Belgium's budget negotiations collapsed again on Thursday evening after Vooruit, the Flemish socialist party, rejected the latest proposal put forward by Prime Minister Bart De Wever's coalition. The 78 page document on the table outlined a mix of spending cuts and new revenue measures, but Vooruit judged it not fair enough to serve as a basis for further talks, and De Wever is not expected to resume negotiations with his deputy prime ministers until next week.
Healthcare faces the largest single cut under the proposal, with savings of around 4 billion euros on the table. Among the changes being discussed are raising the out of pocket fee for a GP consultation from 4 to 10 euros, lifting the patient contribution under the enhanced reimbursement scheme from 1 to 5 euros, and tightening eligibility for that scheme. Separately, the government is looking at around 750 million euros in savings from changes to long term sick leave, along with a freeze on pensioners' holiday allowance and possible delays to inflation adjustments for unemployment and social assistance payments.
VAT hike abandoned in favor of narrower increases
The government has dropped its earlier plan to raise the standard VAT rate from 21 to 22 percent, a measure that had already drawn resistance. In its place are targeted VAT increases expected to raise about 600 million euros, covering firewood, flowers and fertilizers, hotel stays, camping and holiday rentals, and concert and festival tickets. A further 1 billion euros is meant to come from wealthier taxpayers through management companies, private foundations and owners of multiple properties, while roughly 500 million euros in asylum and migration savings would come from faster returns and a five year wait before new arrivals qualify for social assistance.
Also on the table are around 400 million euros in savings from restricting flexi jobs and cutting business subsidies, a 500 million euro reduction to a planned tax reform for workers, a freeze on parliamentary funding, and a possible cut in the number of members of parliament from 150 to roughly 140, a change MR and Les Engages oppose. MR leader Georges Louis Bouchez has separately pushed back on measures that would raise everyday shopping costs. With October running out, De Wever is now aiming for a smaller package of 3 to 4 billion euros for 2027 rather than the larger overhaul first floated, and missing the end of month deadline would force the government to run on provisional monthly budgets, capped at one twelfth of 2026's approved spending, until a deal is reached.
