Federal summer agreement: Good news for your daily life!

Easier to combine private and family life thanks to the annualisation of working time

In practice, rather than calculating working time week by week, the number of hours is now spread over the entire year. This is known as “accordion” scheduling: employees work more when it's busy and less when it's quieter. SMEs, in particular, see this as a real breath of fresh air to better match staffing levels to periods of high demand.

Accordion schedules

A full-time worker normally works 38 hours a week. With annualisation, they can alternate. Nothing changes fundamentally, but everything becomes more flexible.

This reform benefits both workers and employers. For workers, it allows them to adapt their work rhythm to their personal and family circumstances, whether to support a child, care for an ageing parent or another family member. For employers, it meets a real need in sectors such as tourism, leisure, horticulture, events or offshore activities, where staffing needs vary greatly by season. Annualisation allows them to adapt work organisation to these fluctuations without systematically resorting to temporary layoffs, while retaining skilled workers.

A volume spread over 12 months, with the worker's agreement and without any loss of pay

The main terms of this reform provide for:

• An annual calculation: the weekly hours volume is spread over 12 months.
• The worker's agreement: the system only applies with the explicit consent of the worker.
• A stable income every month: annualisation guarantees the same salary each month, regardless of the number of hours worked during a given period.

Good news for young parents: soon five extra days of leave

On a proposal by Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Minister of Employment David Clarinval, the government approved a preliminary draft law introducing a family credit of five days per child. This is a first step in the implementation of the family credit.

This new measure, aimed at better reconciling work and family life, will apply to employees, self-employed workers and civil servants.

The five days will be added to existing leave, in particular maternity leave and birth leave. They can be taken all at once or separately, within the year following the birth.

The family credit constitutes a single entitlement per child. Where several people are entitled, they freely decide which of them will exercise it. In the case of multiple births, five days will be granted per child.

This entitlement to family credit will apply to births from January 2026.

Strong measures to strengthen our security and increased support for the police

• • Stepped-up fight against organised crime

This battle has been fought intensely by the MR since the beginning of the legislature. New measures have been decided in this regard:

• An identity protection system (anonymous code) for magistrates, investigating judges and registrars exposed in sensitive cases (terrorism, organised crime). Unauthorised disclosure of the protected identity of magistrates becomes a specific criminal offence in itself.
• Stricter regulation of the recusal procedure to limit abusive requests that excessively lengthen trials, while maintaining the guarantees of a fair trial
• Within prisons, creation of specialised sections with a strict regime for at-risk profiles linked to organised crime + change in the identification method of prison staff (first name and number rather than full name) to protect them from threats
• New criminal offences: against “shadow fleets” (navigating in Belgian waters) and fraudulent trafficking of travel and identity documents.
• Penalties are increased when the offence is part of a criminal organisation, is habitual in nature, or is committed by a public official in the exercise of their duties.
• Financial contribution from prisoners convicted of drug trafficking towards the costs of their detention (adjustable according to their financial capacity and reintegration prospects, and due only after full compensation of victims).

• • Football law: tougher sanctions for offences in and around stadiums

We are strengthening sanctions and means of action so that every supporter and every family can enjoy matches in a positive and sporting atmosphere.

• The minimum fine amount will be doubled, from 250 to 500 euros;
• Racist and xenophobic acts will be punished more severely: the minimum fine will rise from 1,500 to 2,000 euros and the stadium ban from 30 months to 3 years;
• A judge will be able to impose an obligation to report to a police station during matches for those subject to a stadium ban;
• All stadium bans will be gathered in an official database managed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Clubs will have to consult this database before any ticket issuance. This centralisation will allow the police and public prosecutors to have all data immediately available;
• Mandatory identity checks at stadium entrances. The Pro League and its clubs are responsible for developing and rolling out these checks.
• For offences committed within the legal perimeter of stadiums (which includes public space up to 5 km depending on the stadium), a stadium ban can now be imposed immediately, pending the final administrative or judicial decision. This will allow for tougher sanctions on offences committed on the fringes of matches.

• • Ban on the activities of organisations that threaten national security

The aim is to swiftly neutralise, by banning them, radical or dangerous organisations that threaten our security.

The following can now result in an administrative ban/dissolution:

• Participation in, organisation, financing or logistical support of terrorist acts referred to in the Criminal Code, as well as the organised dissemination of content inciting such acts or presenting them as legitimate;
• Repeated threats, intimidation or harassment targeting people on the basis of criteria protected by the anti-discrimination law of 10 May 2007 (origin, religion, sexual orientation, etc.);
• The organised dissemination of extremist content.

Measures will be decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the threat and the activities in question.

• Decisions to ban activities will be taken by the Council of Ministers, based on a detailed report drawn up by the Coordination Committee for Intelligence and Security and following an opinion from the National Security Council.
• An organisation whose actual purpose is exclusively political, trade union-related, philanthropic, philosophical or religious cannot be subject to an administrative ban.

• • Pay rise for police officers

As promised by the MR, Minister Bernard Quintin announced that an envelope of 60 million will be devoted to raising police officers' pay. This will also make the profession more attractive. This is the implementation of the second phase of the sectoral agreement.

• • Minimum service in prisons

We are implementing an effective minimum service in prisons, applicable from the first day of a strike, including short strikes.

• The MR's stated aim is to reconcile the right to strike with the continuity of a sensitive public service, by guaranteeing security, the dignity of detainees and the minimum functioning of penal institutions.
• The text provides for the maintenance of essential tasks (internal security, basic care, indispensable services) from the start of any industrial action, in order to prevent prisons from finding themselves in a situation where detainees' fundamental rights, staff safety or the institution's functioning would be jeopardised.
• This reform follows a social agreement between the Minister of Justice and the trade unions, aimed at improving working conditions and the attractiveness of the profession.

