The five parties that have been negotiating a coalition accord for a new Belgian federal government reached agreement on Friday. The new cabinet led by Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever includes representatives of his own N-VA party and the Flemish Christian democrats and socialists and the Francophone liberals and centrists of Les Engagés.
Priorities include tax reform, a strict migration policy and more investment in army and police.
‘Work must pay more’ is the motto of the new administration. The government will cut taxes on income earned through work. A single person on an average wage could look forward to 1,200 euros extra per year after tax. For working couples the figure could be up to 1,900 euros per year after tax.
A new capital gains tax that has been termed ‘solidarity contribution’ of 10 per cent is being introduced. The tax on capital gains from shares was an important symbolic dossier during the formation talks leading to a break down in negotiations on several occasions. The new government wants to spare small investors: capital gains up to 10,000 euros on stock market shares will not be taxed.
The bank tax will remain ‘at 2025 levels’, according to the coalition agreement. The financial industry - which was counting on a decrease - sees this as an increase. Socialist Vooruit also calls it an increase. A tax on big internet companies like Google or Meta is also being introduced.
Wages, work and pensions
The current system of automatic wage indexation will be retained in full. Through that system, wages, benefits and pensions rise automatically when life becomes more expensive. Earlier, during the negotiations, there was talk of making minor adjustments to the calculation, but that will now not happen.
Unemployment benefits will be time-limited, as expected. People who have been unemployed for more than 2 years will no longer be able to claim unemployment benefits. People close to retirement will not be affected by this limitation for people over 55, unemployment will not be time-limited.
The government plans a thorough reform of pensions. The statutory retirement age will remain at 67, but there will be a bonus-malus system: people who work longer will get a higher pension, people who stop earlier a lower one. Different between the various pension systems - for civil servants, the self-employed and employees - will be ended. Exactly which measures will be implemented and their concrete impact is not yet clear.
Healthcare
The abortion deadline after which terminations are not possible is being adjusted . By how many weeks, the parties have not yet decided, but they will seek consensus on this later. Only if there is that consensus will there be an extension of the term.
The opportunities for taking parental leave will change. A Family Credit, which also applies to grandparents and foster parents, for people who want leave from work to care for young children, will be introduced. How that new system will work, how many leave days will be available and how high the accompanying benefit will be, is not yet entirely clear.
The new government is adjusting limits on the number of doctors to address the shortage of GPs. At the same time, it is getting stricter on fee supplements or extra charges for doctors in hospitals. The way hospitals are funded will also be reformed.
The so called ‘third-party payer scheme’, which means patients only have to pay their share up front and not the entire amount, reducing the need for paperwork, will be extended to other healthcare professions, such as dentists and physiotherapists.
Migration
Migration policy is being tightened up, taking into account the recent European migration deal. Asylum seekers, who make multiple applications in different countries, will not be able to apply for asylum in Belgium.
There will be stricter conditions for family reunification will be stricter. People who want permanent right of residence will have to meet much stricter conditions (concerning language and integration). People applying for Belgian nationality will have to take an exam. Some newcomers will not be able to receive full social benefits for the first five years.
Energy and climate
The new government is scrapping the nuclear exit law. Introduced in 2003 it stipulated that nuclear power plants should be shut down according to a schedule. The parties want to attempt to extend the lifetime of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 reactors not by 10 years - as was decided by the previous government - but by 20 years (i.e. until 2045). To do so, however, the government will have to conduct difficult negotiations with operator Engie. The company earlier indicated it is no longer interested in nuclear energy and said that an additional extension is actually inconceivable.
The government also wants to examine whether new nuclear plants could play a role in the future energy mix.
The goal remains to achieve a climate-neutral society by 2050. In time Belgium also wants to become independent of fossil fuel imports from outside the EU. Fossil subsidies will be phased out.
VAT on heat pumps will fall to 6 per cent, while that on boilers that use fossil fuels and coal will rise again to 21 per cent. The tax on airline tickets will also be increased. However, better high-speed train connections between major railway stations and the airport will be a priority.
Security
Greater investments are planned in defence. The size of the army will be increased and made stronger, with modern equipment such as anti-aircraft weapons, drones and cyber defence applications. The military reserve force will also be expanded and strengthened and a 12-month voluntary military service will be introduced.
There is also extra cash for the police and firefighters. local neighbourhood policing will be expanded: in some zones, the number of inspectors is almost being doubled. Attacks on police officers, ambulance workers and firefighters will be dealt with more severely.
A national safety action plan is being drawn up for railway stations, and especially for Brussels-South. There will also be zero tolerance for drugs in and around stations.
For prison wardens and other staff, the government plans better wages and working conditions.
Institutional reforms
The new government wants to abolish the senate, the upper house of the Belgian parliament. Several parties have been arguing in favour of this for years, but now it has actually been agreed. The role of the senate has already been significantly curtailed in recent decades, with the second chamber of parliament meeting about 10 times a year. Legislation will require a two-thirds majority in parliament, as it involves amending the constitution. The 5 Arizona coalition parties do not possess such a majority and will need support from opposition benches.
In addition, the financial support for political parties will be frozen at today’s levels.
In Brussels police zones will be merged into 1 zone. It’s a controversial measure that can’t count on the support of Brussels’ mayors.
Consumers
A new scheme to oblige telecom operators to automatically switch customers to the most advantageous tariff plan according to their telecom and data use, after their explicit approval.