Federal government decision creates €700 million deficit for regions

Regional government coalition members and opposition alike are condemning a decision by the federal government that will see the regions face a total €700 million shortfall in the funding they receive from the state.

After the federal government carried out its budget audit, it came to the conclusion that

Brussels was to receive €105 million less, Wallonia €195 million less and Flanders €400 million less in transfers than previously announced. The decision was based on a combination of low growth and low inflation.

Flanders was already facing a deficit of €700 million, after the EU Commission said it would not accept Flanders spreading the cost of public-private investments, including the Oosterweel connection, over several years. The High Council of Finance has given Flanders permission to go €750 million into the red this year.

“As we prepared our budget, we were told another figure,” said Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois (N-VA). “It seems they only recently got hold of the tools and software needed to make the calculations. I will approach this in a serious and correct manner.”

Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort (pictured), meanwhile, expressed his disappointment that the federal government did not consult with the regions before taking such a decision. “There was no reason for consultation,” responded prime minister Charles Michel, telling morning show De Ochtend that the decision was simply an implementation of legal financial mechanisms that the federal government has every right to use.

photo courtesy De Standaard