Not enough people in Wallonia and Brussels at work

The budget shortfall in Belgium can only be resolved if more people in Wallonia and Brussels go to work. Minister of Finance Johan Van Overtveldt went straight to the heart of the problem during the Finance Avenue 2018 event held by newspaper De Tijd. “My conclusion after four years is that the key to a structural budgetary equilibrium is to be found in employment,” says Minister Van Overtveldt.

Budget in balance

In Flanders, almost three quarters of the population is in work, while in Brussels and Wallonia the percentages are just 60.6% and 62.1% respectively. This is shown by numbers from the Statbel statistics service. “If you had a level of employment of 75% throughout all of Belgium, you would have six to nine billion euros of extra income for the budget. In which case, the budget would be in balance with room to spare,” concludes Johan Van Overtveldt, who went on to say that his criticism is not intended as a reproach.