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Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever will not attend two European summits in Dublin because of the budget crisis in Belgium. The European Political Community is due to meet on Thursday, followed by an informal EU leaders’ summit on Friday that is to include artificial intelligence.
11 sources
Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered the resignation of his government to King Filip after the five coalition parties failed to agree on the 2027 budget, including measures intended to close a €10 billion gap. The king initially held the resignation under consideration while consulting the coalition party leaders. King Filip later declined to accept the resignation and asked De Wever and the coalition to resume budget negotiations immediately. The coalition parties have indicated they are willing to continue seeking an agreement, and De Wever is due to report back to the king on 16 November.
2 sources
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said during parliamentary question time that the government’s need to use an emergency budget for a second consecutive year was a serious failure. Belgium is using an emergency budget.
1 source
Belgium’s coalition government was reported to be at risk of collapse. The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the party of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, wanted to meet the European Union’s budget standard, while the coalition had spent two months unsuccessfully seeking €10 billion in spending cuts.