Ministers from the parties that make up the new regional government in the Brussels-Capital Region have approved an draft budget for 2026. This year the region’s budget closes with a deficit of 957 million euro. In a statement released on Thursday evening the Brussel regional government said that "This is the first concrete step in the budgetary process that should lead to healthy Brussels finances by the end of the current legislative term”.
One of the new regional government’s central aims is the balance the region’s budget by 2029. In the coalition agreement signed last month, the coalition government is set the task ending the current legislature with a balanced budget. A first step towards this has now been taken by budgeting to reduce the region’s budget deficit to below 1 billion euro this year.
The budget combines fiscal discipline with targeted investments in the Brussels-Capital Region's core responsibilities, including measures to help keep people on middle incomes in the capital. Elsewhere, investments will be made in infrastructure (roads, tunnels and bridges and in safer streets and cleanliness. There will also be an efficiency drive with tighter controls over administrative structures, consultancy spending, and discretionary subsidies.
The Brussels Finance Minister Dirk De Smedt (Flemish liberal) says that "With this budget, we are restoring structure and discipline to Brussels' finances. We are setting in motion a credible process that should lead to a balanced budget by 2029. Brussels must once again be led by a reliable government that manages its resources wisely."
The Brussels government will submit the draft budget to the Brussels Parliament on Friday and to the Court of Auditors that has 5 days to examine the figures. The Finance Committee will begin discussing the 2026 budget on Monday 16 March, with an introductory presentation by minister De Smedt and an explanation from the Court of Auditors.
The plenary Brussels Parliament will then be able to debate and vote on the draft on 26 and 27 March. Approval of the budget will ensure that the Brussels-Capital Region will be able to operate with a full budget from 1 April.