Minister president defends Flanders' raised stake in Brussels Airport
The Flemish government’s decision to raise its stake in Brussels Airport was “an opportunity we could not pass up”, minister president Matthias Diependaele said on Wednesday.
The government decided last Friday to increase its stake in Brussels Airport from 1.8 per cent to 39 per cent, becoming the largest shareholder at a cost of 2.77 billion euros.
A debate on the issue took place in the Flemish Parliament on Tuesday, while Diependaele was in Japan on an economic mission. Regional Finance and Budget minister Ben Weyts of N-VA defended the decision but received strong criticism from the opposition.
“The Flemish nationalists want to plant the Flemish flag at the national airport. But that flag will cost the Flemish taxpayer 2.77 billion euros,” said Open VLD MP Tom Ongena. Meanwhile, a memo revealed that the price paid was on the high side and that the government plans to resell part of its stake in due course.
Diependaele was unimpressed by the opposition’s arguments. “In terms of timing, it is unfortunate that the mission to Japan prevented me from attending the debate,” he said. “But everyone is aware that increasing our stake in Brussels Airport was an opportunity we could not pass up.”
Weyts, a party colleague of Diependaele, called the decision a “smart investment” in a “crown jewel” that will have no impact on the budget balance. He acknowledged that the operation would lead to an increase in debt.
"Everyone is aware that increasing our stake in Brussels Airport was an opportunity we could not pass up"
“That is correct, but there are assets with value in return,” he said. “Those assets will also generate profits.”
Bram Jaques of Groen pointed out that a memo shows the price paid is “at the upper end of market value” and said the return on the investment was uncertain
Vlaams Belang MP Tom Lamont wanted to know what the government intends to do with the stake. A memo from Diependaele’s cabinet shows there is no intention to keep the 39 per cent stake in the longer term.
Possible sale
“We are going to hold on to our stake like a good father,” Weyts said. “We are watching over the proper spending of taxpayers’ money. At some point, that may mean selling a part if an opportunity presents itself.”
Diependaele’s Walloon counterpart, Adrien Dolimont of liberal party MR, said he was surprised by the decision, but doesn’t fear the operation will turn the national airport into a “Flemish airport”.
“Our strategy is the opposite: we sell our stakes in airports because we think it isn’t up to the state to manage them,” he told Bel-RTL on Wednesday.
However, “it remains the national airport and Flanders already had a say in the legislation surrounding the airport. But we will closely monitor the consequences of the operation, especially in terms of noise pollution.”
For decades, the Flemish and Brussels governments have argued over noise pollution caused by the airport, which is located in the Flemish municipality of Zaventem and falls under the competency of the federal government.
However, studies have repeatedly shown that Brussels residents are heavily impacted by its noise pollution, resulting in the issue being passed from government to government.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO BRUSSELS AIRPORT
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