previously issued an unusual warning, calling for a structural budget increase of 250 million euros or the reform of Justice would grind to a halt.
Federal budget imbalance
Balancing the federal budget remains a significant challenge. Although the government has already committed to a 23 billion euros consolidation effort, Bouchez insists that this will not be enough. Appearing on the current affairs programme De Afspraak, he argued that an additional 20 billion euros is "the only way to get the budget under control".
Bouchez also linked this to his party’s pledge on taxation: "For us, that is non-negotiable. There will be no tax increases; taxes must come down." A major cut in labour taxation, intended to ensure that workers take home more net income, is formally scheduled for the end of the current parliamentary term. However, Bouchez wants to accelerate this timeline.
More money for the regions
In order to find the necessary resources, he draws attention to Belgium’s federal structure, emphasising that the national government covers costs from which the regions also benefit. “We pay our country’s full contribution to the European Union, yet the regions receive 95 to 98 per cent of the funds returned from Brussels,” he said.
Bouchez is calling for new arrangements with the regions through an intergovernmental committee, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the state through closer cooperation.
© BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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