Vincent Van Peteghem, Minister of Finance was invited on the set of Sunday is not everyday. He returned to the end of the extension of the social tariff: “We have put in place support measures during the energy crisis. Today, some of these measures can be phased out.” This would concern nearly half of the current beneficiaries. It was announced from the start, this aid was temporary. Why now? The minister provides an answer: “There is a stabilization of prices which are lower and we notice that the prices of the social tariff are almost similar to the lowest prices on the market.“
Currently, the price of gas is 53 € per megawatt hour on the international markets, these are the prices before the war. As a result, the decision-makers believe that enlargement is no longer really necessary. Vincent Van Peteghem specifies all the same that this position is not irremovable, that in the event of a price increase, it might move once more.
CPAS overwhelmed
Currently, 20% of Walloon families and 21.5% of Brussels residents benefit from this famous social tariff. Sophie Querton, president of the CPAS of Schaerbeek faces the Minister of Finance. She formally opposes the end of the widening of the social tariff: “The people who will lose out are workers with low incomes. The end of this social tariff is completely asocial.”
She claims that between 2020 and 2022, the number of people who have passed through the CPAS in Schaerbeek, solely because of the energy, has doubled and she fears that she will not be able to keep up with the new arrivals linked to the end of the enlargement: “People who work but have low incomes will return to the CPAS and we will not be able to cope with this influx.“
Towards a reform?
The system as it is means that an unemployed person who earns the same as a worker is not going to be excluded. When the presenter questions the minister on this subject, the latter agrees with Sophie Querton’s opinion: “It is necessary to look at how we can reform the social service. Today, it is linked to a status and in my opinion, the system must gradually be linked to income.“
