Budget Talks Fail Over the Weekend; State of the Union Address Cancelled
Over the weekend of 10-11 October 2026, Belgium's federal coalition partners failed to reach agreement on a new federal budget. The prime minister's office said over the weekend that the failure forced Prime Minister Bart De Wever to cancel his planned State of the Union address to parliament on Tuesday, 13 October, while talks continue.
The State of the Union address is a fixed point in Belgium's political calendar, at which the prime minister presents the government's programme for the year ahead. Cancelling it for lack of a budget deal shows the depth of division inside the five-party coalition over the roughly 10 billion euros of fiscal adjustment sought by 2029, and over whether it should come from spending cuts or tax rises.
Two days before the cancellation, on 9 October, around 30,000 people marched in Brussels against the budget cuts, a small group clashed with police and 21 people were detained. Unions had already announced a second day of nationwide strike action for Monday, 12 October, linking the pressure in the public sector to the deadlock at the negotiating table.
Belgian media reported that the budget deal could be delayed to late October or early November, and that a prolonged deadlock could put the coalition's cohesion under strain. For Chinese residents and businesses in Belgium, the final shape of VAT and public-spending decisions will directly affect everyday costs and the business environment.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 布鲁塞尔市区景观。照片：Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer)，CC BY 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons（Garden of Kunstberg viewed from Mont des Arts during nautical twilight (DSCF1028).jpg）
