Verougstraete quits as formateur in Brussels government negotiations
Yvan Verougstraete is stepping down from his role as formateur in negotiations to form a Brussels government. The region has been without a government since the elections of June 2024.
A month after taking on the role, Verougstraete, of Les Engagés, has resigned, having been unable to secure a majority on the Flemish side. He announced the decision on Tuesday morning, after an hour-long meeting with partners who had travelled to what should have been the first session of negotiations on a budget for the Brussels region.
According to him, the reason was the absence of the Budget minister, Dirk De Smedt of Open VLD – renamed Anders this week – who decided not to attend on the instructions of his party, despite having agreed to do so a few days earlier.
“Faced with the new demands of Open VLD and the Budget minister’s refusal to participate in negotiations aimed at implementing the reforms that are essential to revive Brussels and provide it with a credible budget, we must acknowledge that the conditions for the success of our initiative are not in place,” Verougstraete said, quoted in La Libre Belgique.
“After 19 months of missed meetings, taboos and vetoes, the very existence of the region is in jeopardy.”
Yvan Verougstraete ahead of negotiations to draw up a Brussels budget, 20 January 2026 © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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