In Belgium, the coalition on Monday morning agreed on a budget deal that will allow to avoid the collapse of the government of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, Politico reports, writes UNN.
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"The center-right government led by Flemish separatist De Wever, after months of disagreements, concluded a multi-year agreement to cover a budget deficit of 9.2 billion euros by 2029," the publication states.
De Wever, it is noted, set a deadline before Christmas after negotiations seemed to have reached a deadlock earlier this month.
"Today's labor, tomorrow's fruits," De Wever wrote in a post on X, adding that the agreement and other reforms will improve Belgium's debt situation by 32 billion euros.
Belgium's deficit this year reached 5.4% of GDP, while public debt stands at 104.7% of GDP. Last week, the European Commission warned that if policies remain unchanged, Belgium's deficit could reach 5.9% by 2027, with only Poland showing worse results in the EU.
The country's government has increased excise taxes on natural gas, and some recreational goods, such as hotel accommodation and takeout food, will become more expensive. Air ticket taxes have also been increased from 5 to 10 euros.
However, there will be no general increase in value-added tax, as the French-speaking liberal party MR opposed this measure.
Belgium also adjusted the wage indexation method, linking it to the inflation rate, which affected high-paid workers.
The government also pledged to return 100,000 people on sick leave to work. In addition, a 2-euro tax was introduced on goods from non-European online stores, such as the Chinese e-commerce platform Shein.
De Wever's administration secured this agreement at the beginning of a three-day general strike that affected public transport, public services, and schools.