Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

 Question : How would you characterise the budget adopted by the Belgian government at the end of November 2025?

Reducing public spending is not the way to revive a country’s economy

Éric Toussaint : The budget adopted by the government on 24 November 2025 is essentially an austerity budget aimed at reducing spending. This is where we must ask ourselves the question: in the current context, if we want to revive the economy and boost revenues, is reducing public spending the right way to go? Economists who thoroughly examine the situation in European countries and beyond understand that the assertion of reducing public spending is unfounded. Reducing public spending is not the way to revive a country’s economy.

 Question : For an economist, does reducing investment in public services, austerity in general, not automatically lead to economic recovery?

The answer is simple and clear: reducing public spending on investment, public services, social benefits and income distribution cannot lead to an improvement in the economic situation.

 Question : What factors should we take into account when evaluating the rise in military spending?

As an economist and citizen who thinks about what society needs and what will enable a healthy economic recovery, I have to say that the sharp increase in military spending is not justified.

 Question : Even from the perspective of adhering to the boundaries established by NATO NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO ensures US military protection for the Europeans in case of aggression, but above all it gives the USA supremacy over the Western Bloc. Western European countries agreed to place their armed forces within a defence system under US command, and thus recognize the preponderance of the USA. NATO was founded in 1949 in Washington, but became less prominent after the end of the Cold War. In 2002, it had 19 members: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK, the USA, to which were added Greece and Turkey in 1952, the Federal Republic of Germany in 1955 (replaced by Unified Germany in 1990), Spain in 1982, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic in 1999. ?

The guidelines set by NATO are a requirement imposed by Trump on his European allies, who submit to his demands. That is obvious. The public saw the irony when they heard NATO Secretary General and former Dutch Prime Minister Rutte say, in essence, to Trump at a NATO summit in June 2025: “Grandpa is right to get angry with his family members when they misbehave.” This incident was a prime example of European vassal behaviour towards the President of the United States.

The Spanish government, for its part, says it will not commit to the 5% demanded by Trump. In June 2025, Spain, the only European NATO member not to commit to this figure, indicated that it would be content to maintain and gradually increase its spending to around 2% of GDP, a threshold it considers “sufficient and realistic.”. Trump has condemned Spain and threatened sanctions, but no European nation has condemned Spain’s government. In October 2025, the European Commission announced that it would protect Spain from any decision by the United States to impose tariffs or trade sanctions in retaliation for the Spanish government’s refusal to commit to reaching 5% of GDP GDP
Gross Domestic Product Gross Domestic Product is an aggregate measure of total production within a given territory equal to the sum of the gross values added. The measure is notoriously incomplete; for example it does not take into account any activity that does not enter into a commercial exchange. The GDP takes into account both the production of goods and the production of services. Economic growth is defined as the variation of the GDP from one period to another. for military spending. Belgium, with its government led by Bart De Wever and strongly supported by Georges-Louis Bouchez, is one of the European countries that are fully complying with Donald Trump’s demands. Such conduct is unacceptable.

The best thing for Belgium is to prepare to leave NATO and declare itself neutral, like Ireland, which is part of the EU and has just elected a progressive president, Catherine Connolly.

 Question : In your opinion, was it entirely possible not to do this, to maintain the same overall level of spending on NATO as before?

The reduction will affect current expenditures that directly benefit people’s lives, i.e., health, public services, education, culture and investments in health, education, and communication infrastructure

In any case, I am certain that the rise in military spending and its effect on the budget are intolerable. Given that this budget aims to decrease overall spending while concurrently augmenting military expenditures, it’s crucial to contemplate the areas where this reduction will impact. The answer is: the reduction will affect current expenditures that directly benefit people’s lives, i.e., health, public services, education, culture and investments in health, education, and communication infrastructure. Alternatively, the reduction will impact infrastructure that supports research and development, which is essential for creating quality jobs. It is therefore these areas that will be directly hit and reduced, even though they are precisely what is fundamental to reviving the country’s economy and putting it on a sound path.

 Question : In terms of the budget, was there any other way forward? What alternative solution would you have found more appealing than what has been decided?

It is clear that decisions had to be made regarding taxes on large corporations, their super profits, large fortunes, and very high incomes. We can target the richest 1% of society in terms of wealth, we can target very high incomes in terms of revenue, and we can target the profits of huge corporations. In this sector, we can audit sectors or large corporations that are making disproportionate profits. I am thinking of the disproportionate profits made during the energy crisis.

I heard Georges-Louis Bouchez say on RTL television on 3 December 2025 that the price of gas is ten times lower than it used to be. You only have to look at the gas or electricity bill of a normal household. If Georges-Louis Bouchez claims a tenfold reduction in the price of gas, I highly doubt it. Contrary to popular belief, households’ bills have not decreased in recent years. In 2025, energy bills (gas and electricity) are significantly higher than in 2021.

