The report of the monitoring committee, drawn up by experts from federal government services, highlighted last week that governments at various levels in Belgium are heading towards a deficit of around 36 billion euros in 2021.
NOTe are going to have to tighten our belts for the next ten years, ”said Budget Secretary Eva De Bleeker (Open VLD) at a digital conference at a high school in Hasselt, reports Het Belang van Limburg Tuesday.
The report of the monitoring committee, drawn up by experts from federal government services, highlighted last week that governments at various levels in Belgium are heading towards a deficit of around 36 billion euros in 2021. The deficit this year will be 29 billion euros, it is anticipated. Governments must untie the purse strings amid the coronavirus health crisis.
Nevertheless, the government maintains its objective of sticking to a deficit of 3% by 2024. “We must avoid that future generations are penalized by this hole. We are going through an unknown crisis where we do not know when and how it will end. It is naturally difficult when it comes to budgeting. We have to constantly adapt our policy, ”commented Ms De Bleeker in Hasselt. “We will have to tighten our belts in the next 10 years, but at the same time we must also invest in the future,” she concluded.