Minister-president focuses on ongoing struggle for greater autonomy in Flanders Day speech
Although the N-VA now leads both the federal and Flemish governments, Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele of N-VA focused in his speech for the Day of the Flemish Community, on 11 July, on the struggle for greater autonomy. That struggle is still very much ongoing, he argued.
11 July is Flanders Day or the Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium. Current Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele on Wednesday gave his first traditional 11 July speech in Kortrijk.
“There is still a lack of self-government to secure our Flemish prosperity. This is the result of structural flaws in the federal state structure,” said Diependaele in his introduction. He then mentioned, amongst others, the Flemish municipalities with language facilities where Dutch is under pressure. In those municipalities, residents can request official documents in French, even though the administrative language is Dutch. This has been a politically sensitive issue for a long time. He also talked about the lack of Dutch-language healthcare in Brussels.
"Even where our rights are set out in black and white on paper, attempts are being made to attack them"
In Brussels, French speakers are currently trying “desperately to form a government without a Dutch-speaking majority,” according to Diependaele. “This is the proof: even where our rights are set out in black and white on paper, attempts are being made to attack them.” He then assured that there will be no Brussels government without a Dutch-speaking majority.
“Federal policy must serve Flanders,” continued the minister-president. “We want to sit down with our federal and Walloon counterparts to better anchor our rights in the state structure and bring more powers to Flanders.”
Budgetary discipline
Finally, he discussed budgetary discipline. According to him, the federal government is working on a discipline modelled on the Flemish system. He stated that Flemish finances are the strongest in the country “and can easily stand the comparison with other European countries”. “Budgetary discipline is not an end in itself, but an anchor in turbulent times. This is how we steer the Flemish ship safely through the storm,” he declared.
“Budgetary discipline is not an end in itself, but an anchor in turbulent times"
However, earlier this week, the Social and Economic Council of Flanders did not bring good news about the budget. The deficit is expected to rise to 753 million euros in 2027, and the debt is expected to rise to 1.65 billion euros by 2029.
#FlandersNewsService | Speech of Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele for the Day of the Flemish Community © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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