It should be noted that in 2022, gas and electricity bills rose by an average of more than 90% (for details of the increase in energy prices in Belgium, see “The Landscape of Carbon and Energy Pricing and Taxation in Belgium,” December 2025 FPS, https://klimaat.be/doc/2025-landscape-of-carbon-and-energy-taxation.pdf, p. 28 [1]). This means that electricity and gas distributors, among others, deserve a grave audit of their revenues and how they accumulate them. In 2022, they lined their pockets, and since then, prices have not returned to pre-crisis levels. In my opinion, and in the opinion of any serious economist, energy prices have been increased and have had a terrible impact on the incomes of the 50% of the population with the lowest incomes. The Belgian population has seen its energy bills skyrocket. There has been a substantial increase in the revenues of private companies in the energy sector, which obviously warrants taxation and a prolonged increase in revenues on that side. Between August 2022 and June 2023, the government levied a tax on the extraordinary profits of electricity companies, which brought in between €750 million and €920 million, depending on the source. At that time, almost all EU governments did the same (see https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/windfall-tax-europe-2023/). However, Belgium subsequently abandoned this policy, while Spain and other European countries continued to apply various exceptional taxes on excess profits in the energy sector and/or banking sector in 2024 and 2025. In addition to Spain, this was also true in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary and the United Kingdom. (Source: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/windfall-tax-europe-2024/ and https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/windfall-profits-taxes-europe/).

There has been a substantial increase in the revenues of private companies in the energy sector, which obviously warrants taxation and a prolonged increase in revenues on that side

We can also mention the large distribution companies that took advantage of the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to significantly increase the price of a range of food products and boost their revenues. We could mention the GAFAM sector, i.e., Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and others, which are also making enormous profits. We must also analyse the profits of the pharmaceutical sector, which has benefited from the coronavirus pandemic, and here the idea is not to shut down activities.

The idea is to ensure that companies that have profited from certain situations we have experienced, whether it be the shock of the coronavirus pandemic from 2020 onwards or the shock of energy and food prices from 2022 onwards, contribute to the budget and revenues that serve the community in a fair manner. All of this has generated opportunities for super profits for a number of large companies.

If we compare the situation of the population, which has been very severely affected by these shocks, with that of large corporations, which have benefited from these shocks, an appropriate government response was required in terms of extracting revenue from companies that profited from the shocks and the crises. Nonetheless, when one analyses the budget adopted by the government of Bart De Wever at the end of November 2025, one must conclude that the criterion of fiscal and social justice has not been respected. Quite the opposite.

The right-wing government does not see why the rich and large companies, large fortunes, etc., should be made to pay. What this right-wing government is actually doing is imposing additional revenue by increasing state income through a series of taxes and excise duties, to the detriment of the majority of the population, who will feel the effects most because their incomes are low or modest. It is clear that the government’s decisions and the approved budget will result in tax increases that will affect the majority of the population, who have relatively low incomes, because these taxes are applied to expenses that they are required to incur regularly.

In short, the budget of the De Wever government is one of social and fiscal injustice. Paul Magnette, the president of the PS, made this clear during the debate with Georges-Louis Bouchez on 3 December 2025. I say this as an economist: I do not entirely agree with everything Paul Magnette says, but when someone says things that correspond to reality, I can consider that what they are saying is justified.

The idea is to ensure that companies that have profited from certain situations we have experienced, whether it be the shock of the coronavirus pandemic from 2020 onwards or the shock of energy and food prices from 2022 onwards
In Belgium, employees, pensioners, and social security recipients will see their incomes decrease in line with the increase in the cost of living due to the index jumps decided by the government at the end of November 2025. And this will have an effect on the entire careers of active employees and on their future pensions.

In an interview with RTL published on 4 December 2025, I stated, “The calculation of the loss of earnings over the course of a career for teachers, police officers, and healthcare workers will result in a loss of at least €10,000 by the end of their careers.” Other calculations that I learnt about after the interview indicate that the loss could exceed €20,000. The CSC (Belgian Christian trade union) has published an estimate that a 30-year-old worker with a median gross income ( €3,500 per month) would suffer a cumulative loss of approximately €20,458 net over their entire career if an index jump were applied, assuming an average annual inflation Inflation The cumulated rise of prices as a whole (e.g. a rise in the price of petroleum, eventually leading to a rise in salaries, then to the rise of other prices, etc.). Inflation implies a fall in the value of money since, as time goes by, larger sums are required to purchase particular items. This is the reason why corporate-driven policies seek to keep inflation down. rate of 2% [2] . This deduction also includes a reduction in the amount of future pension.

For pensioners and social security recipients, there will also be a significant loss of income. To this must, of course, be added the effects of the massive exclusions from unemployment benefit entitlements that will take place at the beginning of 2026 (in addition to previous waves of exclusion) and the measures that will be taken against the long-term sick.

In the budget proposal adopted by the far-right majority government, there is no tax on the excess profits of large companies, no additional tax or levy on the wealth of the richest... No Zucman tax on large fortunes [3].

There are no serious measures against large-scale tax fraud apart from announcements that have no serious basis. The small announcements concerning the fight against large-scale tax fraud are only intended to justify the good conscience of the Flemish socialists of Voruit who remain in this government dominated by the extreme right.

 Question : Does this government policy explain the success of strikes and social mobilisations?

Yes, of course. Throughout the year, and particularly in October and November 2025, there was a series of very significant inter-professional and sectoral strikes, which were largely interconnected and took place within the framework of broad trade union unity. In addition, other sectors with weak or no trade union organisation also mobilised against the government’s policy. These sectors included the cultural sector, the North/South solidarity sector, undocumented migrants, and anti-poverty movements.

The scale of the mobilisations and the depth of discontent have been noted by the international press and many social and political organisations in Europe and other continents.

It should also be noted that there have been huge demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinian people; for example, more than 120,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Brussels in September 2025. On this occasion, protesters denounced the Belgian government’s complicity in the ongoing genocide. Moreover, trade union demonstrations featured numerous Palestinian flags. There is no Great Wall of China between trade union mobilisations and those focussing on issues of international solidarity, such as solidarity with the Palestinian resistance.