Staff at Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy protest against budget cuts
Around 30 members of staff at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA) held a protest on Monday afternoon during a visit by Vanessa Matz, the minister responsible for the institution. The protesters voiced their opposition to the ongoing budget cuts that have affected BIRA and other federal scientific institutions for many years.
A BIRA trade union delegation, based in Uccle next to the Royal Observatory of Belgium, presented an open letter to Matz of Les Engagés. In the letter, the unions denounced the annual 2 per cent cuts imposed on the budgets of federal scientific bodies.
Consequently, BIRA's approximately 170 staff members have become increasingly dependent on short-term project funding with no guarantee of long-term stability.
According to a statement by the Christian trade union ACV, the institute will be unable to recruit any new staff this year and posts due to become vacant in 2026 will remain unfilled.
Federal funding needed
The letter emphasised that BIRA plays a vital role in international research into air pollution and the climate crisis thanks to its specialised expertise in atmospheric science. This scientific capability is made possible through federal funding, and the letter warned that further reductions in this support would jeopardise BIRA’s ability to respond to calls for new research projects.
During Matz's visit, staff also expressed their frustration at plans to allocate several billion euros in additional funding to the Ministry of Defence, particularly at a time when science is facing severe budgetary constraints. A banner displayed at the protest read: “Make Science, Not War.”
Leading institution
BIRA is one of Belgium’s Federal Scientific Institutions. Responsible for research and public service in the field of space aeronomy — the physics and chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere, other planetary atmospheres and outer space — BIRA is a leading institution in this area.
The institute studies the composition and behaviour of atmospheres within the solar system, examining how the Sun, natural forces and human activity drive atmospheric changes.
BIRA is the only Belgian institution with the expertise to manage a space mission in its entirety, from defining research objectives and designing instruments and missions to processing, validating, and geophysically exploiting satellite data. This includes modelling atmospheric processes and developing related scientific services.
© BELGIAN FREELANCE
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