Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has postponed his State of the Union address, originally scheduled for Tuesday, following the government’s failure to reach a timely budget agreement, reports 24brussels.
De Wever was set to present his address to the Chamber of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon, marking the opening of the parliamentary year. However, after extensive budget talks concluded without agreement on Monday, government sources indicated that the address has been delayed by up to one week.
The budget negotiations between De Wever and his deputy prime ministers have proven challenging, with Belgium facing a projected deficit of 39 billion euros by 2029. Following the difficult round of talks, De Wever made a brief statement to the press, asserting, “A budget is not a scrap of paper.”
The State of the Union address typically includes a policy statement based on the budget and is traditionally held on the second Tuesday in October. The inner cabinet aims to secure a budget agreement by the start of next week at the latest.
‘Downright embarrassing’
Over the next few years, the federal government must implement budget savings totalling at least 10 billion euros, according to De Wever’s remarks last week. Opposition party Groen expressed strong dissatisfaction with the government’s inability to reach an agreement in a timely manner.
“If you only start such difficult budget talks just before the deadline, it’s no surprise that you run out of time,” stated Stefaan Van Hecke, leader of the Groen parliamentary group. “The prime minister should have started this much earlier. This is downright embarrassing.”
Van Hecke further indicated that he hopes the governing parties will “reflect” on the proposals already made over the next week. “The information that has been leaked so far suggests the worst. It seems that this is turning into a brutal round of cuts that will hit ordinary people extremely hard,” he warned.
EU deadline
This postponement likely means that Belgium will miss an important European deadline. Eurozone countries must submit their draft budget plans for 2026 to the European Commission by Wednesday.
Despite this setback, De Standaard reports that Belgium is not overly anxious about missing the deadline. “Europe too is better off with a good agreement than a quick agreement,” government sources told the newspaper.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM