Arizona enters decisive budget week while parliament is on holiday
After months of negotiating, the five governing parties still have no budget for 2027-2029. Rating agency S&P already expects Belgium to start next year without one.
The De Wever coalition is looking for around 10 billion euros to keep public finances under control, but months of talks on a budget for 2027, 2028 and 2029 have yet to produce a deal. VRT NWS points to the government's mixed left-right make-up and to MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez, who resisted a VAT increase for weeks and got his way.
Last week the core cabinet dropped De Wever's idea of a 'debt brake' as a 4 billion euro emergency button and returned to a full multi-year budget. CD&V president Sammy Mahdi warned that the government will fizzle out if it only settles 2027 now. Vooruit president Conner Rousseau does not consider the proposal balanced and wants to see how millionaires will feel the effort.
The markets are watching. S&P said on Friday that Belgium will probably start 2027, like 2026, without a full budget, and a commentary in De Tijd argues that the government is increasingly seen as part of the problem. De Tijd's morning podcast put the question sharply: a weaker budget, or the fall of the government?
Het Nieuwsblad points to the timing: MPs are on their autumn break just as the crucial week begins, and some may have to return early.