Virtually free admission for young people aged 18 to 24, who had already obtained a 70% reduction, was initially planned for the start of the 2023 school year but was brought forward by the Walloon government to 2022.
Unemployment benefit and job shortage
From September 1, a long-term unemployed person will be able to keep 25% of their allowance for three months if they take up a job in short supply or find a job in another Region, according to a royal decree signed last June. by the Minister of Economy and Employment, Pierre-Yves Dermagne.
This measure is part of the government’s efforts to increase the employment rate. It had already been discussed within the interfederal platform set up by Mr. Dermagne to find solutions to shortages of trades and interregional mobility with the other employment ministers. The financial benefit will be granted for three months and will be fully cumulative with the salary.
Entry into force of the Walloon plan against unoccupied housing
The Walloon plan against unoccupied housing comes into force at the start of the school year. Concretely, the distribution network managers will be authorized to communicate to the local authorities the consumption of certain dwellings suspected of being unoccupied, from 1 September.
On this date, a dwelling will be presumed unoccupied if it has a water or electricity consumption of less than 15 cubic meters of water per year or 100 kilowatt hours per year.
At the same time, the effectiveness of the action for cessation will be reinforced by setting the criteria for approval as well as the implementation of the approval procedure for associations defending the right to housing.
A judge of the court of first instance ruling as an interim measure may thus order any useful measure to ensure the occupation of accommodation within a reasonable time, at the request of the administrative authorities, but also of an association provided that it is approved by the government.
The latter will also set the amount of the administrative fine which will be between 500 and 12,500 euros per accommodation (depending on the length of the facade and the number of floors of the accommodation) per period of 12 months without interruption of established vacancy. at least three months.
Different school calendars
In French-language education, students no longer start the school year on September 1, but on the last Monday in August. This school year is Monday August 29th. Similarly, the school year no longer ends on June 30, but on the first Friday of July. The next summer holidays will therefore begin on July 8, 2023.
In Flanders, nothing changes for the moment. The school year begins on September 1 and ends at the end of June. The current calendar will also be maintained in the education system of the German-speaking community.
Flanders: a bonus for new teachers
Beginning teachers who do not yet have a teaching qualification will now be able to obtain a bonus from 1 September. They can get up to 3 hours off per week for their teacher training, with full pay.
They will also be able to save these hours and group them together during certain (exam) periods, when they are most needed. The school may appoint a replacement during these hours, according to the normal replacement rules.
Education in Flanders: no more minimum age for primary schools
From this school year, pupils under the age of 5 can already enter primary school if they receive a favorable opinion from the class council or the school guidance center (CLB). Until now, children had to be at least 5 years old before being allowed to attend primary education.
In addition, there is no longer a minimum age to obtain the CEB. Before, it was 9 years. The certificate can also be issued throughout the school year.
More psychologists in schools
From this school year, psychologists will be able to offer group sessions in order to prevent children and young people from developing more serious mental problems.
External psychologists – not those from school guidance centers – will come to schools to work preventively on the mental health of children and young people.
Flanders: cheap renovation loans
From September 1, a low-cost renovation loan can be requested with “Mijn VerbouwLening”. People with low and middle incomes can borrow up to 60,000 euros for renovations on favorable terms. In this way, the Flemish government wants to support the wave of renovations necessary to achieve, among other things, the climate objectives.
Applications can be submitted from September 1, but invoices dated July 1 of this year are eligible. The loan amount is to be repaid over a maximum period of 25 years. The loan is interest-free as long as the legal interest rate remains below 3%. If it exceeds it, there is a reduction of 3 percentage points. The interest rate is adjusted once a year.
The Flemish government also merges the energy and housing grants into the renovation grant. This application window opens on October 1 and should also greatly simplify applications. The “VerbouwLening” can be granted to houses or apartments located in the Flemish Region and dating back at least 15 years.
Several banks eliminate negative interest rates
From 1 September, Belfius will stop recording negative interest for its professional clients. “These negative interests did not apply to individuals. Their situation therefore does not change,” adds Belfius.
ING will also no longer charge negative interest rates for individual customers. The measure will also apply to legal persons in Belgium, with the exception of certain specific cases.
KBC and CBC also announced the end, on 1 September, of negative interest rates for legal persons and companies. However, nothing changes for private individuals because KBC and CBC have never charged negative interest on their deposits/regulated savings accounts.
Closure of the last Rabobank.be accounts
The last Rabobank.be accounts will be permanently closed on 1 September. Savings accounts had already been closed since July 1. The Dutch group Rabobank announced in June last year that it was ending its activities in Belgium – Rabobank.be – after the search for a buyer failed.
Any money still with Rabobank.be after the end of its activities will not, however, be lost. It will be transferred to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) of the FPS Finances. It can be recovered there up to 30 years after the transfer (via the e-DEPO digital application).
Cystic fibrosis drug Kaftrio will be reimbursed for those over 12
From September 1, Kaftrio, an expensive drug against cystic fibrosis, will be reimbursed in full for patients over 12 years of age, confirmed the Inami, specifying that the patient will however have to meet certain reimbursement conditions.
Several clinical studies show that the drug Kaftrio optimizes lung function, reduces the use of antibiotics and improves the quality of life of patients. However, the drug’s long-term efficacy and safety have yet to be confirmed. This is why the Inami has granted a temporary refund, scheduled until August 31, 2025, to Kaftrio. At the earliest six months before the expiration of the agreement, an assessment will be made in order to “examine the advisability of extending the agreement and therefore the reimbursement”, indicates the Institute.
Horeca: agreement between traders and operators on the consequences of covid
The Horeca sector, the Belgian Brewers and the Belgian Federation of Beverage Distributors signed, on 1 July in Brussels, a document aimed at regulating the impact of the covid-19 crisis in the event of non-compliance by operators in the hotel, café and restaurant sector, supply quotas linked to the commercial contracts they conclude with distributors. This agreement will enter into force on 1 September.
Most operators in the Horeca sector sign contracts with their beverage suppliers (distributor or brewery) which grant them discounts or other benefits, provided that they respect a certain exclusivity of supply. These contracts are generally linked to an obligation to reach a certain volume of orders for goods (hectoliters of beer, for example).
But the containment measures of the covid period, resulting in the total or partial closure of the Horeca sector, prevented most operators from reaching their supply quota. This could have led some suppliers to apply contractual clauses providing for financial penalties against operators in the event of non-compliance with these quotas.
The agreement provides that non-compliance with quotas during the covid period will never give rise to financial fines from brewers or traders, provided that the Horeca operator has complied with the exclusivity(s) of the supply contract. drinks. However, the unamortized part of the services still remains payable by the operator.
Beginning of the effective implementation of short sentences
The bill on the execution of short sentences is on track. The entry into force of the new system will take place in two stages: from September 1, all sentences of 2 to 3 years will be executed. From September 2023, it will be the turn of sentences of less than 2 years.
This measure concretizes the desire displayed by the Minister of Justice to put an end to the non-execution of short sentences. Vincent Van Quickenborne had, however, rejected the application, on several occasions, for fear of aggravating prison overcrowding.