Budget must strike balance between cuts and new revenue, says Prévot
After the Belgian government came close to collapse on Thursday over its failure to reach a budget agreement, vice-prime minister Maxime Prévot said that a balance needed to be struck between spending cuts and generating new revenue.
Speaking on Radio 1 on Friday, Prévot said that it is impossible to close the budget deficit adequately without taking a "balanced approach" to reducing spending and generating new revenue.
On Thursday, prime minister Bart De Wever extended the deadline for reaching a budget agreement to Christmas, after visiting the Royal Palace. De Wever had threatened with a visit to the King if a budget agreement was not reached by Thursday, implying that he might tender the government's resignation.
Instead of resigning, however, De Wever decided to push the deadline once more. "Sire, give me fifty days," he later recalled saying to the King in the Chamber of Representatives. "But I would like to add straight away that this maximum period will not be extended," he said.
Spending cuts vs. taxation
Several negotiators pointed to Georges-Louis Bouchez, the leader of the liberal MR party, as the biggest obstacle to reaching a deal. The MR is said to be insisting on spending cuts rather than generating additional revenue through taxation.
Prévot said that he was angry with Bouchez and was "fed up" with his "shows"
Prévot, the foreign minister of the centrist party Les Engagés, said on Friday that he was angry with Bouchez and was "fed up" with his "shows". Even so, he confirmed that the MR remains an important partner. "I am convinced that Bouchez is a partner who wants to find a solution, as he himself said yesterday," he said.
Increasing VAT
Prévot pointed out that the coalition agreement already includes a 23 billion euro restructuring plan, which focuses almost exclusively on spending cuts. "Another 10 billion euros is now needed to get Belgium back on track," he said. "It cannot be done by reducing expenditure alone."
For Prévot, increasing VAT is one possibility. While no politician likes introducing new taxes, "at some point you have to be realistic", he said.
Prévot said that the MR's alternatives involved cuts to public health and services
Bouchez said on Thursday that his party had put forward "alternatives" to tax increases during the negotiations. On Friday, Prévot said that these proposals were "not credible" to the other parties.
He added that the MR's alternatives involved cuts to public health and services. "Look at the situation of the police and the judiciary. We must absolutely invest more in these areas,” he said, adding that he also wants to support healthcare.
Vice-prime minister Maxime Prévot and prime minister Bart De Wever in Brussels on 6 November 2025 © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE