Federal government to save 30 per cent on costs of cabinets
The federal government has taken two measures urging its own ministers and cabinets to keep a tight rein on spending. 30 per cent of the costs of the cabinets will be cut and the same cabinets will more often have to seek the approval of the Council of Ministers for their expenditure.
“Our country faces a tough, but highly necessary budgetary task,” said budget minister Vincent Van Peteghem on Friday. “That task requires seriousness and focus. We know the evolution of the figures, so it is crucial to take decisions quickly and move to a policy that allows us to reverse course.”
Until a new full-fledged budget is approved, the government works with a “provisional twelfths” budget, which allows it to spend 1/12th of its total expenditure for 2024 plus indexation each month. But with an amendment to the provisional twelfths, Van Peteghem already proposed measures to control the workings of politics itself.
A first measure amounts to a cut in the operating and personnel costs of cabinets. The costs of the cabinets can be cut by 30 per cent as early as this year, amounting to a saving of 21 million euros a year. In addition, Van Peteghem calls for strict discipline on public procurement and contracts for works, supplies and services even within the new limits.
"We know the evolution of the figures, so it is crucial to take decisions quickly and move to a policy that allows us to reverse course."
The minister is also introducing a lower limit for costs that public services and institutions can incur without prior agreement. Today, an agreement of the Council of Ministers is needed for expenditures starting from 10 million euros. That bar will now be temporarily lowered firmly. For expenditures starting from 320,000 euros, an agreement of the budget minister will be needed.
Maintaining discipline
This budgetary caution applies in periods in which an outgoing government deals with current affairs and normally stops at the start of a new government. However, minister Van Peteghem considers it appropriate to maintain this discipline also at the time when the government is in the process of drafting its first budget.
The provisional twelfths currently apply until the end of March and a second tranche will also have to follow, as the new budget simply still has to get approved by then. Van Peteghem puts forward the second half of May as the time when the full-fledged budget can start.
Belgian budget minister Vincent Van Peteghem © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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