Belgium entered its second day of a coordinated, three-day strike on Tuesday, as unions protest against the government’s sweeping austerity plans. The action began yesterday, when trains and public transport walked off the job. The national rail operator managed to run only one or two out of three trains, while several Eurostar services between Brussels and Paris were cancelled.
Today, schools, crèches, hospitals, and other public services are joining the strike, making daily life across the country difficult. And tomorrow is expected to be the most disruptive day of all with a full general strike that will shut down nearly everything, including Belgium’s two largest airports, Brussels-Zaventem and Charleroi, where all departing flights have already been cancelled.
But is this the start of a political storm for the De Wever government?
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Belgium entered its second day of a coordinated, three-day strike on Tuesday, as unions protest against the government’s sweeping austerity plans. The action began yesterday, when trains and public transport walked off the job. The national rail operator managed to run only one or two out of three trains, while several Eurostar services between Brussels and Paris were cancelled. But is this the start of a political storm for the De Wever government?
Today, schools, crèches, hospitals, and other public services are joining the strike, making daily life across the country difficult. And tomorrow is expected to be the most disruptive day of all with a full general strike that will shut down nearly everything, including Belgium’s two largest airports, Brussels Zaventem and Charleroi, where all departing flights have already been cancelled.
The unions’ target is prime minister Bart De Wever, who has been in office since February and pushed a major austerity effort to reduce Belgium’s public debt, now over 104 percent of GDP. The budget deficit currently sits at 5.4 percent, far above the EU’s three-percent limit.
After weeks of political deadlock within his five-party coalition, De Wever announced a multi-year budget agreement yesterday morning. The plan aims to plug a €9.2bn gap by 2029 through new revenues and savings from higher taxes on natural gas, investment income, flight tickets, hotel stays, takeaway food, and even a two euros tax on parcels arriving from non-EU countries.
The government will also tweak Belgium’s inflation-linked wage indexation system, meaning salaries above €4,000 won’t fully keep pace with inflation. Gas will become more expensive, electricity slightly cheaper, and duties on petrol and diesel will rise from 2027.
Unions say this amounts to dismantling Belgium’s social model. The socialist union FGTB has accused De Wever of “contempt” after previous demonstrations were met, they claim, with “total silence” from the government.
Now, Belgium isn’t the only EU country under pressure to clean up its finances, but it is one of the most politically fractured and a nationwide, three-day strike is a sign of just how deep the tensions go.
These reforms will affect people in immediate and visible ways, with heating bills, transport costs, pension rules, unemployment benefits, even the price of going to the cinema or attending a music festival. The new harmonised VAT rate means some products will get cheaper, but most will become more expensive.
And the impact won’t be equal across the country. Flanders has more than two million gas-connected households, compared with around 700,000 in Wallonia. Which means the rise in gas duties is set to hit the Flemish population disproportionately, a politically sensitive detail in a country already shaped by regional divides.
Critics argue that the reforms shift the burden onto working households rather than onto major asset holders or big corporations. Unions are calling for fairer wealth taxation, a tax on digital giants, and more transparency around subsidies to companies.
So, while De Wever insists the cuts are essential to “secure the fruits of tomorrow,” many Belgians are asking why they’re the ones expected to pay for them today.
So, what now?
Well tomorrow’s general strike will be the most disruptive one, with shut-down airports, reduced public transport, and limited public services across the board.
The government hopes its new budget deal, which De Wever says will improve the country’s debt position by €32bn, will reassure Brussels and avoid sanctions under EU fiscal rules. But it remains unclear whether it will reassure Belgian workers.
Several of the most controversial measures haven’t even been implemented yet, and the political fractures within the governing coalition are far from healed. Unions have already suggested that if the government doesn’t budge, this three day strike won’t be the last.
Evi Kiorri is a Brussels-based journalist, multimedia producer, and podcaster with deep experience in European affairs.
Evi Kiorri is a Brussels-based journalist, multimedia producer, and podcaster with deep experience in European affairs.