Belgium (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): Flemish coalition talks have improved with a budget agreement, but some key issues still need to be resolved. Negotiations continue as parties aim to finalize a government soon.
At the beginning of talks in June, Dependaele set September 23 as the deadline for a new government. Even though they hadn’t finalized everything, they did agree on one significant thing: the budget. “We agreed on the budget plan,” Diependaele shared on social media around 03:30 after a night of talks. “Next, we’ll discuss the other important issues in the following days.” This means the parties have figured out how much money goes to different areas in the future. The exact details and whether N-VA will stick to its plan for a balanced budget by 2027 are still unknown.
What Key Issues Remain in Flemish Government Formation?
CD8V leader Sammy Mahdi said considerable changes happened, and Vooruit leader Conner Rousseau mentioned improvements in education, welfare, and public transport. Now that they’ve set the budget plan, they’ve tackled one of the toughest challenges on the path to a final agreement because deciding on a budget involves making important policy decisions. This moves us closer to forming a government. Many things have been discussed in detail. Having a carefully calculated data table is a big plus for the future, according to Diependaele, the former budget minister in the Flemish Government.
There are still considerable issues, like what will happen to the provinces, that people haven’t decided on yet. The nitrogen problem, which caused a lot of arguments before, is still being discussed. Diependaele said there are still many challenges to deal with. He didn’t want to give a specific deadline for a final agreement. The negotiators will continue discussions at 5:00. Just before that, the Flemish Parliament will meet.
