Plenary House completes marathon session on the budget: “This budget is a pivotal moment” | Inland

The House started the first of three plenary sessions this week at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning. It turned into a marathon session on the 2022 budget that eventually lasted until 6:30 am on Wednesday.

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The session generated debate about, among other things, the nuclear phase-out, the activation of inactive people on the labor market, the VAT on gas and electricity and the corona pandemic.

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State Secretary for the Budget Eva De Bleeker closed the discussion on Wednesday morning. “This budget is a pivotal moment,” she said. “We will continue to fight against corona and support the people on the front lines, citizens and businesses. But at the same time, we are looking ahead at what we want our country to look like after corona, and we are converting that into concrete actions.”

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The budget deficit will rise to 16.6 billion euros, good for 3.2 percent of GDP, the Open Vld state secretary reiterated. “We are making an effort of 2.4 billion. I will continue to insist in the coming years on implementing the reforms in the labor market, and on making the most effort possible. The 2022 budget is the starting point of a trajectory that we will have to follow for as long as possible.”

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De Bleeker emphasized that this will not be easy. “The fiscal recovery will be one of the major challenges of the coming years, in addition to the flare-up of the corona variants. Added to this is the aging population, which will now manifest itself and will ensure that spending will increase,” she warned. “Even though the challenges are enormous, I take up the gauntlet. We have to reduce the deficit and the national debt, I fully support that.”

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