The Federal Government's net debt surpassed €500 billion in September, as Belgium is under pressure from EU regulators to make spending cuts to reduce its debts.
Latest figures from the Belgian Federal Debt Agency show that net Federal Government debt grew by €4.10 billion in September, to a total of €505.362 billion.
Federal debt has been hovering around the €500 billion mark for several months now, having dipped below this level in April and May, surpassed it again in June, dropped below it in July, and exceeded it once more in August.
Gross federal debt, before deducting placements and securities held in portfolio, amounted to €520.417 billion by the end of September, a decrease of €17.75 billion since August.
The average maturity of the Federal Government debt decreased by 0.11 year to 10.51 years, while the average interest rate on debt instruments decreased to 1.92%.
Excessive deficit procedure
The figures come in the context of an excessive deficit procedure launched by the EU regulators against Belgium in July. Belgium is one of seven EU Member States under fire for overspending, as its annual budget deficit and growing overall debt are beyond acceptable limits set by EU law.
A major task for Belgium's incoming governments will be deciding how to reduce the budget by around €28 billion over the next four to seven years, either by cutting spending or increasing government income.
