Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Steven Vanackere (CD&V) is no longer deputy governor at the National Bank. The resigning government has not extended its mandate in time, he said on his Facebook page on Thursday.
Vanackere served as deputy governor of the National Bank of Belgium for the past six years, but that mandate expired on January 1. After advice from the Council of Regency of the National Bank, he was on course for an extension, but the caretaker government did not decide on this before the end of the year.
This is due to the difficult decision-making within the government, Vanackere concludes. He deduces this from a telephone conversation with CD&V Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, who informed him “a few days ago that this does not have to do with my person or my performance, but with the difficulty of making decisions in the Vivaldi.” -government”. It is not clear whether Vanackere’s mandate can still be extended, possibly by a subsequent federal government, he indicates.
Vanackere’s appointment is not the only one that the Vivaldi government left behind at the end of the year. The two new structures that were established through the deal with Engie on the extension of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power stations are also still without key figures for the time being. This concerns Hedera, which houses the money for nuclear waste management, and Be-Nuc, the joint venture that will operate the two reactors.
Outgoing Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Green) previously expressed her dissatisfaction about this. The European Commission normally approves the state aid file surrounding Doel 4 and Tihange 3 during January, and from then on the two vehicles must get to work. “If the negotiating Arizona parties want to decide on those appointments as a new government, be my guest, but if that government is not there, Vivaldi will have to make that decision,” said the House Energy Committee in December.
