BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium’s new government was installed on Monday, almost eight months after an election won by the Flemish nationalist N-VA party.
N-VA leader Bart De Wever was appointed as prime minister, marking the first time the federal Belgian government will be led by a Flemish nationalist.
Five parties reached an agreement on a broad majority coalition on Friday evening, after months of tense negotiations over budget cuts, tax hikes and pension reforms to try to improve Belgium’s government finances.
The new government aims to limit the duration of unemployment benefits and to reduce pensions for people that retire early, while increasing them for those that work past the retirement age.
It will also introduce a new capital gains tax and scrap some tax exemptions.
The coalition, led by the N-VA, includes Christian democrats and socialists from the Dutch-speaking north of the country as well as liberal and centrist parties from the French-speaking south.
De Wever will make his first international appearance on Monday, as he meets leaders of other EU countries at a gathering in Brussels to discuss the continent’s defences against Russia and how to handle U.S. President Donald Trump after his decision to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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