A recent announcement of the Government of Spain reported on the activation of the gateway that automated the granting of the Minimum Vital Income (IMV) for those unemployed people who have already exhausted both their unemployment benefit and unemployment benefit. This measure contrasts with those being taken by Belgium, which will eliminate subsidies for the long-term unemployed and those suffering from long-term sick leave.
He government plan to cut public spending has been one of the main reasons for the call on strike that has paralyzed air communications, transportation and a good part of its industry and services. At an event with students from Ghent University, Prime Minister Bart De Wever I assured them that: “Without policy changes, the welfare state will collapse, not in my lifetime, but in yours.”
Either cuts or chaos. Prime Minister Bart De Wever has launched a series of budget reforms aimed at solving serious problems that the country has been facing for decades with the unemployment and long-term sickness benefits that Belgian workers receive.
According what was published by The Brussels TimesWith the adjustment plan proposed by the Belgian executive, structural savings of 9.2 billion euros are expected to be obtained by 2029 and the accumulation of debt will be reduced by another 17 billion euros. “This is the only way to safeguard our welfare state for the future,” wrote Prime Minister De Wever in your X profile.
Strikes for a harsh adjustment plan. The unions have organized the thirteenth strike since Bart De Wever took office as Prime Minister in February 2025. The call has been three days of protests that have left empty streets and minimal services. On Monday public transport stopped, on Tuesday teachers and doctors joined in, and on Wednesday there was a national strike in the rest of the sectors.
Everything comes from government savings planwhich seeks to cut spending on benefits to comply with EU guidelines and lower the deficit. Although the Belgian economy looks good in macroeconomic terms, its government believes that the system of long-term sickness and unemployment benefits is too permissive and discourages re-entry into the labor market.
End to unemployment for life. In Spain this figure does not exist, but Belgium was the last country in the EU which granted unemployment benefits without a time limit. That is, unlike what happens in Spain, which is limited to a maximum of 24 months, in Belgium there was no deadline to stop receiving this benefit, so someone who began receiving it at the age of 25 could retire collecting it. Starting in April 2026, that premise will completely change.
The Government has sent thousands of letters to these indefinitely unemployed, informing them that those who have been unemployed for more than 20 years will automatically lose aid. Progressively, the measure will be extended to those unemployed who have been out of work for more than two years, except for some supervised exceptions that will be able to maintain it.
Who lose this subsidy and do not have financial resources, they will have to ask for help at their local social center, which applies stricter rules and controls to encourage them to reenter the labor market.
Control of long-term patients. More than 526,000 people are registered as unemployed on long sick leavein a country that has 11.7 million inhabitants. This represents a cost of 9,000 million euros per year to the State. Far from stopping, since the belgian environment The Brussels Times estimate that the number of long-term patients who receive a benefit go up to 600,000 by 2035.
To avoid fraud, the government is going to require periodic medical checkups for those who have been sick for more than a year, sanctions will apply against doctors who issue an abnormally high number of sick leaves and will help to adapt jobs for those who can go back to work.
Unemployment is concentrated among migrants. Belgium registers an unemployment figure of 5.9%, well below the 10.5% registered in Spain and even lower than the euro zone average with 6.3%.
However, according to Eurostat data 2024, if the unemployment data is segmented by nationality, the percentage of unemployed Belgian nationals stands at 4.7%, shooting up to 16.4% among migrants. That is, a difference of 11.7 percentage points that makes the State endure greater financial pressure with citizens who supposedly came to work, but are unemployed. As and how he published Politicalsix out of ten unemployed people in Belgium are not Belgian.
The Government is optimistic. The Belgian Government is optimistic about the adjustment plan given that it involves increasing revenues with more taxes (for example, VAT on some products will be increased) and reducing payments with fewer subsidies.
According to sources of The Brussels Timesthe “return to work” plan for long-term sick people alone should generate savings of 1.9 billion euros in subsidies. “I could say that I can solve the problem without the citizens feeling it, but that would be a lie. If you do not dare to take drastic measures, you are not worthy of governing,” said the prime minister, underlining the seriousness of the measures taken.
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