Belgium risks losing EUR 850 million in European support through failure to implement reforms

“Because the De Croo government is breaking its promises and is not reforming pensions thoroughly, we risk losing EUR 850 million in European support,” MP Sander Loones comments. This became clear today during discussions in the Chamber, where the European Commission came to explain its analysis of the Belgian budget. “We were already receiving insufficient European support, and that may thus even become a lot less. The De Croo government is costing us money,” Loones summarises. 

The European Union set up a recovery fund related to the COVID crisis. The National Bank previously calculated that Belgium should actually have been able to claim EUR 12 billion from that fund. “But during the negotiations, Alexander De Croo only brought in EUR 4.5 billion,” Loones recalls. “And that is thus now in danger of being reduced by another EUR 850 million.”

Painful budgetary consequences

In order to receive the European support, a number of reforms must in fact first be implemented. Loones: “The De Croo government promised to reform pensions by the end of 2021, but nothing seems to be coming of that. On the contrary, the cost of pensions has increased by EUR 2 billion because of this government. The De Croo government is not doing what it promised Europe. And so that now threatens to have very painful budgetary consequences.”