Budget minister warns of possible Brussels shutdown next year
The new Brussels Budget minister has warnede that a shutdown of public services in April next year cannot be ruled out. Dirk De Smedt made the statement in response to a parliamentary question, BRUZZ reports.
De Smedt emphasised that the caretaker government was doing everything in its power to “safeguard and, where possible, expand financing and liquidity resources”. However, he confirmed that there were only six to seven months left to do so, as the money could run out completely in April or May 2026.
According to BRUZZ, party leaders Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) and Frédéric De Gucht (Open VLD) had previously indicated that a Brussels shutdown – a freeze on public services with possible temporary suspensions – was one of the risks from April.
De Smedt calls a shutdown “a real crisis scenario” that must be taken into account. “We are going to anticipate the impossible and are in the process of determining which expenditures will be prioritised in such a scenario and how we will deal with this in terms of decision-making,” he said.
On Thursday, he urgently convened the Financial Strategy Committee to draw up an initial action plan.
At the same time, discussions are ongoing about a new banking contract for current financing and a cash contract liquidity line for acute cash shortages. Belfius recently withdrew as a cash supplier, leaving only ING. De Smedt could not guarantee that ING's liquidity line would remain in place, but said negotiations on this were still ongoing.
“What everyone has been fearing for some time now threatens to become a reality: from April, the Brussels-Capital Region's coffers may be empty,” said Benjamin Dalle, Brussels leader of Christian democrats CD&V, who had posed the parliamentary question.
"And no cash means that bills can no longer be paid. This is a ‘nightmare scenario’ with immediate consequences for services to citizens, for our civil servants and for organisations that make a difference on the ground.”
There is only one way to avoid this, he said: “The six parties involved in the budget negotiations, that have been muddling along for eight weeks, must finally reach an agreement."
Brussels Budget minister Dirk De Smedt (R) © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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