The latest calculations made the Belgian Federal Planning Office, say that the budget deficit for the coming year will be slightly smaller than originally forecast.
The Federal Planning Office monitors economic developments in Belgium and uses its calculations to make forecasts regarding, amongst other things, the budget deficit. In its latest forecast the Federal Planning Office says that for the coming year Belgium’s budget deficit will be just under 36 billion euro.
In its initial calculations, the Planning Office had forecast a budget shortfall of more than 37 billion euro. The revised forecast is very welcome news for Belgium’s Federal Government. During the coming weeks the Federal Government will be discussing the budget for 2026.
The challenges faced by Prime Minister Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist) and his cabinet colleagues remain enormous. Despite the reforms and cuts that have already been announced and/or implemented, Belgium is expected to end the year with a budget deficit of as much as 6.5% of GDP.
Meanwhile, the Francophone liberal party MR and the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, both of whom are in the federal coalition government, are calling for further cuts in order to help try and balance the budget.