De Wever will report back Nov. 16 as the 2027 budget deadline nears
Belgium’s King Philippe on Friday rejected Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s resignation and sent him and his five-party governing coalition back to work on the country’s long-running budget crisis, the Royal Palace said. De Wever is to report back to the king on Nov. 16.
De Wever had handed in his resignation on Monday after budget talks broke down. The king, who oversees the formation of national governments, said he was “withholding his decision” on whether to approve it.
The king consulted the leaders of the coalition parties throughout the week. “All of them reaffirmed their determination to reach an agreement on a sound budgetary path for the next three years,” the Royal Palace said in a statement. The palace added that the leaders agreed to act responsibly in a spirit of compromise.
“Based on these discussions, the King decided to reject the prime minister’s resignation and asked him to resume budget negotiations immediately,” the statement said.
De Wever, a conservative Flemish nationalist, took office in February 2025 determined to tackle heavily indebted Belgium’s budget problems. He has so far failed to win the support of the other members of his five-party government for his proposals, and he is struggling to broker an agreement on the 2027 budget before Dec. 31.
Some commentators suggested the attempt to quit was a political maneuver aimed at forcing a deal.
Belgium is one of the most heavily indebted countries in the 27-nation European Union, along with France and Italy. Its debt load had already been mounting for years, but the COVID pandemic and an energy crisis made things worse. The European Commission has forecast Belgium’s debt to rise to 110% of its gross domestic product this year.
The interest accumulating on that debt poses a major challenge at a time when the government wants to boost defense spending.
The government crisis comes against a backdrop of growing student protests in the country and frequent strikes, including several “national action days” led by unions.