Delegates from the five 'Arizona' parties (N-VA, CD&V, Vooruit, Les Engagés and MR) have begun their confidential multi-day meeting as part of the final push to reach a coalition agreement.
Belgium has been without a Federal Government for almost eight months, however, the final sprint is now in sight. Formator Bart De Wever (N-VA) has brought the 'Arizona' negotiators together at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, beginning a multi-day negotiation marathon, or 'conclave'.
By Friday, it should be clear whether a coalition agreement is achievable, as De Wever is scheduled to meet the King. Initial topics on the agenda include the labour market, pensions and taxation, with ethical and community matters also needing resolution.
Shortly after 13:00, the delegations were complete and discussions began.
'Everyone is waiting'
Each party has been allowed a delegation of three negotiators. For N-VA, besides the team of formator Bart De Wever, leaders Jan Jambon, Theo Francken and Sander Loones are present.
Before the start, CD&V party leader Sammy Mahdi addressed the press after listening to the concerns of VSOA-defence union activists, who had gathered by the entrance to protest Arizona's pension plans.
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"We will continue negotiating, preferably resulting in an agreement," he said. "I will be very pleased if we succeed and form a government. Everyone is waiting for this and rightly wants a government as soon as possible."
Mahdi declined to make a prediction. For CD&V, the priority is "major reforms" to "prepare the country for the future" and protect the "purchasing power of future generations." He added that everyone must take responsibility.
MR chair Georges-Louis Bouchez also briefly greeted the union activists upon arrival. According to him, there will be exceptions for the pensions of military personnel on foreign assignments. "I won't lie: maintaining the pension system is impossible without reforms, even in public services," Bouchez said.