François De Smet, the president of DéFI and a federal deputy, discussed various topics related to Belgian news in a recent review. Regarding the budgetary conclave, De Smet criticized the government’s priorities and suggested that they start with tax, pension, and labor market reforms instead of budgetary adjustments. He compared this approach to the “Alexander De Croo method,” hoping for a fortunate outcome. Georges-Louis Bouchez also questioned De Croo’s budget plans, stating that it is not appropriate to call the situation “dramatic” and not change direction.
De Smet also expressed concern over the rising debt, stating that we need to reduce debt expenditure and increase revenues to combat the issue effectively. Additionally, he criticized the current pension reform and believed that it needs to be more efficient to encourage older people to work for the system to be sustainable.
The topic of the much lower employment rate in Wallonia and Brussels than in Flanders prompted De Smet to identify a cultural issue, arguing that the entrepreneurial spirit is absent from the south of the country. He believes that young people are not encouraged to pursue private employment and create their businesses. Lastly, De Smet highlighted an injustice in tax reform, mainly tax loopholes such as advantages that company cars generate.
François De Smet, president of DéFI and federal deputy, reviewed this morning various subjects that make the Belgian news.
Regarding the budgetary conclave, François De Smet believes that the government’s priorities are not in the right place: “We need tax reform, pension reform and real labor market reform, but we are not doing it: we start with a budgetary adjustment“, begins the deputy. “It’s the Alexander De Croo method: we throw everything up in the air and hope that on a misunderstanding it will fall down as it should.“
Georges-Louis Bouchez tackles De Croo on the budget: “You cannot say that the situation is dramatic and not change direction”
Faced with a debt that will be “10 billion euros” in 2025, François De Smet declares that we must “reduce debt expenditure and increase our revenues”.
Addressing the subject of pension reform, the president of DéFI has a taste for too little: “It does not yet produce enough of an effect for older people to be encouraged to work a little longer for the system to be sustainable.“
Faced with the much lower employment rate in Wallonia and Brussels than in Flanders, François De Smet sees a cultural problem: the entrepreneurial spirit is too little present in the south of the country, according to him. “Young people who leave with or without a diploma are not spontaneously inclined towards private employment and the creation of their own job (…) I have colleagues at the Wallonia-Brussels Federation who work on the spirit of start at school. Even with us at school, the young people of Brussels do not imagine themselves undertaking.“
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Then, returning to the state of Belgian finances, the federal deputy recommends an effort at the risk of depending on the Dutch-speaking parties: “If the French speakers, because they manage less well or differently, find themselves at the table with Dutch-speaking parties who will have the purse strings, there is also a community concern. We arrive stupidly in a state of requesting.“
Finally, François De Smet denounces an injustice in tax reform: tax loopholes. “Company cars, for example, represent a tax advantage that generates an unfair system.“
Relive the entire show above the article.
In conclusion, François De Smet, president of DéFI and federal deputy, expresses his concerns about the current state of Belgian finances and the need for essential reforms. He believes that tax reform, pension reform, and labor market reform should be the government’s top priorities, but unfortunately, this is not the case. He also highlights the cultural problem in Wallonia and Brussels, where the entrepreneurial spirit is less present than in Flanders. The injustice of tax loopholes is also a significant concern for him. Overall, François De Smet’s statements emphasize the urgency for change in various aspects of Belgian society for a more sustainable future.