State of the Union: "We are on the right track!"

Mister President,

Dear colleagues,

Lucidity is the main requirement for making good decisions. For our fellow citizens and in the general interest.

We have numerous trumps: our position at the heart of Europe and the presence of numerous international institutions, for example. Our infrastructure, rail system, port facilities and airport infrastructures, the productivity of our workforce and its multilingualism are also major plus points, which are widely acknowledged as such beyond our borders. 

Today the Belgian economy is on the right track. The track of sustainable development to maintain living standards and quality.

In its most recent forecasts, the Belgian National Bank is counting on economic growth of 1.3% in 2015. This is slightly below (0.2%) the average expected for the Eurozone.

These figures do not yet take into account the impact of our most recent economic and fiscal measures. These measures will be analysed by the Federal Planning Bureau and the Belgian National Bank.

Growth has been boosted by a rise in consumption, a lowering of petrol prices and depreciation of the euro.

Export growth should reach 3.4% in 2015 and even 4.2% in 2016. 

The number of bankruptcies has decreased by 14% this summer in comparison with last year.

Business investment rose by 2.6% in 2014 and should grow by 3.3% in 2015 and 2016. 

The number of mortgages increased by 31% in comparison with last year.

These signs are certainly encouraging. We are on the right track. But these signs are not yet structural enough.  Slipping into a form of triumphalism is out of the question.

I am optimistic but I am not naïve.

International economic and geopolitical developments have had and will continue to have an influence on our situation.

Growth in emerging markets has slowed down. Yet, they represent an increasingly significant share of the global economy.

The IMF, for example, has revised its growth forecasts downwards to stand at 3.1%, or 0.2% lower than the forecasts issued in July.

Economic reality is permanently changing. There are uncertainties weighing down on global growth. We must strengthen our comparative advantages and correct our weak points.

To strengthen our economic model for the benefit of social welfare protection. Achieving not only quantitative growth but a qualitative improvement in living standards. That is our objective.

We must therefore keep our budget in order. Respect for our European commitments is guaranteed. We have chosen to put public finances on a sounder footing.  We wish to reduce the deficits to break out of the vicious circle of debt.

We are taking care to spend less and to spend better. The 2015 budget will be adjusted with an improvement in the structural balance of 0.6% in 2015 as well as in 2016. The aim is to achieve structural balance in 2018.

We will regularly monitor the budgetary situation and the implementation of economic and social reforms.

This government agreement is based on a social project. The triptych ‘liberty, solidarity and responsibility’ constitutes the cornerstone of this political project.

Economic development is not an end in itself. Economic development and the creation of jobs has to be at the service of our social welfare protection measures. That is the objective that rallies us. 

It is not simply a question of talking about solidarity. We are working on it each day to put it into practice.

The number one priority is therefore to support the creation of new jobs. Straightaway we haven taken measures to encourage business investment. And thus to create extra jobs.

99% of companies are small and medium sized enterprises. They represent 42% of the value added in the GDP. They are the backbone of our economy and therefore of our prosperity.

We encourage entrepreneurial spirits and a sense of initiative. And we wish to support those who take risks to generate economic activity and create additional jobs.

The Tax Shelter for start-ups constitutes an unprecedented fiscal incentive to mobilise access to funding and thus support the real economy.

We are convinced that the digital agenda represents an extraordinary opportunity for our country.

The digital economy is set to grow by 8% over the next five years.

The Digital Belgium objective aims at taking our country into the top 3 of the most digitised countries in Europe.

We are convinced that as many as 1,000 start-ups and 50,000 new jobs could be created.

This requires a stable legal framework which takes into account security issues as well as the respect for private life in the context of data processing.

The development of e-commerce is spectacular and exponential. We must be ready and take appropriate action.

Several months ago, the social partners began a dialogue aiming to adapt night work in line with e-commerce.  The Government will see to it that decisions can be made at the end of this year. 

The hotel and catering industry represents a considerable contributor of added value and jobs. The unpredictability of the work load and thus the hours worked make it a very specific sector.

