Belgium Faces 2.5 Billion Extra EU Payment Each Year
Belgium is facing a potential increase of €2.5 billion per year in its contributions to the European Union, as the European Commission pushes for a €2 trillion seven-year budget that would raise the country’s annual payment from €4.4 billion to €6.9 billion — a 56% jump. The revelation, based on a confidential government report reviewed by Het Laatste Nieuws, comes at a time when the De Wever government is already scrambling to find €7 billion in national budget savings.
The EU’s Ambitious Budget Proposal
The European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034 with a target budget of approximately €2,000 billion — roughly €285 billion per year. This represents an increase of nearly €100 billion annually compared to the current MFF covering 2021-2027. Von der Leyen has called it the “most ambitious” budget ever, designed to equip Europe with greater policy capacity in turbulent geopolitical times while repaying loans taken during the COVID-19 recovery fund.
According to the European Commission’s official proposal, the budget would allocate €409 billion to National and Regional Partnership Plans, €409 billion to a European Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe, €200 billion to Global Europe, and €200 billion to Erasmus+ and AgoraEU. Defence funding would see a tenfold increase, rising from approximately €1.7 billion to over €17 billion.
The European Parliament has gone even further, voting 370-201 on April 28 to demand an additional €197.3 billion beyond the Commission’s proposal, seeking a budget ceiling of 1.27% of GNI with pandemic debt repayment excluded.
Crunching the Numbers for Belgium
A report from the FOD Beleid en Ondersteuning (Federal Public Service Policy and Support), which HLN was able to review, details the specific impact on Belgium. The country’s annual EU contribution would rise from an average of €4.4 billion today to €6.9 billion from 2028 — an increase of €2.5 billion per year.
A significant driver of this increase is the Commission’s plan to raise the share of customs duties that member states must forward to the EU from 75% to 90%. Belgium, home to the Port of Antwerp — one of Europe’s largest ports — currently collects approximately €4 billion per year in customs duties and forwards €2.5 billion to the EU while keeping €1 billion. Under the new proposal, Belgium would retain only €400 million, representing a loss of €600 million annually.
As VRT NWS reported last year, Belgium is the third-largest customs collector in the EU after Germany and the Netherlands. Budget Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) has been critical of the proposal, stating that “the European Commission must recognize that member states with large trade flows also bear significant customs costs to protect the internal market.”
From 2028, Belgium’s regions (deelstaten) will also be required to contribute to EU costs for the first time. Of the €2.5 billion increase, €887 million would come from the regions, with the majority from Flanders, adding further strain to regional budgets.
Belgium’s Budget Crisis Collides with EU Ambitions
The timing could hardly be worse for the De Wever government. Belgium is already searching for €7 billion in additional savings to meet fiscal targets and reduce its budget deficit to 3% of GDP. The additional €2.5 billion EU demand — equivalent to approximately €500 per Belgian taxpayer per year — adds significant pressure to an already strained fiscal picture.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) has stated in parliament that he cannot agree with the Commission’s proposal. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) has described the proposed budget increase as “buiten proportie” (out of proportion), arguing that “if we have to tighten our belts at the national level, the same must happen at the EU level.”
The Frugals Push Back
Prévot met with the so-called “frugals” — a coalition of fiscally conservative EU member states — on Tuesday morning to coordinate opposition. The group includes Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen (CDA) called the 50% increase for the Netherlands “onaanvaardbaar” (unacceptable), while Swedish EU Minister Jessica Rosencrantz described the 80% increase for Sweden as “niet realistisch” (not realistic).
As NOS reported when the proposal was first unveiled in July 2025, the budget negotiations are expected to be protracted and contentious, with member states needing to reach unanimity.
What’s Next
The Belgian core cabinet (kernkabinet) is expected to make initial working arrangements for budget discussions this coming Friday, May 29. Budget proposals from the Planning Bureau are expected on Monday, June 1. A critical EU Council summit is scheduled for June 18-19, and a final decision on the new MFF is expected by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
“The European Commission always comes with a gigantic opening bid,” a source within the Belgian government told HLN, suggesting the proposed €2,000 billion is seen as a starting negotiation position. However, with Belgium’s national budget already under severe strain and the N-VA maintaining ideological reservations about EU power, the coming months of negotiation will test both the government’s fiscal resilience and its European commitment.
The outcome will have lasting implications — not just for Belgium’s finances, but for the future shape of the European Union’s ambitions in defence, competitiveness, and geopolitical autonomy.