Sander Loones: “Belgium is Europe’s land of misery”

“Good news? What good news?”, MP Sander Loones responds in the De Ochtend radio show to the fact that the Monitoring Committee estimated the Belgian budget deficit to be slightly lower than before. That is seen as “good news” within the federal majority, but Sander Loones forces them to face reality. “In six years’ time, the budget deficit will increase by EUR 18 billion! We are extremely deep in misery, the budget is a disaster and the national debt is exploding. Even countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy are doing better. It is strange that people dare to speak of good news.”

“You need three things to move forward: a good car, a good driver and a full tank. In Belgium, we have none of those three. We are in a gridlocked rubbish country, with a prime minister at the helm who is not the leader we need and, above all, we do not have enough petrol: people who work, those who make sure the bills can be paid. Much more is needed in that regard in particular, especially in Wallonia and Brussels. If we want to get our budget in order, that 80% employment rate really must be achieved. We do not see any policy in that direction today.”

“It would also make the system much fairer. There is a lot of tension now: people who work feel it is unfair that others do not and that they have to pay all the bills.”

Tax champion

Can we also look at more revenue? According to Sander, this is difficult: “This country is already a tax champion. All the figures confirm that. I can imagine that people want to shift things around here and there, but extra revenue, no, not that. Everyone also points out that the problem is with spending. Especially in Social security Social security is currently managed at the Federal level in Belgium. The most important pillars of Belgian social security are: sickness and invalidity insurance (NIDHI), pensions, unemployment insurance and child allowances. In addition, occupational illness, occupational accidents and annual holidays are dealt with at this level. Some Flemish parties have been campaigning for years for (large parts of) social security to be transferred to the Regions and Communities. social security and pensions.”

The PS party is a danger to all of us

The PS party members particularly want to push things forward, but Sander Loones is clear: “Time has run out. A pension reform was promised by September 2021. That will soon be two years too late. This government does not keep its promises, and that is what I blame it for most. Appearances are kept up. Look at Dermagne (Federal Minister of Economy and Employment, ed.), who simply denies the problem and states that everything will work itself out. The PS party has really become a danger to all of us.”

In the penalty box

The coronavirus crisis, and by extension, the crisis in Ukraine, are no excuse for the lamentable situation in Belgium, says Sander. “The problem is much deeper. It is structural. Compare it with other countries. Greece, Italy and Spain, these are all so-called ‘problem countries’, but they are all doing better than we are in terms of their budget. They are also better prepared for the costs of an ageing population. Belgium is simply Europe’s land of misery. The EU has been lenient for a long time because of the coronavirus crisis, but soon the rules will apply again as usual, and then we know where this country will end up: in the penalty box. You really don’t want to be in that situation.”

With N-VA, the deficit goes to 0.7%

Sander Loones is referring to the previous federal government, which included N-VA. “We then inherited a budget deficit of 3.4% and reduced it to 0.7%. An entire labour deal was on the table. The Tax shift There is a tax shift when a new tax is implemented or an existing tax is increased in order to reduce or get rid of another tax. The N-VA is a proponent of a shift of the burden on labour to that on consumption or environmental pollution, for example, but not of a tax that increases the total burden of taxation. tax shift was a real tax reduction and gave our economy some breathing room. We also saw that in the figures. The current government mainly benefits from the measures taken then, but it is now urgent for it to take action itself.”