The sector had been waiting for a long time for adapted responses. We have put flexi-jobs in place. We have relaxed the regulations concerning overtime. And we have eased regulations governing occasional work. These are concrete responses. 

The construction sector is faced with a paradox. On the one hand, construction activity has risen by 1.8% in our country. On the other hand, the sector is losing jobs for domestic workers on a massive scale.

Each year, the sector brings in over 20 billion EUR of income to the State’s revenues (or 11.6%).

Today, this economic powerhouse is being mauled. Social dumping brings about unfair competition to our business companies. And we have heard the alarm bells.

For several months now we have been sitting round the table with the employers and trade unions. The first decisions have already been made to better fight social dumping. We must combat the illegal detachment of workers.

More generally, social security fraud and tax fraud must be the focus of our attention. The array of measures which have already been taken should start taking effect.

Dear colleagues,

The work accomplished in one year has been colossal.

• A lowering of social security contributions from 33 to 25%
• An exemption from contributions for the first jobs created in the SMEs
• Improvements in the status of self-employed people.
• The abolition of pay limits for work done by pensioners.
• The reform of income for the unemployment supplement
• The tax shelter and crowd funding to fund SMEs
• The modernisation of time-credit
• The reform of insertion allowances
• The recognition and improvement of the status of care providers
• Etc.

These are some of the decisions which have already been implemented. With one obsession: to create the conditions for more jobs in our country. Jobs, jobs, jobs.

And we want to go even further.

We have made the commitment to carry out fiscal reform and a tax shift. That commitment has been met.

Work in Belgium is taxed too highly. All international investigations show this.

We are implementing a tax-shift to increase net salaries and lower the contributions that are holding back recruitment.

More spending power for everybody, with a priority on low and average incmoes.

We want to lower the overall tax burden. We must therefore improve the value for money provided by the State. We have already launched the redesign process of our administrations in order to adapt to transformations and ensure better respect for public money.

Dear colleagues,

We are injecting 8.3 billion EUR of drive into the economic engine of our country. That is not a slogan. That is a decision.

And our actions are concrete. In 2016 salaries, will increase by up to 83 EUR net each month for the lowest incomes.

By the end of the parliamentary term tax cuts will vary from a minimum of 74 EUR per month to 146 EUR per month for low incomes.

1752 EUR per year. That's a good bit more than a ‘thirteenth month.’ The promise has been kept!

This Government is genuinely social and responsible.

We are reforming the income tax system.

We are raising the level for paying taxes.

We are increasing the deductibility of flat-fee expenses.

We are increasing the income threshold to reach the 45% tax rate.

And we are simply abolishing the 30% tax rate.

This is a historic reform.

All the gains made benefit people’s salaries.

These tax cuts are funded by new taxes on capital income. I am thinking for example of the increase on withholding property tax from 2016, regularisation operations, the ‘Cayman tax’, the tax on share transactions and the tax on financial speculation. 

Never has a government so fully harnessed capital income to fund tax cuts on paid work.

We have also chosen to increase duties to discourage behaviour that is harmful to the environment and to our health.

The increase on excise duty on diesel, as well as a lowering of excise duty on petrol, is perfectly in step with this environmental policy.

A few weeks away from the Paris Summit on climate change, we are fully embracing our responsibilities.

By the same token, a rise in duties on tobacco and alcohol is in keeping with the choices we have made concerning public health.

We want to go further. The Government will study a tax arrangement to encourage good eating habits. These proposals will be the subject of wide ranging consultation with stakeholders in the health sector and the economic sectors concerned.

Dear colleagues,

The fight against tax fraud must be a permanent battle. We will strengthen our co-operation on an international scale.

Not only have all the measures decided in the past been confirmed.

But we have also decided to recruit about one hundred public officials to bolster inspections.

The budgetary objective is ambitious. We want to recover over half a billion euros.

Dear colleagues,

Over the years countless have called for the wage gap to be firmly tackled.

This wage gap in relation to our neighbouring countries has destroyed thousands of jobs and prevented the creation of thousands of others in recent years.

