Inner cabinet meets again on Wednesday evening, but a budget deal is not expected before next week
After a week of technical scrutiny, De Wever and his deputy prime ministers resume talks, while federal science institutions and Defence also surface in the savings plans.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) and his deputy prime ministers will meet again on Wednesday, probably in the evening, on the 2027 budget. Government sources confirmed this to Belga, VRT NWS and HLN report. The inner cabinet last met last Wednesday, when Vooruit deputy prime minister Frank Vandenbroucke put the brakes on a quick deal. Since then the budget table has been examined in detail. According to VRT NWS, nobody in government expects a breakthrough this week; behind the scenes, the bet is rather on an agreement early next week.
Time is short. Public finance professor Herman Matthijs pointed out on VRT NWS's De zevende dag that parliament must approve the budget and the programme law before 31 December. If that fails, several months of provisional twelfths will follow, an emergency budget De Wever is determined to avoid.
Meanwhile, details of the savings plans are leaking out. According to RTBF, the current budget tables provide for a further cut in funding for federal science policy (BELSPO). The directors of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences fear for research and the care of their collections. BELSPO's strategic plan already foresaw a drop from 550 million euros in 2025 to 465 million in 2030.