The TEC subscription at 12 euros per year for 18-24 year olds and 65+
From September 1, the TEC subscription only costs 12 euros per year for 18-24 year olds, over 65s and BIM (Beneficiary of the Increased Intervention). This subscription is valid on the entire network, including Express lines.
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.
An unemployed person will be able to keep part of his allowance if he occupies a job in 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.
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 device 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.
The eight detention houses which still have to be built, as well as the opening (planned for the autumn) of the new prisons of Haren and Dendermonde as well as the maintenance in activity longer than planned of the prisons of Saint-Gilles and Dendermonde should enable the government’s ambition to be achieved.
In the meantime, a bill of various provisions containing in particular several measures aimed at combating prison overcrowding was voted on this summer. For a period of one year, i.e. until August 2023, it will be possible to proceed with the early release of a convict six months before the end of his sentence. An identical measure had been taken during the Covid health crisis.
The text also provides for an extension of prison leave, increasing from three to four times 36 hours per quarter. This measure also aims to promote the social reintegration of the prisoner.
At the beginning of the year, Mr. Van Quickenborne had already indicated that he wanted to abolish sentences of less than six months. The abolition of these penalties should be part of the new Penal Code for which consultations are under way and which will later be submitted to Parliament.
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 – following the search for a buyer failed.
Any money still with Rabobank.be following 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 following the transfer (via the e-DEPO digital application).
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 July 1 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 might have led some suppliers to apply contractual clauses providing for financial penalties once morest 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.
Cystic fibrosis drug Kaftrio will be reimbursed for those over 12
From September 1, Kaftrio, an expensive drug once morest cystic fibrosis, will be fully reimbursed for patients over 12, the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Inami) confirmed to the Belga agency, specifying that the patient will however have to fulfill certain reimbursement conditions.
Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke announced in mid-July that he had reached an agreement on the subject with the American pharmaceutical company Vertex, following tough negotiations.
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 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.
“Today is an important day for patients with cystic fibrosis in Belgium. Thanks to this agreement, nearly 300 people will, for the first time, have access to reimbursement for a CFTR modulator treatment which treats the underlying cause of the disease. reimbursement agreement with the Belgian health authorities.
Negotiations for the reimbursement of Vertex’s 4th therapy for children aged 6 to 11 are still ongoing.
Entry into force of the Walloon plan once morest unoccupied housing
The Walloon plan once morest 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.
With this arsenal, Wallonia aims to fight once morest the many empty homes “by encouraging owners to consider any possibility allowing optimal occupation”, commented the regional Minister for Housing, Christophe Collignon, while our territory is experiencing a housing crisis.