The Belgian federal government concluded its meetings on Wednesday without reaching an agreement on the general budget, following a marathon talks attended by Prime Minister Bart De Wever and his deputy prime ministers representing all parties of the ruling coalition.

During the session, Prime Minister De Wever presented a new financial framework aimed at achieving EUR10 billion in savings by 2030. According to coalition sources, the new proposal was largely similar to the draft discussed earlier in the week.

Despite the efforts, negotiations reached a standstill. Expectations that Wednesday’s talks might yield a breakthrough quickly faded as discussions went off track. No further meetings are planned for Thursday, while De Wever is scheduled to meet each of his deputy prime ministers separately on Friday to assess whether further collective talks would be meaningful.

Government sources are increasingly doubtful that a 2026 budget can be submitted to Parliament before the end of the year. Some officials are preparing for the possibility that the government may begin 2026 with a provisional 'twelve-month' emergency budget.