POST RS: Following the budget conclave, our Minister-President confirms an ambitious course for Wallonia. First, we confirm the return to budgetary balance by 2029, after inheriting a worrying situation left behind by past left-wing policies. Next, we significantly boost purchasing power thanks to the job bonus and the reduction of the vehicle tax and inheritance tax. We are also actively investing to make our businesses more competitive while launching a strong Infrastructure Plan worth €3.5 billion. Finally, we are streamlining the public administration. In short, we show that an ambitious policy can be pursued while increasing purchasing power and accelerating economic growth!
An ambitious budgetary path back to balance confirmed!
- The Walloon Government, formed in July 2024, inherited a particularly worrying budgetary situation, the result of years of mismanagement by the left: in 2022, Wallonia's deficit stood at €3 billion.
- Thanks to the Mouvement Réformateur, the Government's stated goal was to bring the Walloon Region's budget back into balance by the end of the term. This goal is confirmed! Furthermore, for the very first time, the Government is presenting a multi-year trajectory that is structured and clear through to the end of the term.
The Government strengthens purchasing power and rewards effort!
- For the Mouvement Réformateur, supporting purchasing power and rewarding those who work are priorities at every level of government. That is why, from 2028, the Government will allocate no less than €205 million annually to a job bonus. This will apply to employees earning up to €5,000 gross per month. The bonus will reach €500 a year for the lowest incomes; this amount will gradually decrease to €50 for employees earning €5,000 gross monthly. The goal is clear: reward work and increase the gap between workers and benefit recipients!
- The vehicle tax will decrease for everyone by up to €75 – especially for electric vehicles and small-engine cars. In addition:
- The tax on classic cars will be abolished from 1 April 2027,
- The tax on light trailers will be abolished from 1 January 2028,
- The tax will be further reduced by an additional €30 for single-parent families.
- The Walloon Government will not touch family allowances, birth and adoption bonuses, or back-to-school bonuses! Thanks to the Mouvement Réformateur, the implementation of any decision to suspend or withdraw family allowances from parents of a young person who has committed an offence will be accelerated. It is time to hold parents accountable for their children's actions!
- Cutting inheritance tax was a priority for the Mouvement Réformateur: we confirm it! From 1 January 2028:
- For direct line inheritances, the exemption will rise to €75,000 per beneficiary: 62% of direct line inheritances will thus be exempt, compared with less than 25% today!
- For indirect line inheritances, the maximum rate will drop significantly from 80% to 50%!
In addition, we confirm the maintenance of the reduction in property donation duties as voted in December 2024!
The Government actively supports investment, employment and growth!
- The Government inherited ageing public infrastructure that previous coalitions had completely neglected. That is why the Government is implementing an ambitious €3.5 billion Infrastructure Plan over 7 years:
- More than €1 billion for road renovation, the construction of new roads and major regional projects,
- More than €1 billion for non-geolocated projects, such as resurfacing, paving, motorway service areas or electrical substations,
- More than €500 million for the renovation of regional bridges,
- Nearly €450 million for waterways,
- More than €100 million for the development of active mobility such as cycle paths,
- More than €200 million for municipalities for the renovation and development of their infrastructure.
This plan will not only significantly improve infrastructure for Walloons and economic actors, it will above all mobilise local businesses to carry it through!
- For the Mouvement Réformateur, the economic vitality of our businesses is crucial. That is why the Walloon Government will work to facilitate access for Walloon companies to public procurement: it is essential that public investment benefits above all the Walloon economic fabric. It has thus been decided to:
- Adapt tender specifications to on-the-ground realities,
- Set up support units to help businesses better understand the procedures,
- Improve the readability of the planning of regional public contracts to give businesses better visibility on upcoming projects.
- Following the example of the Flemish and Brussels Regions, the Government will implement the motorway vignette from 1 May 2027. This vignette is specifically designed to fund Wallonia's ambitious Infrastructure Plan and to have foreign drivers contribute significantly. For Walloons, the cost will be offset by the reduction in vehicle tax and the job bonus!
- The Government is taking responsibility for the Boucle du Hainaut! The boundaries of the reservation zone have been decided; it favours proximity to existing major infrastructure and business parks. The aim is to achieve at least 8 kilometres underground, with the intention of going further where technical and environmental conditions allow. The public inquiry will take place in early 2027, with final adoption by the end of 2027. Thanks to the Mouvement Réformateur, we are securing economic growth through access to energy!
- That is why the Government will deploy €270 million over 3 years to support our businesses through the following mechanisms:
- €180 million to compensate for indirect carbon costs (CLI),
- €90 million for a new mechanism under the European CISAF framework.
- Driven by the MR, substantial resources have been allocated to a new Growth Pact – no less than €100 million will be invested over the 2027-2030 period:
- €20 million to accelerate the adoption of AI and digital tools in Walloon businesses,
- An additional €25 million to strengthen applied research and improve the link between innovation and the economy,
- €10 million for research, innovation and exploration relating to white hydrogen,
- €25 million to strengthen the circular economy, notably by extending the Remind and Reserve Metallurgy programmes, two initiatives bringing together companies, research centres and universities around concrete projects for material reuse and raw material security.
