Belgium's prime minister offers to quit over €10 billion budget gap
Bart De Wever offered his resignation after his five-party coalition failed to agree on how to close a €10 billion budget gap. King Philippe put off a decision and is meeting party leaders this week, with De Wever due back at the palace Friday.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday after his five-party coalition failed to agree on next year's budget, Politico Europe reports. Party leaders met through the weekend but left without a deal early Monday on how to close a gap of about €10 billion.
The king has not accepted the resignation. The palace said he was "postponing his decision" and appealed "to everyone's sense of responsibility," urging all sides "to prioritize the general interest and a spirit of compromise," Politico reported.
Timeline for the week, per VRT NWS: On Tuesday the king meets Yvan Verougstraete of Les Engagés and Sammy Mahdi of CD&V. On Wednesday he sees Conner Rousseau of Vooruit and Georges-Louis Bouchez of MR. Valerie Van Peel of N-VA is expected Thursday afternoon, and on Friday at 10:30 a.m. the king meets De Wever again.
Why it matters
Belgium, home to the EU and NATO headquarters, ran a deficit of 5.2% of GDP in 2025, which is expected to rise next year, according to Politico. De Wever wanted the budget to show financial markets that Belgium is on track to meet its European obligations. If the government falls, snap elections could follow.
More context
The case for higher taxes on top earners: The Flemish socialists of Vooruit want people with the "strongest shoulders" to make greater efforts, and the centrist Les Engagés and Christian Democrat CD&V take a similar view, VRT reports. Politico says Vooruit asked for more contributions from the highest incomes through taxes.
The case against: De Wever's Flemish nationalist N-VA and the French-speaking liberal MR resist. There were still "far too many taxes on the table," MR Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval told reporters, according to Politico, and MR also pushed back on a wider reform of value-added tax. VRT political analyst Bart Verhulst called the split "a classic left-right divide."
This has happened before. A year ago the coalition also failed to find about €10 billion on time, and the king gave De Wever an extra 50 days; a deal for €9.2 billion in savings came on Nov. 24, 2025, VRT reports. This time, De Wever has said he wants to avoid a stopgap budget that would simply repeat this year's spending month by month.
What is still unknown: whether the coalition partners return to the table this week, whether the king accepts the resignation, and whether outside parties step in. Frédéric De Gucht, leader of the Flemish liberal party Anders, said his party has "8 seats at the ready" to back the government if it pursues an "economically right-wing programme," VRT reports. Politico notes that Vlaams Belang, which it describes as far-right, and the Workers' Party, which it describes as far-left, are both polling well if elections are called.
Bottom line: Belgium's government is in limbo until at least Friday, with the same tax fight that nearly broke it last year still unresolved.
3 listed sources
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Sourcing: Politico Europe for the budget gap, deficit figure, the palace statement and the snap-election outlook; VRT NWS for the dispute between the coalition parties, last year's talks and this week's consultation schedule. Party descriptions are the outlets' own. The king had not decided on the resignation as of Tuesday morning in Brussels. The hero photo is from De Wever's March 2025 visit to the European Commission.
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