On track for a balanced budget for Flanders in 2017

The Flemish Government has successfully completed the budgetary control of this year. As predicted in the 2016 draft budget, the deficit remains limited to 172 million euros. That puts the Flemish Government nicely on track to a balanced budget in 2017. “It’s investments all the way, not only for this year, but for the next as well” Flemish Minister-President Geert Bourgeois states.

In the draft budget, the Flemish Government already planned a total of 400 million euros of investments in infrastructure, mobility, school building, well-being and Research & Development. Now there’s a series of new investments on the horizon, among which include:

• 200 million euros for social housing
• 222 million euros for education, especially building schools
• 79 million euros for mobility, especially for inland navigation

Government focused on investment

The Flemish Government has succeeded in staving off a number of additional budget costs. This primarily concerns costs related to the asylum crisis, which are currently estimated at 98 million euros. “That is less than the 120 million euros predicted in the budget,” according to the Minister-President. The additional horizontal transfer of 136 million euros to Brussels and Wallonia - due to the sixth state reform - has been kept apart from the budget. “This concerns a one-time expenditure, and besides, it pertains to 2015,” Geert Bourgeois clarifies.

“We are not deviating from our budget principle: we will be structurally balanced again in 2017. And in the meantime we continue to robustly invest in order to meet every societal to need to the greatest extent possible, both to inject a breath of fresh air into the economy and to give job creation an extra boost,” Minister-President Geert Bourgeois concludes. After two years of substantial savings, the Flemish Government now, more than ever, has proven itself a government determined to invest.