Core ministers agree funding cuts for socio-cultural groups on right and left
The core of the Flemish government has reached an agreement in principle on subsidies for socio-cultural organisations that will see funding cut for a dozen groups at both ends of the political spectrum.
Government circles have indicated that 12 groups will lose their subsidies. These include Flemish nationalist associations Vlaamse Volksbeweging (Flemish People’s Movement) and the Vlaamse Kruis (Flemish Cross).
Two organisations with a left-wing profile will also see their funding cut. One of these is the Ghent-based non-profit Labo, which promotes critical citizenship and allegedly has links to the radical climate movement Code Rood (Code Red).
By reaching their preliminary agreement, minister president Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) and his deputies have defused a discussion that has been dragging on for weeks.
The total funding for associations amounts to around 80 million euros. An estimated 3.5 million euros will be saved by the proposed cuts, which will now be discussed by the Council of Ministers.
"We are not afraid to clean up our own backyard"
“As Flemish nationalists, we are keeping ourselves in check in these difficult budgetary times,” an N-VA spokesperson said, reported in De Standaard. “We are not afraid to clean up our own backyard. On the other hand, organisations linked to Code Rood, for example, will receive either nothing or a lot less money.”
Because the dossier had been stuck for weeks, Diependaele called his deputies and Cullture minister Caroline Gennez of Vooruit to his office on Wednesday evening to negotiate the cuts.
Socialist party Vooruit had threatened to paralyse the government if no agreement was reached, as many organisations face uncertainty about the budgets they will have from 1 January.
'Political arbitrariness'
Opposition party Groen is unhappy with the agreement. “Organisations with good evaluations are losing their subsidies because their content does not suit the N-VA,” said MP Bram Jaques. “This is not good governance, this is political arbitrariness.”
According to the greens, the agreement shows a double standard: while Flemish nationalist organisations are losing subsidies due to poor evaluations of their finances and operations, left-wing groups such as Labo are being punished despite positive assessments.
He also criticised Gennez. “She is responsible for the integrity of the subsidy process,” he said. “She should have stood up and said: organisations with a good evaluation will retain their subsidies, period. Instead, she let the N-VA decide which critical voices would be muzzled.”
#FlandersNewsService | Minister president Matthias Diependaele during a plenary session of the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, 12 November 2025 © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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