2023-10-08 10:57:18
The Walloon executive presented its budget for the year 2024 this Sunday. An exercise that it carried out without raising new taxes and bringing its gross balance to be financed below the three billion euros mark.
Sustainable. The word was on the lips of all members of the Walloon government this Sunday morning at the presentation of the 2024 budget. The last few years having seen one crisis following another (pandemic, floods, war in Ukraine, energy), staying on track looked like to a real balancing act.
The Di Rupo government had set itself four red lines to carry this out: not raising new taxes, guaranteeing the sustainability of Walloon debt, strengthening structural efforts and strengthening recovery investments. “At the cost of collegial, serious and responsible work, we achieved all our goals“, welcomed the Minister-President.
“We have remained on our sustainability trajectory and we are on the right track. We have made structural efforts. We are thus sending an important signal to the markets“, commented the Minister of the Budget, Adrien Dolimont (MR). Current expenditure is thus returning to balance, as enshrined in the government agreement.
Another point which the executive welcomes: the gross balance to be financedor the difference between revenue and expenditure, pamass under three billion eurosat 2.976 billion euros, an improvement of 165 million compared to the initial 2023. The borrowing ceiling being set at 2.5 billion euros, the Walloon Region makes up this difference by financing itself from the EIB or via European aid, explained Adrien Dolimont.
Beyond the recommendations
The SEC financing balance (relating to the European System of Accounts, Editor’s note) amounts to 2.209 billion, compared to 2.577 billion last year. The plan presented this Sunday indicates that the Walloon budget must return to balance by 2024.
While the external debt commission requested an effort of 170 million euros, the Walloon government, which had already found solutions for an amount of 100 million euros, announced that it had gone beyond this recommendation by carrying out 100 million additional structural efforts. “Since the start of this policy of returning to balance in 2022, we have already made half a billion euros in structural efforts,” further highlighted Elio Di Rupo. A performance possible thanks, among other things, to the reform of employment aid, service vouchers and even more dynamic management of the Region’s financial contributions. The budget for the recovery plan is inflated by 16.5%.
Less than a year before the elections, there is still some means for new policies. “But these are very limited,” emphasized Elio Di Rupo. “We cannot ask for the thing and its opposite at the same time”, recalling once once more the budgetary imperatives facing the Region.
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