Belgium's next Federal Government must be formed as soon as possible after the municipal elections on Sunday 13 October, said Belgian MEP Johan Van Overtveldt (N-VA).
After a brief crisis in the Federal Government talks, Bart De Wever (N-VA) is once again leading the negotiations as formator. For the time being, however, it does not seem as if any difficult decisions will be made before the municipal elections; in the last weeks before the elections, it is difficult to make political compromises.
"We will have to wait until after 13 October to be able to fully work out the federal negotiations. That means that the time to draw up a serious budget for 2025 is limited," Van Overtveldt said on Flemish radio.
According to the negotiators' new working method, the talks will first focus on "less sensitive" themes such as defence and security, while delicate themes from De Wever's so-called "super note" about reforms in terms of taxes, pensions and the labour market will only be addressed later.
Quickly and decisively
However, time is running out: the budget for the following year is normally presented to the Parliament in October. The prospects for 2025 are even less favourable than first thought as the Federal Planning Bureau this week predicted a budget deficit of €30 billion in 2025.
An agreement must first be reached on a budget for next year, and then everything still has to go through Parliament: the Chamber must approve the budget for next year before the end of this year. If that does not work, emergency budgets will be used.
Therefore, the federal negotiators had better be sped up, said Van Overveldt.
"I am not going to venture into specific dates. If there is a will to achieve results, then you can do a lot in a relatively short time," he said. "But of course you also have the entire parliamentary procedure that has to be followed. So if you want to do that seriously, it is advisable to proceed quickly, decisively and carefully after 13 October."
Les Engagés leader Maxime Prévot. Credit: Belga/James Arthur Gekiere
Additionally, anyone who is toying with the idea that it would not hurt if the negotiations took a little longer "should take a good look in the mirror," Van Overtveldt said. "To ask themselves whether it is responsible to deal with the prosperity and well-being of the citizens in this way."
Meanwhile, the leader of the Francophone centrist Les Engagés, Maxime Prévot – who was briefly appointed as mediator in the negotiation crisis – told Het Laatste Nieuws that there must be a Federal Government by the end of October.
"If the reforms are to be noticeable from 2025, then Parliament will have to vote on them by the end of this year," he said. "If some people think that Sinterklaas (6 December) or Christmas is a good deadline, then we will be in trouble. And then we will not be able to do much in 2025."
