Flanders presents a balanced budget

Not only did Flemish Minister-President Geert Bourgeois present the promised balanced budget to the Flemish Parliament, his government is also investing heavily in the challenges of the future: high-quality education, flourishing exports, customised healthcare and an energy-efficient Flanders. “Because we have made the necessary savings in recent years, we can now make great investments in Flanders and the Flemish,” Geert Bourgeois explains.

The sixth state reform - which transferred some competences to the federated entities but not enough funds to carry them out in full - did little to ease budget negotiations. And yet the Flemish Government continues to hold course in these difficult times, the only one in the country to do so.

Investing in the future

Flanders is looking to allocate no less than 1.69 billion euros on new policy by 2019. The Flemish Government is pumping hundreds of millions into the construction of new schools and is also freeing up almost 200 million extra euros for scientific research and innovation. The investments in comfortable public transport and a high-quality roads infrastructure have never been as high in the past as they are now. Flanders is also investing an extra 200 million euros in welfare, and once again there will be an amount of 200 million euros made available for loans for the construction of government-assisted housing. And taxes? They are coming down in 2017 by no less than 312 million euros because the Flemish share in the federal tax shift accounts for more than a quarter.

Ambitious goals

Flanders is also setting itself ambitious goals. “We are ensuring that more people who have a weaker position on the jobs market can get to work,” the Minister-President explains. “We are focusing on international enterprise, not only for our SMEs but also for the arts and culture sector. The government will play an exemplary role in reaching the climate targets, and Flanders is definitively taking the step towards high-quality customised healthcare for all, not only in hospitals but also outside them.”