Flemish government agrees energy support for families and relaxation of drinking water standards

Firstly, an agreement has been reached on measures to ease the impact of rising energy bills resulting from Donald Trump’s war on Iran. “We have taken structural measures to reduce the energy consumption of households, schools and businesses,” says Flemish Energy Minister Hans Bonte (Flemish socialist Vooruit).

“More funds have been allocated to help people carry out refurbishments and renovations. There will be extra support for households to reduce their energy bills through energy audits,” says Bonte.

"Funding has also been allocated to businesses to enable them to use sustainable energy in their production processes. By taking targeted and structural measures now that will have a long-term impact, we are protecting the spending power of families and businesses.’

“There will be additional support for families to help them lower their energy bills through energy audits,” said Bonte.

According to Bonte, all these measures will have a major impact on energy bills, though that does not mean the Flemish government is taking steps to help people pay their bills. “It is much better to offer people more fundamental solutions,” says Bonte.

Drinking Water Plan

In addition, an agreement has also been reached on a drinking water plan proposed by Flemish Environment Minister Jo Brouns (Flemish Christian democrat CD&V). Among other things, this plan is intended to address the contamination of drinking water with harmful triazoles in West Flanders Province. Triazoles are products resulting from the degradation of fungicidal pesticides used in agriculture.

The approved plan states that triazole concentrations in West Flanders must be reduced to 0.1 micrograms per litre. That is the European standard.

However, more time is needed to achieve this level. Minister Brouns is therefore extending the derogation to 1 microgram per litre for a further three years, until the end of 2029, for the drinking water producer Blankaart and areas Zillebeke, Dikkebus and De Gavers. Although this is ten times higher than the European standard, the minister emphasises that the increased standard is still perfectly safe.

In order to meet the European standard of 0.1 micrograms per litre, measures are being imposed on all sectors. The agricultural sector must prevent substances from entering ground water. This starts with the use of these substances themselves: crop protection must be applied in a more targeted and careful manner, and more than 30 crop protection products will eventually be banned.

Furthermore, buffer strips will be established along watercourses in areas where problems with a particular substance occur. And monitoring will be more targeted.

For businesses and industry, there will be greater clarity and stricter monitoring. The aim is better to identify where specific substances are discharged, so that risks can be identified more quickly.

Permits will be tailored accordingly: where there is an impact on drinking water, discharge conditions will be tightened. The use of pesticides will also be reduced in industrial estates, with a total ban on paved areas.

Changes to the Budget

Agreement has also been reached on changes to the Flemish budget to allow the Flemish Government to keep this year’s budget on track.

At the start of the talks, a few weeks ago, there were discussions about the figure to be taken as the starting point. This has now been settled at a deficit of 320 million euros, partly due to rising inflation.

Only one-third of departing civil servants to be replaced

Next year, the impact of inflation will partially be offset, as the Flemish authorities will consequently receive more revenue from the federal government. This additional revenue will be set aside to help cover this year’s extra costs.

At the same time, costs of 100 million euros budgeted for coming years are already being included in the 2026 budget, including bills for the Oosterweel Link completing the Antwerp ring road and investments in sewerage systems. To offset this, the government has decided, among other things, from July onwards only to replace a third of civil servants who resign or retire.