New measures for the third part of the Federal Plan for Social and Economic Protection

The Inner Cabinet extended with the parties that support the Federal Government reached an agreement on Friday about a series of additional support measures related to the third part of the Federal Plan for Social and Economic Protection. As a reminder, a first set of measures was adopted on 6 June[1]. It was agreed at the time that an extension of this series of measures would be considered in a…

Response to parliamentary questions

Check against delivery   Meeting of the National Security Council on 3 June 2020 – support measures for the hospitality industry   Thank you, Mr Speaker.   Various sectors and industries are affected by the resumption in activity envisaged in phase 3 of the lockdown exit plan, chief among them the hospitality industry and the cultural and sports sectors. I’m not going to…

Start of Phase 3 of the phase-out plan starting on 8 June

Today, Wednesday, June 3, the National Security Council, extended to include the Ministers-President, approved the transition to Phase 3 of the phase-out plan starting on 8 June. As the daily reporting from the health authorities shows, the health indicators are encouraging. The experts have therefore given the green light to start this new phase. This implies a radical change in approach…

Response to parliamentary questions on the decisions of the National Security Council of 24 June

Check against delivery.   Thank you, Mr. President,   The positive trends in healthcare data do indeed allow us to move to phase 4 on 1 July, with the prospect of further easing. But it is always still possible that we will have to dial back measures. We must never forget this.   Regarding the gatherings of large groups, because there were some questions about this. The gatherings…

The third part of the Federal Plan for Social and Economic Protection is being prepared

The Inner Cabinet met this morning, Friday 29 May, to define the contours of the third part of the Federal Plan for Social and Economic Protection. As a reminder, the first two parts of this Plan were activated on 6 and 20 March and involved a series of measures to support employees, the self-employed and companies in difficulties. The aim of this third part is to continue and strengthen measures…

Answers to parliamentary questions

Check against delivery. Economic recovery plan – Proposals from employers’ organisations Thank you, Mr. President, The economic impact of the crisis is considerable. As I said last week, at the beginning of April, the Planning Bureau and the National Bank of Belgium predicted a possible recession of -8% this year. It is likely that the actual recession in 2020 will be even…

Gradual return to school to continue in Belgium

At its meeting on Wednesday, 27 May, the Consultation Committee agreed – based on a proposal by the education ministers and a recommendation by the Exit Strategy Expert Group (GEES) – on the next steps in ensuring that Belgian schoolchildren can return to school. It will be recalled that during the second phase of the easing of the lockdown, the decision was taken to gradually resume lessons for…

Response to questions in plenary

Check against delivery Coronavirus crisis – recovery plan Thank you, Mr Speaker. First of all, I would like to answer the specific questions regarding second homes and the third phase. After that, I will talk about the macroeconomic aspect of the recovery. This week, virologists have once more confirmed that allowing members of the public to visit their second homes again would have no…

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers has a maximum of 15 members. With the possible exception of the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers has equal numbers of French- and Dutch-speaking ministers. The state secretaries do not form part of the Council of Ministers. Formally speaking, state secretaries only attend Council of Ministers meetings to discuss issues for which they are responsible or which are…