This morning, Georges Gilkinet, Minister of Mobility (Ecolo), was invited on the set of LN24. The Minister made a point of defending his project aimed at regularizing the situation of certain asylum seekers in order to then relieve the reception structures. A proposal that creates some friction within the federal government. “We have never created so many places in Belgium and yet we are still in a situation of failure because people who should be welcomed are not. We have to find solutions. One of the solutions would be to get people out of the centers to accommodate them in the municipalities, under certain conditions”, he explains, before continuing. “We will indicate to the municipalities the objective to be achieved with incentives and this could go as far as obligations. We can then create the necessary places. The rule of law must be respected. Obviously, there will have to be an agreement within the government. We won’t get there with just one solution”.
The right-wing parties think that this project is not a real solution since it could create a breath of fresh air and encourage more asylum seekers to arrive in Belgium. “We have been condemned at European level because our efforts in the field are still not sufficiently effective and that does not make me proud”, replies Georges Gilkinet to this argument which, according to him, is not one.
The Minister of Mobility then addressed the tax reform project of Vincent Van Peteghem, Minister of Finance, which is supposed to relieve workers. “This reform is interesting but it must be even more targeted towards young workers, who deserve to be better rewarded. We would like tax relief for low wages. What is important is to reward work and this can help increase the employment rate […] There is no point in giving a raise to Marc Coucke for example.”
Finally, Georges Gilkinet addressed the recent political scandals that are in the news, such as the affair of the parliamentary clerk or even the overpensions of certain parliamentarians. “We are here to serve and not to serve ourselves in politics. There is an accumulation of files that make me angry. Elected parliamentarians must be exemplary if they want to retain the confidence of citizens. We must always renew our democratic system to be closer to the citizens instead of serving ourselves in the chocolate pot as the people who are targeted today did. […] We, the ecologists, it has been years since we have used the extra salary granted to special functions in parliament, we are demanding a revision of the system. We are retroceding a significant part of our compensation,” said the Minister for Mobility. A salary supplement that the ecologists actually retrocede to their party.
To conclude, Georges Gilkinet wanted to send a message to people who tend to turn to the extreme right or left because of recent events. “There are still politicians who practice ethically within the system and who want to renew democracy.”