Plan Oxygène: 100M Euros Spent on Struggling Walloon Towns
Wallonia’s Plan Oxygène, a financial rescue program designed to help financially struggling municipalities, has already cost the region 100 million euros in interest payments since its launch in 2022, according to figures released by the office of François Desquesnes, Wallonia’s Minister of Local Authorities. The revelation came in response to a parliamentary question from MR deputy Charles Gardier, as reported by La Libre Belgique.
What Is Plan Oxygène?
Launched in November 2021 by then-Minister of Local Authorities Christophe Collignon (PS), Plan Oxygène was conceived as a “1 billion euro” support mechanism over 20 to 30 years. The program allows eligible municipalities to take out loans from banks to balance their annual operating budgets, with the Walloon Region covering approximately 15% of the interest payments. As L’Avenir reported at the time, the government identified federal-level mandates — including pension costs, police zones, emergency services, and CPAS (Public Social Welfare Centres) contributions — as the primary drivers of municipal budget imbalances.
Who Benefits?
Currently, 27 Walloon municipalities participate in the program: 10 in Hainaut, 8 in Liège province, 6 in Namur province, and 3 in Luxembourg province. No municipalities in Walloon Brabant have taken part. Major cities including Charleroi (26 million euros), Liège (27 million euros), Namur (10 million euros), Mons (7 million euros), La Louvière (6.5 million euros), Seraing (6 million euros), Verviers (4 million euros), and Tournai (6 million euros) are among the beneficiaries. The loans are repayable over 30 years and designed to relieve municipal finances for a five-year period from 2022 to 2026.
A Banking Crisis Unfolds
A critical dimension of the story has been the progressive withdrawal of private banks from the program. Initially, only ING Bank responded to the call for lenders. In 2022, ING granted 302 million euros in loans to 34 municipalities over 30-year terms. By 2023, the bank reduced terms to 20 years and excluded Liège and Charleroi — the first sign of bank distrust toward the two cities that together represent 60% of Wallonia’s municipal debt.
In 2024, the situation worsened dramatically. ING refused loans to all seven major Walloon cities, offering only 82 million euros of the 350 million requested. As Mammouth Media reported, Sylvain Jonckheere, spokesperson for ING, explained the reduction was decided “taking into account the financial elements specific to each city and municipality but also our existing exposure to them.” Belfius Bank stepped in to help four cities — Verviers, Ath, La Louvière, and Namur — with 26.8 million euros total.
Alexandre Loffet, Finance Alderman of Verviers (PS), expressed deep uncertainty about the program’s reliability. “Today, we find ourselves in a situation of total uncertainty, particularly regarding the Walloon Region’s ability to finance this loan on its own,” he told Mammouth Media. In a separate interview with Vedia, Loffet warned that if the Walloon government reduces funding at the last minute, “it puts the city in great difficulty for the next year.”
By December 2025, a solution was finally found for the six remaining cities — Mons, Charleroi, Liège, Seraing, Namur, and La Louvière — when ING and Belfius each agreed to lend 105 million euros to the CRAC (Regional Centre for Municipal Aid), which then re-lent to the municipalities, as TéléSambre confirmed.
The Core Tension: Short-Term Relief vs. Long-Term Sustainability
The central conflict in this story is between immediate relief and structural reform. Minister Desquesnes has been candid about the region’s limitations. “The Walloon Region is not an ATM,” he told Mammouth Media. “The situation is difficult for everyone, with the Region itself being in deficit.” His comment underscores a fundamental challenge: the program merely converts operating deficits into long-term debt without addressing the underlying structural imbalances.
Minister-President Adrien Dolimont (MR) has advocated for municipal mergers as a long-term solution, while the broader political context includes the Arizona coalition’s proposals at the federal level to limit unemployment benefits — a measure that could increase CPAS caseloads and further strain municipal budgets.
What’s Next?
With the program set to run until 2026, the 27 beneficiary municipalities face an uncertain future. Key questions remain: Will the Walloon Region extend or renew the program? Can municipalities achieve structural budget balance without this support? And what alternative financing mechanisms exist if banks continue to withdraw?
For citizens, the consequences could include higher local taxes, reduced services, or both, as municipalities seek to balance budgets without the program’s safety net. The coming months will reveal whether Plan Oxygène was a lifeline that bought time for genuine reform — or simply postponed an inevitable fiscal reckoning.
Sources: La Libre Belgique, Mammouth Media, Vedia, L’Avenir, TéléSambre, DH Les Sports+