New minister-president Diependaele presents Flemish coalition agreement in parliament

Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele has in the Flemish parliament presented the coalition agreement of the new government. He called it “a vision for Flanders, a pact with the Flemish”. The government promises three billion euros in additional investments, while sticking to a balanced budget in 2027.

“‘Working together for a warm and prosperous Flanders’ [the title of the coalition agreement] is not just a slogan, it’s a promise to every Fleming,” Diependaele said. ​ A prosperous Flanders is “the foundation” for everything, according to the new head of government. Diependaele put forward a series of priorities, ranging from the ambition to boost the employment rate to 80 per cent, supporting entrepreneurs by tackling the regulatory drive and signalling to investors that Flanders is open for business.

Flanders also promises to take responsibility on climate and energy. “But we are not going to act rashly,” Diependaele added. For instance, climate decisions must always be weighed against “the capacity of citizens and the competitiveness of companies”. One example is the relaxed renovation obligation.

The government insists on a balanced budget in 2027. “A balanced budget is the guarantee to secure the future of our children and grandchildren,” Diependaele said. Despite this tight budget course, the government intends to profile itself as an investment government with over three billion euros in investments, a “historic amount”.

A good chunk of those extra resources, almost 1.2 billion euros, will go to welfare to invest in support for persons with disabilities, youth care, care for the elderly and child care, amongst other things.

To finance the extra investments, and measures such as the reduction in registration fees, the Diependaele government is counting on a mix of savings and new revenues. For example, the price for service vouchers will go up and tax deductions will be discontinued. Premiums for electric cars will also be scrapped and new electric cars will have to pay road taxes.

^{#FlandersNewsService | The Flemish government poses at a press conference to present the budget of the new Flemish government © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}