Here as well our commitments have been kept. We are massively lowering employer contributions to encourage the creation of new jobs.

Low salaries are of course being privileged.

And I can be very precise. From 2016, employer contributions will fall from 17.3% to 13% for salaries below 1,500 EUR.

Before the end of the parliamentary term, it will be 10.9%.

I will be so bold as to say that we are making a historic step. Soon the wage gap will simply be a bad memory from the past.

And nor has the non-market sector been forgotten. A substantial proportion of the lowering of contributions is devoted to it. That is also testimony to our will to speak out in favour of a just and fair society.

To go further still. That is also true of our decisions concerning the SMEs and the self-employed. 580 million EUR are being invested. And here as well we are being perfectly consistent. Jobs, investment and spending power. Those are our three objectives.

We have decided on the complete and lifelong exemption of employer contributions for the first recruitment made by a self-employed person or an SME.

This measure will apply for the next five years.

In concrete terms, this rerepresents a lowering of contributions by over 11,000 EUR per year compared with the current situation.

And that is not all. We will extend the exemptions for the second job up until the sixth recruitment. This measure will into effect retrospectively as of January 1^st, 2015. 

In concrete terms, an SME which hires will be able to reinvest up to 101,000 EUR over 4 years compared to before.

Moreover, we will double the production investment deduction measure for SMEs.

We are also increasing the spending power of the self-employed. In fact we are lowering their contributions over three years from 22 to 20.5%. In real terms, that represents a gain of up to over 800 EUR per year. 

More than ever, the SMEs and the self-employed are our partners for prosperity.

Agriculture

Dear colleagues,

Agriculture is an economic sector within its own right. And it is faced with recurrent difficulties.

We must fight against price volatility.

We have reacted by putting into place measures which ease the payment of social security contributions and by sanctioning tax exemption on CAP subsidies.

And, in order to respect the legislative competences of the regions, we continue to speak in favour on a European level of increasing the intervention price in the context of the milk crisis and to develop a support plan for beef farmers.

Energy, climate

Dear colleagues,

Energy is a strategic issue. It is a complex topic. We are aiming to strike the optimal balance between energy supply security, competitiveness and energy costs. The environmental and climate aspects are of course fundamental.

In order to guarantee energy supply the Act to extend the lifetime of Doel I and II nuclear power stations was voted in. The opinion of independent authorities in terms of safety is vital in our opinion.  

The next challenge is to work hand in hand with the regions in order to define together an interfederal energy policy.

In terms of the climate we are in favour of a legally binding agreement at the Paris COP21.

Mobility

We must also develop our train transport system.

The strategic approach to rail was presented to the various stakeholders this summer. This plan must target the quality of service provided to customers: punctuality, accessibility, safety and cleanliness.

Each year, road accidents give rise to numerous tragedies for families. We wish to fight against impunity of motorists. The safety of motorcyclists is of concern for us as well. We are working with the relevant associations to identify useful, concrete measures to ensure the safety of these users. Close consultation with each of the federated bodies, whilst respecting the competences of each, will be indispensable.

Dear colleagues,

The strategy to be pursued regarding the airport infrastructure is a delicate subject. We must strike a balance between maintaining an economic hub which creates jobs and the reduction of noise pollution for residents.

As announced, a moratorium has been established concerning the former programme for flying over Brussels. This has allowed a drastic reduction of the number of people living under flight paths.

We know that this solution is neither perfect, nor definitive. We will thus continue to work in consultation with the resident associations and the local authorities involved.

I am also making an appeal to regional governments to analyse the best solutions together. And we call for a rigorous method which is based on objectivation, safety and impact assessments for residents.

State-owned companies

State-owned companies represent strategic issues. We wish to make them more agile and reactive so they can cope with economic and social transformations.

The plan to revise the 1991 Act has thus been approved by the government in order to create a level-playing field, enabling improvements to be made in terms of their competitive market position.

Health care and pensions

Mister President,

Dear colleagues,

We have both feet firmly on the ground. Economic engagement and the social plan are proof of this.

Today, our generation must take courageous and necessary decisions to consolidate our social welfare protection.

