Faced with a debt that threatens to soar to €19 billion by 2030, Brussels needs to mobilise. In the run-up to the elections, Christophe De Beukelaer (Les Engagés), Cieltje Van Achter (N-VA) and Sven Gatz (Open VLD) came to BECI to debate the future of the Region.
The electoral debates are continuing at BECI. For this second round, Christophe De Beukelaer (Les Engagés), Cieltje Van Achter (N-VA) and Sven Gatz (Open VLD) met at BECI on Monday 25 March. With the June elections just around the corner, the lead candidates of the regional parties spoke about the issues that concern BECI: employment and job insecurity in Brussels, mobility and attractiveness, and the Region's debts.
For a more effective government, the political parties reiterate that they must work together. However, opinions differ on how to move forward and how to achieve this. What can we learn from this second electoral debate, between consensus and disagreement?
Brussels and its deb
Last Friday, the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the Brussels-Capital Region's rating because of the region's ever-increasing debt. What does this mean? If the Region decides to take out new loans, it could end up repaying them at higher interest rates. This situation is alarming BECI, which points out the major budgetary threat facing Brussels in its memorandum, and the objective of countering it at all costs.
Jan de Brabanter, CEO a.i. of BECI, commented on the matter on his Linkedin account, and called on the Brussels Minister of Finance and Budget to react. The Brussels Minister of Finance and Budget was keen to temper the situation during the debate: ‘we are in the process of slowing down the debt’. He put things into perspective: ‘Even if some people don't find it credible, the Region's debt will soon come to an end. For Sven Gatz, Brussels is embarking on one of its best budget years, a position it has not enjoyed since 2019, i.e. before the start of the Covid-19 crisis.
However, Christophe De Beukelaer was quick to react. In his view, it is out of the question to use the health crisis as a justification for the debt: ‘When we talk about the government's indebtedness, several ministers refer to the crisis. Of course, some of it is due to the crisis, but beyond that, spending has increased faster than revenue, structurally and not cyclically. The lead candidate of Les Engagés questions the way in which the Region's finances have been invested by the current government.
‘If we don't warn everyone, nothing will happen’
Nevertheless, the three parties agreed on a fundamental mission: to control the budget and make savings from the start of the next legislature. The Open VLD representative called on all members of the future government to be more attentive in the years to come. He appealed to all future ministers: ‘If we don't warn everyone, nothing will happen’.
Brussels and its potential
All the ministers must work together, yes, but how? The three guests in this electoral debate all agreed: we need to succeed in making the most of talent. ‘Brussels has a lot of potential, and we need to boost employment for the people of Brussels’, emphasised Cieltje Van Achter. To achieve this, the regional bodies responsible for employment (such as Actiris and VDAB) need to be mobilised. The N-VA lead candidate is calling on Actiris to review its reform and become more involved with the non-working population.
According to the regional election candidates present at this second debate, youth unemployment is high in Brussels. It is therefore necessary to help them ‘acquire the codes of employment’, says Christophe De Beukelaer. As part of this support, he is proposing ‘a mentoring voucher to help young people in their job search’, as well as a review of their remuneration, to make work more attractive and encourage them to take professional steps. The lead candidates also stress the importance of the role of education in job creation.
Brussels and its attractiveness
In its memorandum, BECI stressed the importance of mobility, which plays a key role in the attractiveness of the Brussels-Capital Region. ‘The next government will have to face up to many political challenges concerning mobility’, warns Cieltje Van Achter. The member of parliament highlights the need to ‘feel safe in a clean city’, recommending that public transport be made safer and cleaner.
For Christophe De Beukelaer, ‘we need to proceed intelligently and step by step, in order to achieve a more peaceful city’. He therefore suggests introducing a kilometre-based tax policy. In other words, tax cars on the basis of use rather than ownership. In this way, ‘the more you use your car, the more you contribute to taxation’, reports the Brussels candidate of Les Engagés. This initiative is also shared by Sven Gatz. However, he insists on the need to move faster, and advises ‘implementing this intelligent kilometre-based tax in the first year of the next government’.
In short, the government's effectiveness can only be improved if the following objectives are taken into account: increasing the employment rate and developing better mobility to make Brussels more attractive.
BECI continues to encourage active dialogue between the regional parties, to finally dare to make Brussels an exemplary and dynamic city. On 16 April, Bernard Clerfayt (Défi), Elke Van den Brandt (Groen), Karine Lalieux (PS) and Ava Basiri (Voor U) will take over and discuss the issues surrounding entrepreneurship and the future of Brussels. Register here.