The report of the Monitoring Committee was awaited and it “keeps” its promises: Belgium has never had to deal with such a heavy public deficit. In 2020, it reached 52.8 billion, or 12.31% of GDP. 2021 will see a smaller deficit, but just as never seen: 31.4 billion. Same thing for 2022: 26.5 billion. For the 2020-2022 fiscal years, the total deficit amounts to 110.7 billion euros.
As a direct consequence, indebtedness soars: from 99.1% in March 2020, it will drop to 122.1% at the end of 2020 and will settle at 123.1% in 2024. You have to go back to 1997 to find a higher debt.
Economic activity contracts by 10.5% of GDP, half a percent better than the euro zone. “This is the largest decline since the Second World War“notes the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Budget, Mr. David Clarinval. Finally, the income of individuals has”relatively well resisted“with a fall limited to 1.9%. However, confidence has been reached, with a drop in private consumption estimated at 8.8% in 2020.
For David Clarinval, “it is our duty to finalize the federal recovery plan so that Belgium can make the most of the prospects for a global economic recovery and restore the confidence of businesses and consumers. Quickly establishing a full-service government capable of implementing it also seems to me the best service we can provide to our country and our citizens. This is the essence of what they elected us for. “
It remains to be seen how the process of forming the federal government will be able to digest this very bad budget news, which was certainly expected, but which should hardly facilitate the establishment of a government team.
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