The rise in life expectancy requires new financial resources to guarantee access to healthcare. And to guarantee the sustainable payment of stable pensions.

We do not want a two-tiered system of medicine. We want free choice for patients and therapeutic freedom for the doctor.

For example, we have launched a reform of how hospitals are funded, to combine quality and responsibility.

We have concluded a pact with the pharmaceutical sector to control the evolution of the costs of medicine whilst guaranteeing research and innovation capabilities.

We have strengthened the resources earmarked for chronic diseases.

We have launched new initiatives so as to take better account of psychiatric illnesses.

The future of pensions is first and foremost a test of the solidarity between the generations.

Of course it is simpler to let people believe that we can work for a shorter period and nevertheless increase the amount of pensions. But that is not the reality we face. We have thus decided to restrict the conditions of access to the different forms of early exit from the labour market.

We have also decided to progressively raise the legal age of retirement (67 from 2030). The national pension commission is being established.

We are committed to a responsible and qualitative dialogue with the social partners in order to define the more precise modalities of this indispensable reform.

Fight against poverty

Dear colleagues,

1 Belgian out of 7 lives below the poverty line. Nobody in this assembly can sit idly by when faced with such exclusion. Here again we want to take action.

The projects to reintegrate the homeless in stable accommodation will be extended and widened to include more local authorities. New projects to support single mothers with low incomes will be implemented.

Child poverty will be combated by supporting local initiatives.

Finally, and above all, the granting of automatic rights and an increase of the minimum social welfare measures is a priority.

I am in addition proud that this government has increased the welfare package by 44% compared with the previous period. This package stood at 656.9 million EUR for the 2013-2014 period. Under this government it will be 946.7 million EUR in 2015-2016. And we will raise the amount to 1.2 billion in 2018.

The minimum allowances have been increased by 2% starting from this September. 1,850,000 pensioners have seen their holiday allowances increase by 15%. And to be more specific, pensioners who have worked for 45 years will receive 50 EUR more each month (previously 835.81 EUR gross. They have received 885.07 EUR gross since May 2015).

Similarly, the flat rates or the minimum allowances in terms of unemployment benefits and the social integration allowance have been raised by 2%.

Here again we want to do better. An extra 50 million EUR will be earmarked from 2016 to reinforce the social integration allowance, the ‘grappa’ (IGOS) and the lowest pensions. 

In total, over 2.5 millions citizens will feel the positive effects of these measures. These are facts.

We have also decided to reform the individualised social integration plan. We want greater ownership as part of a context of rights and duties. We will arrange a consultation with the CPAS.

Security and Justice

Dear colleagues,

We must work ceaselessly for the security of our fellow citizens.

In recent months, Belgium has not escaped fanaticism and cowardly acts. Terrorists have murdered innocent victims.

The Brussels Jewish Museum, Verviers, Charlie Hebdo and the Brussels-Paris train have been the scene of bloody attacks or attempted attacks. 

Our mobilisation to protect our democratic values must be total. And it is a badge of honour of democracies that they fight terrorism whilst respecting the rule of law.

We must permanently ensure this balance between the right to security and basic freedoms such as the respect for private life.

We have taken immediate action. A 12 point plan has been implemented.

We have established the National Security Council.

We have arranged the possibility of withdrawing the identity cards or passports of foreign fighters.

We have boosted the resources for the special response teams and national intelligence services.

We have simplified the use of special investigation techniques.

And we have even decided to reinforce the army under certain conditions and in certain circumstances.

We are not done with terrorism yet, and we will continue to take action.

The government will also look into proposals for setting priority tasks for our police forces. This involves a better linking up of the different functions in order to provide even better guarantees of the level of security.

Reforms of the justice system are widely under way. 

The first bills to improve the code of civil procedure have already been voted in by Parliament.

We are working to make the procedures more rapid and effective.

The code of criminal procedure will be improved. The ‘plead-guilty’ process will be established. And judicial oversight of preventative detention will be rationalised.

Other projects will also be launched concerning legal training, internment and a reform of the legal organisation.

