Vooruit Targets Business Subsidies in Flemish Budget Fight

As Belgium’s regional and federal governments race to close yawning budget gaps, the Flemish socialist party Vooruit is pushing to review—and in places cut—the subsidies the state hands to companies, arguing that the money is not always well spent. “Does every euro end up in the right place? That is the question we must ask ourselves,” Flemish Vice-Minister-President Melissa Depraetere told VRT NWS on Radio 1’s De Ochtend on Thursday.

The proposal lands in the middle of two parallel budget exercises. The Flemish government is searching for 1.5 to 2 billion euros to balance its books ahead of Minister-President Matthias Diependaele’s September Declaration on 28 September, while the federal “Arizona” coalition needs roughly 10 billion euros, with a submission due to the European Commission by 15 October.

Where the Savings Could Come From

Depraetere said business subsidies have risen sharply in recent years and that “here and there there is oversubsidization or double-subsidization.” Some subsidy amounts are so small—under 100 euros—that the cost of hiring staff to administer them exceeds the subsidy itself, she argued. By Vooruit’s logic, such micro-subsidies could simply be scrapped.

The minister also wants to close loopholes in inheritance and gift tax. “It cannot be that people pay a lot of tax when they inherit something small, but that rich families who donate billions pay not one euro,” she told HLN. She singled out people who pay themselves a low wage through a management company in order to qualify for the most favourable subsidy rates.

Even the Groeipakket, the Flemish child benefit, should be examined for whether every euro reaches the right place, Depraetere said—though she stressed it remains one of the best protections against child poverty and should flow to those who truly need it. In her tourism portfolio, she also questioned the government’s ownership of castles, calling their management “not a core task” of the state. Investment in healthcare, by contrast, must continue.

A Wider Subsidy Debate

The push reflects a broader reckoning with corporate support at a time of fiscal strain. Greenpeace Belgium’s July 2026 “Shift the Money” report estimated that Belgian industry receives between 5.7 and 7.4 billion euros a year in energy- and climate-related support. Between 2021 and 2025, the report found, industry received roughly 10 billion euros in free emissions allowances, of which 7.85 billion went to just 15 companies across 33 sites.

Depraetere has a track record on this terrain. As energy minister in 2025, she moved to cut subsidies that large producers receive during periods of energy oversupply, when prices turn negative. Her party framed the measure as a cut of up to 356 million euros a year from the public’s electricity bill, shortening the qualifying window from six consecutive hours of negative prices to one—following the example of the Netherlands and Germany.

Business Pushback

Not everyone welcomes the approach. Employers’ organization Voka has warned against unilaterally rewriting green-certificate contracts. “A contract is a contract, that applies to the government too,” Voka CEO Frank Beckx said, noting the plan is not in the Flemish coalition agreement and suggesting the government instead buy up combined heat and power certificates.

The Fault Line

The proposal is as much about politics as accounting. Vooruit argues the current budget tables are “unbalanced” and wants the burden shared more broadly. Depraetere criticized N-VA for laying down “vetoes and red lines” in advance—such as refusing savings in education—while insisting the budget must be balanced. “Everyone must contribute to the pot,” she said.

The divide echoes a fault line VRT journalist Ivan De Vadder has described as running not between Dutch- and French-speakers but between left and right: whether the gap is closed through new revenue, including taxes on wealth, or through spending cuts. Vooruit and Les Engagés favour new revenue; MR and N-VA prioritize cuts and growth. Budget Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) says he wants no new taxes, preferring to close loopholes instead.

What to Watch

The immediate test is the Flemish September Declaration on 28 September, where Diependaele is expected to present a budget agreement. The first rounds of talks have already exposed dissatisfaction across the coalition, including from N-VA’s own budget minister, Ben Weyts. Whether coalition partners accept closing inheritance and gift tax loopholes—and how much the business-subsidy review actually yields—remains unresolved.

At the federal level, the 15 October deadline for submitting the budget to the European Commission looms large. The core question Depraetere has put on the table is simple, and it is likely to define the coming weeks: whether every euro the state spends on business is money well spent.