The core cabinet agreed last month to aim for a 10-billion-euro budget correction by 2029 — the final year of the legislative period. An agreement is expected by mid-October.
According to Voka, the focus should be on the economy. The employers’ organisation points out that Belgium is already struggling with persistently low growth. “0.5 per cent growth is absolutely insufficient to address the major societal challenges,” it states. Independent experts have been saying for months that budget goals can’t be met if annual growth remains at current low levels.
Voka also cites a survey of 600 companies, which indicates that more than half view the current situation negatively. Their orders are below normal levels. Only 9 per cent of the surveyed companies expect improvement in the next twelve months. “The biggest concern for the coming months is the fragile competitive position due to high labour costs and persistently high energy prices. But also the lack of demand and the uncertain geopolitical situation are major worries for Flemish companies.” When businesses delay or even cancel their investments and innovation efforts, “this country faces an even greater problem,” warns Voka.
On the employers’ organisation’s list of priorities are, among other things, no additional taxes, developing a strategy to retain the industry here, and reducing administrative burdens.
The initial translation of this content was generated by AI. All facts, context, and language have subsequently been verified and validated by a human editorial team.
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