Flemish government fails to reach agreement on measures against Israel

30 August 2025

The Flemish government broke up late on Friday evening without reaching an agreement on potential measures against Israel. According to the cabinet of minister president Matthias Diependaele (N-VA), talks are scheduled to resume on Sunday at 14:00.

On Friday evening, the government’s core cabinet spent hours discussing the situation in Gaza and potential steps against Israel. Coalition parties CD&V and Vooruit have long been pushing for the government to take a tougher stance and introduce additional measures at the Flemish level. The two parties also submitted a resolution containing proposed measures to parliament, but without the support of their coalition partner, N-VA.

CD&V and Vooruit increase pressure on N-VA with Flemish Gaza resolution

The majority parties CD&V and Vooruit have submitted a resolution to the Flemish Parliament asking the Flemish government to take measures against...

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CD&V and Vooruit had hoped to use their resolution as the basis for Friday’s talks, but this approach was rejected by N-VA. Diependaele had prepared his own draft paper, which CD&V and Vooruit felt did not go far enough. Ultimately, the minister president’s text was adopted as the starting point, although the other parties repeatedly referred back to the measures in their resolution. While all the proposals in the draft were reviewed, there were too many sticking points to reach a final agreement.

We have made good progress today

Negotiations will resume on Sunday afternoon. “We have made good progress today, but we will continue the discussions on Sunday,” said a source.

Meanwhile, the Flemish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is due to meet again on Tuesday 2 September and is expected to vote on several Gaza-related resolutions. On Friday, Vooruit’s deputy minister president, Melissa Depraetere, reiterated that this meeting effectively serves as a 'deadline'.

At the federal level, the Belgian government is also set to hold high-level talks on Monday, 1 September to discuss potential national measures.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Flemish deputy minister president Melissa Depraetere during a Flemish Government cabinet meeting in Brussels, Friday 29 August 2025. © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE}

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