In an interview with the dailies ‘Le Soir’ and ‘De Standaard’ the Finance Minister in the Brussels-Capital Region’s caretaker regional government Dirk De Smedt (Flemish liberal) has said that an imminent shutdown of public services in the capital has been averted. Last month, Mr De Smedt warned that that a shutdown of public services in the Brussels-Capital Region in April next year could not be ruled out. His remarks provoked tension among the parties involved in the as yet fruitless attempts to form a new regional government. More than one and a half years since the elections the Brussels-Capital region is still without a new regional government.
Finance Minister in Brussels’ caretaker regional government says that an imminent shutdown in the capital has been averted
Published:
In the interview that was published on Friday, Mr De Smedt said that the immediate threat of a shutdown had been averted. “We have managed to save 350 million euro on the 2025 budget, which means we will end the year with a deficit of 1.24 billion rather than 1.6 billion. This has provided us with 350 million euros in liquidity. What’s more, we are limiting the deficit in 2026 to 1 billion, a further 600 million less than initially estimated. This brings the total to 950 million euro.”
The bank Belfius recently agreed a new 50-million-euro credit line when it prolonged its contract as the regional government’s banker to the end of 2026. The additional credit line is intended to give Brussels the financial leeway to meet its obligations while maintaining its efforts to structurally improve the state of the region’s public finances.
Less cash for regional agencies
Next year, the Brussels-Capital Region will give less money to regional agencies such as the public transport company MIVB and the transport agency Brussels Mobility. There will be also less cash for the region’s fire service.
"At most, their funding is being shaved and this should not have an impact on the people of Brussels. These agencies all have sufficient funds in their own coffers", Mr De Smedt said.
"This provides a little more liquidity in the region's coffers and means that I can now say that the liquidity risk is currently limited. This is an important signal to the banks and credit rating agencies."
Nevertheless, Mr De Smedt added that "558 days after the elections, we cannot continue to postpone the much-needed reforms."