Court of Audit again scathing about Brussels budget

As it does every year, the Court of Audit analyses the financial management of the Brussels-Capital Region. In that “Brusselboek”, the Court of Audit is downright scathing about the Brussels accounts. “That is the result of 23 years of Open Vld budget policy,” says Brussels N-VA party chair Cieltje Van Achter. “The losses are piling up, and the minister responsible, Gatz, is doing nothing about it.”

In principle, the Court of Audit must approve or disapprove the Brussels accounts. However, just like last year, the Court of Audit is refraining from issuing an opinion. “The accounts are such a huge mess that it is impossible to conduct a proper audit of them,” says Cieltje Van Achter.

Exactly the same problems every year

Van Achter blames Minister Gatz for a lack of seriousness. “Last year, following two consecutive disastrous Court of Audit reports, I called for the minister’s resignation. A year later, the Court of Audit again points out millions in wrong entries, company cars allocated to staff without any legal basis, fraud risks, and so on. Year after year, the exact same problems are repeated. Every year, Minister Gatz once again promises to do something about this. And a year later, it turns out once again that no improvement whatsoever has been made.”

Exploding debt mountain

Cieltje Van Achter is also concerned about the mounting debt. “For the fourth year in a row, the Brussels-Capital Region has consistently spent 25% more than it has received. That has caused the mountain of debt to explode. With rising interest rates and a possible rating downgrade on the horizon, Brussels is in danger of plunging into a negative spiral of debt.”