Belgium has failed to meet a deadline that was set by the European Commission to submit a definitive energy and climate plan by 30 June. The Flemish authorities say that they won’t discuss a new climate plan with the other regions the federal government until a new Flemish Government is in place. These means it could be some time yet before Belgium is able to submit a climate plan.
It's not the first time that Belgium has been late in submitting its climate plan. As the regions and the federal government all have to agree on a plan before it can be submitted this can lead to delays as is the case now. The Walloon and Brussels regional governments and the federal government have already given their approval to a new plan. However, the (outgoing) Flemish Government has not and it says that it will be up to the new Flemish government once it has been formed to decide on the energy and climate plan.
Belgium only submitted a provisional version of the new climate plan on 23 November 2023 (after two previous deadlines had not been met). However, the figures in the provisional plan were insufficient to satisfy the European Union.
The National Climate Committee can't take any further steps for the time being and its chair, the outgoing Federal Environment Minister Zakia Khattabi (Francophone green), said: "I can only conclude that if one of four participants in a group fails to do their homework, the group as whole fails."