Budget minister warns of possible Brussels shutdown next year
The new Brussels budget minister Dirk De Smedt has declared that a shutdown of public services in April next year cannot be ruled out. De Smedt made this statement in response to a parliamentary question, reported the Brussels news platform BRUZZ.
De Smedt emphasised that the caretaker government is doing everything in its power to “safeguard and, where possible, expand financing and liquidity resources”. However, he confirmed that there are only six to seven months left to do so, as the money could run out completely in April or May 2026, according to analyses carried out by De Smedt.
According to BRUZZ, party leaders Georges-Louis Bouchez and Frédéric De Gucht, of the MR and Open VLD respectively, had previously indicated that a Brussels shutdown – a freeze on public services with possible temporary suspensions – was one of the risks from April onwards.
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 explained. On Thursday, the minister 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. The minister could not guarantee that ING's liquidity line would remain in place, but stated that negotiations on this were still ongoing.
“What everyone has been fearing for some time now threatens to become a reality: from April onwards, the Brussels Capital-Region's coffers may be empty,” declared Benjamin Dalle, Brussels leader of the Christian Democratic party 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,” emphasised Dalle. “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, pictured on the right © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
Related news
