It had been on the cards for some time, and now it is official: Prime Minister De Wever (Flemish nationalist) will not deliver his so-called State of the Union address, the government’s policy statement on the upcoming parliamentary year, to the Chamber of Representatives on Tuesday. De Wever’s office made the announcement on Sunday following a day of one-to-one meetings with the various coalition partners.
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No State of the Union on Tuesday as De Wever struggles to draft multi-year budget
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The PM is struggling to draft a multi-year budget needing agreement from all 5 coalition partners, the Flemish nationalist N-VA, Christian democrat CD&V and socialist Vooruit and Francophone liberals MR and centrist The Committed (Les Engagés).
“The Prime Minister notes that, for the time being, no agreement has been reached within the government on a new budget. The Prime Minister will continue discussions within the government over the coming days.”
“Given the seriousness of the budgetary situation and developments on the financial markets, a scenario involving provisional twelfths is not an option. The Prime Minister will not accept this. A clear and strong signal must be sent in the short term that our country will continue to put its public finances in order in a credible and sustainable manner.”
Working with provisional twelfths is a longstanding Belgian practice that involves the same amount of expenditure being allowed each month as in the previous year.