Brussels Parliament to confirm outgoing Finance Minister’s replacement on Thursday

Mr Gatz announced his resignation from the Brussels government last Wednesday. His successor is as finance and budget minister in the caretaker government is expected to be his party colleague Dirk De Smedt. Mr De Smedt is currently Director-General of the regional taxation agency Brussels Fiscality. He is a key negotiator for the Flemish liberals in the ongoing 6-party talks to try and draw up a new regional budget.

The process of replacing Mr Gatz has proved to be politically complex. Initially, the Flemish liberal party Open VLD had sought to proceed under Article 36 of the Special Brussels Act. This requires only a majority within the Dutch-speaking group in the Brussels Parliament. However, this approach was opposed by the Francophone parties and also by the Flemish socialists and the Flemish greens. They favoured the use of broader Article 35 procedure, that requires the consent of the entire parliament.

The Flemish liberals have now agreed to proceed under Article 35. On Tuesday afternoon, the party has invited the other parties in the regional parliament to co-sign the formal nomination papers.

The Flemish liberal group leader in the Brussels regional parliament Imane Belguenani told journalists that "Given the condition of our minister's health, we want to finalise his replacement as quickly as possible. There appears to be a political majority for Article 35, but the signatures must still be confirmed at Thursday's Extended Bureau."

If all the required signatures are secured, Dirk De Smedt is expected to take the oath on Friday during a special plenary session of the Brussels Parliament.