The Brussels government has reached an agreement on the Brussels Region’s 2027 budget. Under the agreement, PM Boris Dilliès (Francophone liberal MR) has pledged to reduce the deficit to 719 million euros.
The agreement follows two days of difficult budget among members of the Brussels coalition. “We started with a deficit of more than 1.3 billion euros. Today, we have halved that to 719 million euros,” Dilliès explained in the Brussels Parliament on Monday. “Everyone has had to make an effort.” According to Dilliès, a significant step towards a balanced budget by 2029 has now been taken.
“The ambition to return to a balanced budget must also be reflected in the way we govern,” Dilliès said with Gallic flourish. “Because returning to a state of reasonableness does not just mean restoring our finances. It also means changing what needs to be changed. It means removing obstacles and putting public administration back at the service of results.”
Government administration to play its part
The Brussels Government aims to reduce the number of civil servants and deploy them more efficiently. It hopes this will save 74 million euros annually on staff costs and a further 39 million euros on operating costs.
Vacancies will no longer be filled automatically. Staff will be deployed in a more targeted manner through internal mobility.
The reform of government departments will continue. As a result, even more departments will be merged.
The Brussels PM’s official residence on Brussels Park – a classical-style townhouse – is to be sold (although the sale is not scheduled until the next term of office). In due course, the PM will move to the building that houses the Brussels government.
Mobility and transport
The price of tickets on Brussels local transport MIVB will not be increased, even though revenue is lower than forecast. The government is offsetting this by cutting the transport company’s operating expenditure.
Brussels road tax is being reformed: from the second half of 2027, there will be an exemption for motorists driving a small city car or a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV).
The Baljuw and Vleurgat tunnels are due to be renovated from 2029. There are also plans to redesign the Louisalaan.
The Brussels government hopes to make significant progress on tram line 15, between the Belgicalaan and Brussels North Station, from next year.
Taxes
Supplementary personal income tax is being reduced by 1 percentage point.
The BeHome allowance, which is intended to offset part of the higher property tax for homeowners living in Brussels, is being doubled.
Health, welfare and poverty
Over 1 million euros extra will be allocated to prevention, including cancer screening and a heatwave plan.
The Region is allocating 1.8 million euros for the accommodation of homeless families and is providing 6.3 million euros for the prevention of addiction. “Our ambition is clear,” says Dilliès. “No child in Brussels should have to sleep on the streets. We are reserving 185 shelter places for families and, through the collective autonomous shelter system, have nearly 900 places spread across 13 locations.”
Brussels municipalities and Brussels local social services centres will receive an additional 15 million euros in 2027.
Unlike in Flanders, there is no change to the cost of service vouchers, often used to play cleaners and odd jobs workers, or child benefit (contrary to what the Flemish Government decided earlier).
Safety and cleanliness
Next year, the Region will allocate 5 million euros to improve safety and cleanliness in public spaces around stations.
Brussels is appointing its own drugs commissioner, who will work in collaboration with the national drugs commissioner.
10 million euros have been earmarked to strengthen the Brussels fire services. A total of 92 new recruits will be taken on by 2027.
A new headquarters will also be built for the fire service. The Region will allocate 20 million euros for this in 2027.
120 underground refuse containers will be installed by the end of the legislative term.
Regional cleanliness brigades will also be set up in collaboration with the municipalities and police districts. “Anti-social behaviour will be monitored more strictly and fined,” warns Dilliès.
Housing
Interest-free energy and renovation loans are to be introduced for Brussels families. These are intended to replace the Renolution grants and be better targeted at people who genuinely need this support.
Employment
Next year, the government will save 55 million euros on employment policy; by 2029, this figure will rise to 75 million euros. Brussels employment agency Actiris must “focus on its core tasks”, says Dilliès. Above all, this means having more staff on the ground and helping citizens more quickly.
At the same time, the Activa scheme in Brussels (worth 27 million euros) is being scrapped. This was a subsidy for employers who took on long-term jobseekers.
Companies creating jobs at the Audi, Solvay, Schaarbeek-Vorming and TIR warehouse and customs clearance sites can, however, count on lower social security contributions. Schaarbeek Vorming is the massive former railway marshalling yard that stretches from Schaarbeek to Haren (City of Brussels).
From 2027, Brussels will invest 2 million euros a year in the Bilingualism Master Plan. The aim is to improve knowledge of Dutch and French within the administration and in hospitals.