Belgium lagging behind its European neighbors
Among EU member countries, Belgium is a bad student. Our country’s public deficit, already significant at 4.6% of GDP in 2024 after 4.2% in 2023, would increase further to 4.9% of GDP in 2025 and even 5.3% of GDP in 2026.Belgium is going against the grain of most other EU countries.”deplores Eric Dor, director of economic studies at the IESEG School of Management, Paris and Lille, pointing out a “sharp deterioration of Belgium’s public finances.”
France’s public deficit would in fact be 5.3% in 2025 and 5.4% in 2026. On the other hand, in 2025, the public deficit, as a percentage of GDP, would be limited to 0.8% in Luxembourg, 1 .9% in the Netherlands, 2% in Germany, and 2.6% in Spain. Portugal would even have a budget surplus of 0.4% of GDP.
Budget: employers and unions recommend reducing the deficit by 23 billion until 2030
Indeed, in 2025 and 2026, Belgium’s public deficit, as a percentage of GDP, would exceed that of all the other countries in the euro zone, apart from France. Because France’s public deficit should in fact be 5.3% in 2025 and 5.4% in 2026.
“These projections are based on unchanged policy, and thus give the measure of the enormous effort to be made by the next government to move away from this very worrying trend, and to consolidate public finances.analyzes Eric Dor. Before adding that “this effort is necessary to comply with European standards because Belgium is under excessive deficit procedure.”
It is a fact, EU projections show that without a drastic change in budgetary policy, Belgium would breach its obligations under the reformed stability pact. “But above all, the consolidation of public finances is an absolute necessity to once again free up the means to face all the challenges facing the country, including investments for the ecological transition which is an obligation. concludes Eric Dor.
