Flemish government agrees on distribution of 329m euros extra budget cuts
The Flemish government has on Friday reached an agreement on the distribution of the announced 329 million euros in additional budget cuts for 2025. The planned spending for mobility and public works, digitalisation in education and the Fund for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be sharply cut. The government will also spend less than planned on the Climate Fund and the “building shift”, the plan to preserve open space from construction.
A few weeks ago, the Flemish government decided to save an additional 329 million euros to avoid the budget diving deeper into the red. New figures had shown that the deficit had increased by 680 million euros since the previous budget preparation last year and threatened to reach about four billion euros. The main reason was lower economic growth than predicted.
Now the exact distribution of the cuts has also been finalised. Minister of mobility and public works Annick De Ridder will spend 70 million euros less than planned. Education minister Zuhal Demir has to make do with 50 million euros less on a one-off basis for the digitalisation operation and also has to cut nearly 20 million euros from education salaries.
Welfare minister Caroline Gennez has to make savings in several areas, ranging from the care infrastructure fund VIPA and the childcare agency Opgroeien to interventions in Flemish Social Protection. The operation also includes amongst others cuts of 30 million euros to the Fund for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 20 million euros to the Climate Fund and 20 million euros to the “building shift”.
Criticism Groen
Opposition party Groen is critical of the Flemish government's agreement. According to the Greens, the Diependaele government is making “the wrong choices”. “While much-needed investments in mobility, climate, digitalisation and innovation are scrapped, senseless prestige projects remain untouched,” said the party's Flemish parliamentary group leader Mieke Schauvliege. Schauvliege had earlier also declared that it’s “incredible” that the Flemish government recently provided 500 million euros of “extra spending” for defence while that is not a Flemish competence.
#FlandersNewsService | Flemish minister for finance and budget Ben Weyts at the Flemish Parliament in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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