Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever was due to offer his government’s resignation to King Philippe at 3:30 a.m. ET (08:30 UTC) Monday after budget talks failed, as Belgium seeks to meet EU deficit rules.
BRUZZ reported that the Royal Palace confirmed De Wever’s plan and that he was due at the Palace at 9:30 a.m. CET on Monday, Nov. 2. The outlet also reported that Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval said overnight negotiations had failed. Clarinval blamed Vooruit for favoring less spending restraint and more tax measures, while other parties disputed his claim that more than €3 billion in tax measures were under discussion.
Budget Minister Vincent Van Peteghem said at a Sept. 30 hearing of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives that the government was pursuing a budget exercise of at least €10 billion by 2029.
Provisional Eurostat data show Belgium’s general government gross debt stood at €719.077 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026, equal to 110.2% of gross domestic product. The country’s 2025 deficit was €33.423 billion, or 5.2% of GDP.
EU treaty reference values set the deficit benchmark at 3% of GDP and the debt benchmark at 60%. The Council of the European Union set 2029 as the deadline for Belgium to end its excessive deficit and recommended that nominal net expenditure growth remain at or below 2.5% in 2026. Eurostat’s next quarterly government debt data are scheduled for release Jan. 22, 2027.