Improving the management of legal buildings is also an important concern for the government.

Moreover, in a few months we have reduced the backlog of unpaid justice bills.

Belgium on the European and international stage

Mister President,

Dear colleagues,

We are doing our upmost. We want to put our country in order, on the economic and social front. We also want to make it safer for our fellow citizens. We want to be more robust to face up to the different challenges we face.

We are clear-sighted about all of this. European and international ties influence the situation in Belgium.

European integration is a pillar of the actions we take.

The consolidation of the Eurozone and the strengthening of the internal market are more than ever our objectives.

Of course we must put our budgets in order and we are doing so. But that is not enough.

The structural reforms for fiscal convergence and labour market convergence are indispensable in order to encourage growth and jobs.

We also support the implementation of the Juncker Plan to support investment in infrastructure, telecommunication and energy.

As a founding country of the European Union, we are determined to play our role to the full.

We will be active in the discussions already underway on deepening the monetary and economic union. We will also continue to bolster cooperation amongst the Benelux countries.

Our diplomatic activity is focused on various challenges. Threats hang over Europe’s immediate neighbourhood. To the East, there is the crisis in Ukraine and our relationship with Russia. But also to the South, where the Middle East and northern Africa are in turmoil.

The situation in Syria, Iraq and Libya is a major factor for instability in the region first of all, and subsequently for Europe.

At the United Nations, I argued a multi-level approach, both humanitarian and political. In Syria, the military option has not been ruled out, whilst respecting international law and as part of a coalition.

I note regularly the excellent opinion in which the work of our soldiers in operations abroad is held.

Belgium is a trustworthy and credible partner. In Iraq, Afghanistan, in Mali, in the Mediterranean and sometimes even in our own streets, our soldiers are working for our security. On behalf of the government, I would once again like to thank them.

Preparations for the strategic defence plan are well advanced. We will continue to work in order to establish the contours and the resources required for a robust defence at the service of the security and the stability of our society.

Migration

Europe is faced with the most serious migration crisis since the Second World War.

Wars, conflicts and climate change are the main reasons for this.

In the space of a few months, we have created several thousand extra places to welcome potential refugees in dignified conditions.

In the same way as we argue for a European distribution plan, we are working on the difficult case of a distribution plan here in Belgium.

We are also putting into action all of our humanitarian and co-operation for development resources in order to support the work underway to ensure stability in the countries of origin.

We have a cap in terms of migration. We are instigating a humane but strict migration policy. And we call for a strengthening of the external borders of the European Union as well as for the establishment of hotspots.

Conclusion

Mister President,

Dear colleagues,

One year ago, your assembly placed its trust in us.

Since that time we have embarked on numerous economic and social reforms.

We have not chosen the easy path. But I would like to repeat once again that we want to move forwards by respecting social consultation.

In one year, numerous social agreements have been concluded and have been very widely implemented by the government.

Social consultation has played an important role in the history of our country. It must remain a solid foundation on the basis of which we will succeed in overcoming the difficult challenges we are faced with.

After the sixth reform of the State, federal loyalty is another commitment which we must all share. Once again I am convinced that beyond the power relationships and different democratic opinions, each one of us will do their bit in order to co-operate calmly and with a constructive spirit.

We are on the right track and we will stay the course. Our project is not an accounting plan. It is a society based project which aims at stirring hope and strengthening confidence.

The first decisions were not always easy to make. We must learn to explain better. We need to be better at convincing.

We are acting in the interests of every citizen. Without exception. All are equal. With their rights and their duties.

We want to neither privilege, nor leave anybody by the wayside.

We want to strengthen our economy.

We want to see more jobs.

We want to put our accounts in order.

We want to combat poverty.

We want to provide support to the most fragile.

Our course has been set. We have demonstrated our ability to fulfil our responsibilities.

We are determined to continue the work.

The initial results are starting to appear. We are optimistic. But we are also aware of the obstacles in our path. We reject a do-nothing approach. We opt resolutely to take action. 

This majority is robust and united. We will carry on moving in this direction together. I ask you to place your trust in the government.

I thank you.