- An additional €20 million to support businesses on the energy front,
- In addition, the Government intends to accelerate large-scale photovoltaics, prioritising already developed land.
- As part of the interfederal energy pact and its energy strategy through to 2050, the Walloon Government retains 2 scenarios concerning nuclear power: one with a capacity of 3GW, the other with 4GW.
- For the sake of public policy efficiency, the Walloon Government has decided to entrust the management of the entire regional road network to SOFICO. The stated aim of this reform is to coordinate investments and speed up the restoration of our roads!
- Thanks to the Walloon Government, businesses will no longer pay certain taxes that weighed on their competitiveness! Indeed, the Walloon Government is making permanent the historic exemptions on equipment and tooling for installations after 2006, while the compensatory industrial tax is being abolished. To this end, a structural grant of €108 million will be paid to the Municipalities' Fund. Implementation will be gradual, over 3 years. For the Government, it is essential to provide a stable outlook for both municipalities and economic actors!
In the face of climate change, the Government chooses resilience!
- Following the tragedy that struck the Hautes Fagnes last summer, the Government is not standing idle – €20 million will be invested over 4 years to restore the 3,400 hectares affected by the fires:
- €18 million to strengthen forest fire prevention,
- €2 million to support the local tourism sector.
- This is not only about the resilience of Wallonia's rich natural heritage but also that of its population: €750 million will be invested over 3 years to support the energy renovation of homes, improve household comfort and sustainably reduce bills for Walloons.
- In addition to the amounts mentioned above, the Government is releasing an extra envelope of €275 million to address climate risks:
- €100 million to fund the first measures of Wallonia's climate adaptation strategy and a reinsurance mechanism,
- €175 million for municipal adaptation plans: greening, renaturation, flood control, municipal cycling plans.
We are continuing to modernise and improve public structures!
- Thanks to the Mouvement Réformateur at every level of government, the Walloon Government is actively continuing to simplify and speed up permits. This is an essential condition for economic growth and service to citizens:
- Planning permits: easier authorisation for external insulation, photovoltaics and energy infrastructure; exemption from permits for certain works to prevent building overheating,
- Administrative procedures: strengthening of digital tools,
- Environmental permits: reduced administrative burden without lowering environmental protection standards,
- Heritage: the use of simplified procedures will be extended to facilitate the granting of authorisations.
- This is once again one of the MR's key battles: simplifying structures and reducing the number of elected officeholders. With this in mind, the Government is committed to bringing the municipal administration closer to the CPAS. The reform will take place in two stages:
- For municipalities with fewer than 25,000 inhabitants, the integration must take place by 2031,
- For the others, this must take place by 2034.
- In the same vein, the number of local elected officeholders will decrease from the next municipal elections:
- A reduction of 2 municipal councillors in every municipality and a cap of 45 councillors per municipality,
- A reduction of 1 alderman/alderwoman for municipalities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants and a cap of 6 for municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.
This reform will reduce the total number of municipal councillors by 510 and the number of aldermen/alderwomen by 256. The political world too must set an example!
The Government supports and holds local authorities accountable!
- To involve municipalities and provinces in Wallonia's collective effort, it has been decided not to index the first 2% of several grants in 2027, 2028 and 2029:
- Municipalities' Fund,
- Provinces' Fund,
- Supplementary budgets,
- Namur Capital grant.
From 2030, normal indexation will resume.
- The Walloon Government has also decided to reform the pension responsibility contribution mechanism to support the sustainability of municipal spending: from 2027, a system of repayable cash advances will be introduced. In practice, municipalities will continue to pay the 2025 amount indexed each year for inflation; anything above that can be offset through the mechanism described above. The purpose of this mechanism is that the cost to municipalities risks rising very sharply in the coming years before falling again. The aim is to smooth this out to ensure the financial health of municipalities.
The Walloon Government intends to build bridges between generations!
- As the Government had promised in its Regional Policy Statement, a new pillar of social protection will be set up: the Autonomy Guarantee. This scheme will be operational from 2030. In the meantime, a total envelope of €60 million will strengthen Family and Elderly Support Services until then.
- Mental health has become a major concern in Belgium, and in Wallonia in particular. That is why an envelope of €2 million will be released in 2027 to strengthen support and front-line care.
- €2.7 million will be released for better autism diagnosis and strengthened support for families. In addition, an Autism Plan will be rolled out.
- From 2027, €5.9 million will be allocated to support people with disabilities. In addition, the budget allocated to the disability sector is 100% protected.
- An Infra Crèches plan will be set up with the aim of creating 000 new places by the end of 2028. At the same time, the funds earmarked for renovating 4,500 existing places have been confirmed!