The federal government has taken a number of decisions implementing reforms contained in the coalition agreement that the five government parties concluded earlier this year. The Belgian asylum minister was keen to stress Belgium is no longer a soft touch. Ministers also agreed to spend an extra €4 billion on defence this year and decided how unemployment benefit will be limited to a maximum of two years.
It was on Saturday evening that cabinet ministers forged agreement turning many of the policies in the coalition agreement into concrete measures.
Time was running out for this. Several laws have to be submitted together with this year's budget. The government wants to submit these for a vote in parliament as soon as possible.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist N-VA) admitted that the negotiations were difficult. "It was a big agreement we had to reach. It ended up being 500 articles and 300 pages of legal text. The document contains reforms that can surely be called historic."
Asylum & Migration: stricter on family reunification
"Belgium is no longer the weak link of Europe," says Anneleen Van Bossuyt (Flemish nationalist N-VA), minister for asylum & migration. Measures have been approved that should reduce the influx of asylum seekers in Belgium.
Asylum seekers who have already received protection in another EU country will no longer be entitled to board and lodging in Belgium. Such cases - and those of people whose applications have been rejected in another EU state - will also be processed more quickly by the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons.
There, the asylum application will be declared inadmissible. "Asylum shopping no longer pays off. People who travel around Europe in search of the most generous regime will no longer find it in Belgium," Ms Van Bossuyt said.
Asylum seekers who submit a new application after rejection on the basis of their child without any new elements being present will lose the right to reception i.e. board and lodging. Income requirements, which the family reunifier has to meet will also be increased. That amount will also increase depending on the number of people involved.
"People who want to bring their families over must prove that they can cope financially. This will no longer be done at society's expense." There will also be waiting periods of 1 to 2 years for family reunification or family formation, depending on residence status. Reunification will also only be possible if the person in question is at least 21 years old and that to prevent forced and child marriages.
Asylum seekers who no longer qualify for reception will also no longer be able to claim minimum subsistence benefit.
Defence: only a decision on the current year
In recent weeks, it was already clear that Belgium would invest some 4 billion extra on defence more quickly than initially planned. That decision has now been finalised. Belgium can now attend the NATO summit in The Hague in June with the promise that the country will spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence.
By meeting this standard, the government aims to show its solidarity as a NATO ally. There is additional cash for personnel, equipment and infrastructure. ‘Security is not a luxury, it is a necessity,’ defence minister Theo Francken (Flemish nationalist N-VA) posted on Instagram.
This year, money for defence will primarily be sought from taxes levied on frozen Russian assets at financial body Euroclear. That should raise just over 1 billion euros.
The government will also ask state-owned bank Belfius to pay an exceptional dividend of €500 million. 125 million is to come from so-called 'norming': all government departments will look at how existing expenditure can be categorised as military and thus allowed to count towards the NATO norm.
The remaining extra budget is as yet unfunded. ‘We are using the possibility that the EU gives us to spread this effort over time,’ explained budget minister Vincent Van Peteghem (Flemish Christian democrat).
No decision has yet been taken on the additional billions needed in subsequent years. Only when the 2026 budget is drawn up will structural interventions be made to find new revenue. For now, there will be no additional savings or taxes to offset extra defence spending.
Limiting unemployment benefit in time
Limiting unemployment benefit in time is one of the De Wever I government's biggest labour market reforms. From 1 January 2026, unemployment benefit claimants will lose their benefit after two years.
The value of unemployment benefit will also change: "People who are unemployed will enjoy higher financial protection in their initial unemployment period and receive more cash than today. As time progresses, the benefit will fall faster than today," explained labour minister David Clarinval (Francophone liberal MR).
A transitional measure is being introduced to ensure claimants who start training for jobs on the occupational shortage list will continue to receive benefit if they start training before 1 January 2026.
For people training in healthcare, the exception will remain even after the transitional arrangement. ‘They can still receive benefits for 3 to 4 years until they get their diploma,’ social affairs minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist) said.