French-speaking governments present budget agreements
The Walloon government and the government of the French community presented their budgets for 2025 in Namur on Wednesday. "These are transparent and responsible budgets that maintain confidence in what has been publicly proposed," said Walloon minister-president Adrien Dolimont.
Following the coalition agreement presented just a month after the June elections, the new Walloon government has also reached a budget agreement. The governing parties MR and Les Engagés have agreed to make "unprecedented" savings - 268 million euros - in 2025, without introducing any new taxes.
Managing Wallonia's budget is one of the main objectives of the MR and Les Engagés in the current legislative period. They want to halve Wallonia's deficit in five years and to balance the budget by 2034, without introducing any new taxes. Cutting the government's own budget and tackling the region's high unemployment rate are part of their plan.
French community
For its part, the French community, which is responsible for matters as education and public services, has given itself until the end of the legislature to stabilise the deficit and another five years to balance the budget.
As a first step, 110 million euros will be saved by 2025, without touching teachers' salaries, and an additional 30 million euros will go to new policies, minister-president of the French community Elisabeth Degryse said.
"We are assuming our responsibilities and avoiding cuts that are too drastic" said Degryse. "The government can reassure everyone by announcing that we are not touching the remuneration of teachers, that we are working on quality public services, that we are supporting associative life and that we are making important investments to ensure the climate transition."
© BELGA PHOTO BRUNO FAHY
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