Brussels Member of Parliament Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) has prepared a draft ordinance to cut child benefits for non-European higher education students. His proposal could potentially save up to €12 million by 2029.
Brussels' healthcare administration Iriscare manages the policy and financing of initiatives for assistance, including child benefits, among others. Last month, its leading official, Tania Dekens, advocated adjustments to federal subsidies which Iriscare receives.
The income of these federal allowances is calculated based on the number of children aged 0 to 18, while expenses depend on the number of people up to 24 years old. The increasing number of 18 to 24-year-olds and the decreasing number of minors are creating a potential budgetary imbalance.
According to a spending review from late 2023, the discrepancy between federal allocations and child benefit expenses is projected to grow to €48.3 million by 2025 and €57.9 million by 2027, totalling around €250 million for the entire legislative period (2024-2029).
Impacting non-Europeans
Dalle highlights that, unlike Flanders and Wallonia, the Brussels region provides child benefits to non-European higher education students.
Iriscare data shows that the number of beneficiaries increased from 296 in 2020 to 1,561 in August 2023 and is expected to reach 3,800 by 2029. The elimination of these benefits could save €1.2 million from the outset, while he predicts in the long term, it could see up to €12 million being freed up.
Dalle launched the proposal during the committee discussion of the second instalment of the provisional twelfths for the Joint Community Commission (GGC). Provisional twelfths are a budgetary technique used to finance government spending when there is no approved annual budget.
As the Brussels region does not yet have a government, the Brussels parliament is discussing a budget of provisional twelfths for a second time. The budget runs until the end of June 2025, and the overrun is already expected to amount to €700 to €800 million by then.
Dalle said this is a quick win that can be implemented either through the United College (the executive or the government of the GGC) in current affairs or through parliamentary procedures. Minister Bernard Clerfayt (DéFI), responsible for the budget within the United College alongside Sven Gatz (Open VLD), argued that this issue should be addressed by the next fully empowered government or parliament.
