Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A European Commission spokesperson announced that Belgium had given a deadline of until mid-March to present its budget plans for the coming years.
Belgium’s budget plan was due by September 2024. However, the outgoing government requested that it be resubmitted by the end of 2024, and in late November, the commission agreed to this delay. On December 26, 2024, Belgium asked the commission for an additional postponement, citing still-ongoing coalition talks.
The European Commission has now fixed the deadline for mid-March, according to a note it sent to the government on 7 February. According to the Commission spokesperson, It considers that
“a limited further postponement of the submission of the plan will not be detrimental to the quality of macroeconomic surveillance and budgetary discipline.”
This latest postponement sets a new deadline of six weeks for the European Commission to evaluate the plans. Meanwhile, the Bart De Wever government must have informed the Commission about measures being taken at the end of April to remove the excessive budget deficit it carries.
How severe is Belgium’s budget deficit?
Belgium’s budget deficit is above the EU threshold of 3 percent of gross domestic product. In the absence of a government, a European reference trajectory over four years was agreed in November, which binds Belgium to correct the excessive deficit by 2027. The deficit is expected to be 4.6% of GDP in 2024 and could rise further to around 4.9% in 2025 if no substantial measures are taken.
The European Commission has put Belgium in this procedure and ordered it to rectify the fiscal imbalance, meaning reducing the deficit below the EU threshold. Formed in November, this path binds Belgium to eliminate its excessive deficit by 2027 under a four-year plan or even up to seven years if credible reforms are made.
