Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is meeting King Philippe today to tender his resignation, after his coalition teetered on the brink of collapse over efforts to plug a €10 billion budget hole.
This is reported by Politico.
In a last-ditch attempt to reach agreement on next year’s budget, senior figures in De Wever’s five-party government held talks over the weekend, but broke up on Monday morning without reaching a deal.
Tuesday had been seen as an unofficial deadline for striking an agreement, as the budget still has to go through the parliamentary approval process before the end of the year.
As part of the talks, De Wever sought to show financial markets that Belgium is on track to meet its European commitments. In 2025, Belgium’s budget deficit stood at 5.2% of GDP, and it is expected to rise further next year.
De Wever ruled out starting the new year with a provisional budget that would allow the government to operate within last year’s spending limits.
Budget negotiations have been under way for several weeks. Tensions have arisen primarily between the Flemish socialists of the Vooruit party and the French-speaking centre-right Reformist Movement.
The former insisted on increasing the tax burden on the highest earners, while the latter rejected the proposal and also opposed a more far-reaching reform of value added tax.
Last year, budget talks in Belgium also dragged on, and De Wever, after meeting King Philippe, set a clear deadline for their conclusion.
If Belgium holds an early election, the country could tilt towards radical political forces. According to polls, both the far-right Vlaams Belang and the far-left Workers’ Party enjoy significant support.