At the start of the legislature, Jean-Luc Crucke was Walloon Minister in charge of the Budget under the banner of the MR. From now on, he is an opposition deputy under the colors of the Committed (Ex-CDH). It is therefore alongside his group leader, François Desquesnes, that he makes his first political outing. The two men sound the alarm. The Walloon government has too many “files and advice”, explains François Desquesnes. “We know that decrees that come too late, at the end of the legislature, often have to be reviewed during the next legislature”, insists Jean-Luc Crucke. The latter also knows that each criticism he makes once morest the majority to which he still belonged not so long ago can be sent back to him in the teeth. “I refused to continue to support a climate-skeptical party president (Editor’s note, Georges-Louis Bouchez) and a walloon majority who do not take their responsibilities in the face of the climate emergency. There is more than that that interests him, he insists. “We can no longer make even slightly promising political choices if we do not integrate the dimension of the fight once morest global warming”. adds François Desquesnes.
No evaluation mechanism
After this postulate, the two men decline the files “who get bogged down”. First of all, Desquesnes mentions the air climate energy plan – the PACE, which should provide the tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – on which the majority agreed at first reading. “Yes, there is a text but without an additional budget and without a timetable. Budgetary decisions have already been taken via the recovery plan. So there is no more money for PACE.” And above all, no mechanism “evaluation of measures has been put in place”. “How do we know that the measures that will be taken will be efficient?”adds Desquesnes.
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Jean-Luc Crucke evokes the “Stop concrete” et “stopping the artificialization of soils”. “The government agreed on a text in first reading in October (Editor’s note, three readings are necessary before sending the text to Parliament). We are in March, nothing has happened since october”, he explains. The Walloon MP gives an example: “In Aubechies, in Hainaut, people are very upset. A developer has bought land and announces that he is going to build a real estate project there and that if we try to prevent him from doing so, he will appeal to the minister. The mayors no longer know what to do with this kind of thing, without a legal framework. We are in a hurry”.
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The firm is not working
The energy committees (collective energy production) then come to the table. “A text has existed since 2018. But the application decrees (Editor’s note: texts which specify the terms of application of a legislative text) were validated at first reading on June 23, 2022. The second reading was on December 1 2022. It took them six months…and counting. What does it mean ? It either means that within the government, there are different perceptions and that we cannot agree, or that the cabinet is not working. Or both”, explains Crucke. The deputy also wonders where is the adaptation of the electricity network (managed by Ores and Resa) to take into account these new ways of producing energy. “We do not know the true cost of these adaptations and the government does not impose anything on network managers.
François Desquesnes then talks regarding automobile taxation. “The text must still be validated twice, and then software will have to be put in place to make this feature work, the deadline is too shortregrets the group leader Les Engagés. Today, people who want to buy a hybrid car – these types of vehicles are still payable, unlike electric vehicles – are taxed more than those who buy vehicles with a 100% internal combustion engine, this is abnormal. To help people buy electricity, Jean-Luc Crucke considers that the government has the means to act: “With the 267 million from the Kyoto fund, we might consider granting aid for the purchase of an electric vehicle. Aid that might be partially recovered by the region when the vehicle is resold. A measure of this type might be authorized by Europe”.
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The two deputies then quote the draft deposit on cans and small plastic bottles “There is a consensus to move forward politically, but the minister (Tellier, Editor’s note) is holding back with four irons. We might have been the leader on this file and now we are lagging behind, where Flandre is ahead”, explains François Desquesnes. But also, the deployment of smart meters, “In Flanders, they have already installed 2 million. With us, it’s 140,000, we’re nowhere. I know it is not mandatory, but it might be good to communicate with the population to say that it exists and that there is an interest in doing it. Crucke insists. The insulation of the dwellings then. “On social housing alone, a budget of 875 million was decided in 2020. Three years later, only 10 million has been paid. As for individuals, the bonuses for the works arrive following 9 months of waiting”, specifies François Desquesnes.
Abandoned files
The two men then talk regarding the files “abandoned”. They quote “the absence of a legal framework for the deployment of the two national parks, the 360° Biodiversity strategy; the decree on indoor air quality, the updating of the law on nature conservation, etc.”.
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Finally, the two Committed also have proposals. To quote one: “It would be interesting to generalize local energy renovation platforms to facilitate the renovation of buildings by boosting the regional economy. These platforms work on a given territory and help citizens to organize their work. Minister Henry has released 2 million euros to deploy this system. But it is limited to a quarter of the Walloon population. Yet here is a concrete lever that might be amplified without it being very expensive”, concludes François Desquesnes.