Brussels culture groups condemn Bruzz funding cuts

Some 70 Brussels cultural organisations that make up the Brussels arts consultation group RABKO are calling on the Flemish minister for Brussels, Cieltje Van Achter (N-VA)to reconsider proposed cuts to the Dutch-language media group Bruzz.

In the context of the Flemish government’s "austerity round", from 2026, Bruzz has been told to cut its spending by 6.5%. This amount, some €434,000 a year, represents the reduction in subsidy it will get from the Flemish government compared to previous years.

The Flemish government must save €1.5 billion in total to maintain the originally agreed budget path towards a balance in 2027.

The announcement has already resulted in Bruzz, which employs nearly 60 permanent staff and many freelancers, laying off four staff members.

The news outlet is also stopping the monthly culture magazine Select and music brand BRUZZ Ice on the radio, social media and online.

In a letter, RABKO said these actions would undermine the daily running of Bruzz, whose contribution to the Brussels arts scene “can hardly be overestimated”.

They would also disrupt “the balance of the cultural and social ecosystem in which the medium plays a pivotal role”, the group said.

“The cultural editors’ journalistic work is of great importance for the visibility of our sector and for keeping the public debate about culture in the city alive,” the letter said.

RABKO says the Select label gives a lot of attention to artists and cultural organisations and that Ice’s contribution to young musicians’ visibility is “invaluable”.

The letter was signed by 69 cultural organisations including the Ancienne Belgique, the KVS Royal Flemish Theatre, the Kaaitheater, Kanal and the Beursschouwburg.

The arts network insists that Bruzz, mainly financed by the Flemish Community and Flemish Community Commission, the competent authority in Brussels for matters relating to culture, is much more than a news medium, but "an instrument of community building, a place of recognition and a voice in the multilingual urban debate".

"Bruzz connects Dutch-speaking people of all generations with each other, but also with the wider Brussels community," the group added. "It strengthens the visibility and cultural impact of Dutch-speaking life in Brussels."

In the coming weeks, the general managers of Flemish-Brussels Media, the non-profit organisation that operates Bruzz, and the board of directors will continue to assess its 2026-2030 policy plan, and what the savings mean for the operation of the Brussels news medium.

Bruzz said that despite the cuts, which will also reduce freelance contributions, it will retain its core mission as a future-proof news platform for and about Brussels, where digital video, audio and social media will have a prominent role, while keeping its television and radio stations as well as the weekly current affairs magazine.