A military career that remains attractive

The reform of military pensions requires that, in future, all hours worked be compensated and/or paid on an equal footing with every other worker. The social agreement reached goes in this direction. It will make it possible to preserve the real attractiveness of the military profession, which is essential given the current geopolitical and security context.

Offshore back on track

Having had the courage to halt a procedure that offered neither the necessary legal guarantees nor economic conditions, the government today adopts a new, solid framework to relaunch the deployment of wind turbines in the Princess Elisabeth zone. This responsible choice finally makes it possible to secure investments, provide visibility to industry players and put Belgium back on track for new projects in the North Sea.

Less complexity, more competition and better protection for taxpayers: the new call for tenders is simplified, unnecessary administrative constraints are removed, the market regains its full role in price-setting, and the support mechanism is clarified in order to guarantee both security for investors and cost control for consumers and public finances.

Projects will now be assessed primarily on their economic solidity and their ability to offer the best price, rather than on administrative criteria that could hinder or even block competition. By removing several barriers to entry and simplifying the rules, more companies will be able to compete, which will encourage more competitive offers for the benefit of consumers.

The agreement also strengthens our strategic autonomy. By applying new European requirements on industrial resilience, it reduces dependence on non-European suppliers for critical infrastructure, while supporting the development of a stronger and safer European industrial sector.

Finally, by setting a clear timetable for connecting the energy island and by allowing the parallel development of the grid and new wind farms, the government provides the essential visibility for investors while limiting the risk of delays and additional costs that would ultimately have been borne by consumers.

End of the sick-leave “pot” for federal civil servants

The Council of Ministers has approved, in 1st reading, the reform of the sick leave scheme for federal statutory civil servants. The reform aims to modernise an outdated system by putting an end to the accumulation of unused sick days (the so-called “pot” or sick leave capital). From now on, federal civil servants will, in terms of compensation for their sick days, fall under a system similar to that of the private sector.

Transitional measures are nevertheless provided for. Civil servants who have already accumulated a certain stock of sick days will keep those days.

Reducing the administrative burden on businesses

By transposing into Belgian law the “CSRD” component of the European “Omnibus I” directive, part of the regulatory simplification initiative launched by the European Commission in March 2025, the government is reducing the administrative burden on businesses and strengthening their competitiveness.

The text considerably narrows the scope of the obligation to publish sustainability information: this will now only apply to large Belgian companies and groups exceeding 1,000 employees and €450 million in annual turnover, as well as to third-country companies reaching this same turnover threshold and having a Belgian subsidiary or branch generating at least €200 million. At the same time, entities with fewer than 1,000 employees located in the value chain of a company subject to the obligation will be protected against excessive information requests, limited to the voluntary standards set by European delegated acts.

Finally, the draft replaces the CSRD's optional “safe harbour” clause with a harmonised regime governing the omission of certain sensitive information, and abandons the idea of a Belgian system of independent insurance providers competing with statutory auditors, the Belgian market being considered too small to justify this given the now-reduced scope of application.

The number of Belgian companies subject to these obligations falls from around 2,300 to 110, a reduction of nearly 95% of companies. This is not about abandoning transparency, but about no longer imposing on SMEs constraints designed for multinationals.

Spending reviews: a permanent tool for controlling public spending

The Government presents a progress report on the “spending reviews” policy, which has become a structural tool for evaluating public spending as provided for in the coalition agreement. The aim is to examine the efficiency of spending, identify savings and improve public policies based on objective analyses, in collaboration with the FPS BOSA, the Federal Planning Bureau, the National Bank, the Finance Inspectorate and the relevant administrations.

Three new tracks have been decided:

• NSSO: “Efficiency of the overseas social security scheme”;
• FPS Social Security (DG PH), Medex and NIHDI: “Medical assessment process for incapacity for work”;
• Mainly the ONEM, the CBSS, the NIHDI, the FPS, the FPS Social Security, the payment bodies, the National Intermutualist College and the federations of CPAS: “Issue of CPAS advances: Social Security Institutions”.

Specific regulation for goods from Israeli settlements located in the occupied Palestinian territory

The Council of Ministers implements one of the measures from the September agreement concerning Palestine by approving a draft royal decree amending the royal decree of 30 December 1993 regulating the import, export and transit of goods and related technology, as regards imports from Israeli settlements. Specifically, this decree aims to introduce specific regulation for goods from Israeli settlements located in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, namely the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The draft implements this measure within the existing prior authorisation scheme, thereby fitting into the current system of licences, control and sanctions.

Privatisation of Belfius / future of Ethias: management of public assets

The Government instructs the Minister of Finance to initiate consultations with the two other main shareholders of Ethias (the Walloon Region and the Flemish Region) on the following two aspects:

• Keyes: In accordance with the recommendations in the report, are the two Regions willing to move forward in the short term on the various strategic options for Keyes, including a sale, in order to contribute to the emergence of a Belgian IT champion while preserving Ethias's operational interests?
• Ethias strategy: Are the Regions willing to examine a strategic operation concerning Ethias, in particular the possibility of a merger between Ethias and Belfius, with the aim of increasing value creation for all shareholders?

The Minister of Finance will report to the Government by 30 September on the positions expressed by the Regions and, where appropriate, will make proposals on how to follow up on these directions.

Better-protected airports

The federal Government, in close consultation with the Walloon Government, has decided to revise the terms of the boarding tax in order to make Belgian airports less disadvantaged compared to their foreign counterparts. International flights covering a distance of between 500 and 3,500 km will now be taxed at €7 instead of €10 from 2027. In doing so, we are safeguarding jobs and activity at the country's main airports, Brussels-Zaventem and Charleroi. This is the result of long-standing work by the MR to protect our economic operators who create jobs.