Valerie Van Peel: “We will consistently put forward solutions to safeguard our prosperity”

Safeguarding our prosperity and supporting our welfare state: that has been the mission of the De Wever government since taking office. Enormous debts, weak growth and rapidly rising social expenditure have pushed our public finances into an unsustainable position. That is why the Arizona coalition has already adopted historic reforms to pensions, taxation and the labour market, including limiting the duration of unemployment benefits. The IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF), established in 1945, focuses on monetary issues. The global organisation is governed by and accountable to the 188 member countries. In addition to financial stability, monetary cooperation and international trade, the IMF promotes and supports employment, sustainable economic growth and combating poverty. In this regard, it provides loans, technical assistance, specialised training courses and advice to governments. It also monitors financial trends. IMF has also responded very positively to these long-awaited measures.

“The continually deteriorating economic and geopolitical situation means we must go further with reforms and spending cuts,” says N-VA President Valerie Van Peel. “The deficit is larger than initially expected, and rising interest rates threaten to strangle our public finances. A structural effort of at least €10 billion is urgently needed.”

Prime Minister Bart De Wever has been working on this budget for months. Every measure has been costed in cooperation with government departments and discussed with technical experts from all coalition partners. Time and again, he has presented a balanced proposal focusing on much-needed reforms. But various vetoes have prevented an agreement.

Some lack the courage

“I am disappointed to see that some lack the courage to put the general interest first,” says Van Peel. “I continue to hope that reason and a sense of responsibility will prevail again. There is no alternative. As long as an agreement remains out of reach, our starting position deteriorates day by day, making the task even more difficult. Our country is now heading towards an emergency budget based on provisional twelfths, which is disastrous for the confidence of financial markets. And if we ultimately fail to reach an agreement, the financial markets and the IMF will make the decisions for us, imposing even tougher measures with more severe consequences for citizens and businesses.”

“My party will consistently continue to put forward solutions to safeguard our prosperity.”