Marathon talks end without Belgian government reaching budget deal
On Wednesday evening, Belgium’s core cabinet ended its meeting without reaching an agreement on the federal budget. According to several government sources, prime minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) is expected to hold bilateral talks with his deputy prime ministers on Friday.
De Wever and the deputy prime ministers from all coalition parties met for a marathon session on the multiannual budget, which starting at 13:00. The prime minister presented a new financial framework aimed at achieving 10 billion euros in savings by 2030. According to coalition sources, the new proposal was largely similar to the draft discussed earlier in the week.
Despite the efforts, negotiations remain at a standstill. There had been hopes that Wednesday's talks would deliver a breakthrough, but, according to public broadcaster VRT NWS, discussions quickly went off track. The Francophone liberal party MR rejected any increase in value-added tax (VAT), while the Flemish socialists of Vooruit strongly opposed any interference with Belgium’s automatic wage indexation system. Party representatives complained that they are repeatedly asked to make concessions while their own proposals are ignored.
Another delay
No further negotiations are planned for Thursday. On Friday, De Wever will meet each of his deputy prime ministers separately to assess whether further collective talks would be meaningful.
With the discussions delayed once again, government sources are increasingly doubtful that a 2026 budget can be submitted to Parliament before the end of the year. Some officials are preparing for the possibility that the government may begin 2026 with a provisional 'twelve-month' emergency budget. Deputy prime minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) told Het Laatste Nieuws that he is considering the possibility of the coalition collapsing, although he added that "it would solve nothing".
© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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