The Belgian Royal Palace confirmed the failed budget negotiations and said the king was withholding his decision, according to separate same-day reports by Reuters and The Associated Press. Reuters reported that the coalition had argued over roughly €10 billion in proposed cuts and tax increases; that figure describes Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s proposed fiscal effort, not an agreed package. Reuters says failure to pass a 2027 budget would leave Belgium under provisional monthly spending limits based on one-twelfth of the prior year’s budget. Both agencies report that the king will consult coalition leaders from Tuesday and see De Wever again Friday. The palace statement itself was not separately linked here. Searches for photographs of the resignation found contemporary agency images offered under licensing terms; no reusable licence was established. The lead is an archive photograph of De Wever and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen taken March 17, 2025 by Dati Bendo for the European Commission, licensed CC BY 4.0. The inline image shows the Royal Palace, photographed by Martin Falbisoner on May 9, 2013, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. Both are clearly captioned as archive context, not images of Monday’s event. Originals were proportionally resized to fit within 1,600 pixels, metadata stripped and re-encoded as JPEGs at quality 84 without cropping or content retouching. The inline derivative is shared under the same CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
The king is holding the decision
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his government’s resignation to King Philippe on Monday after coalition talks failed to produce a 2027 budget. The king has not accepted the offer and plans to consult the coalition parties, leaving the government’s immediate future unresolved.
The Royal Palace said the king regretted the absence of an agreement on a credible budget and was withholding his decision. Reuters and the Associated Press reported that Philippe would begin meeting party leaders on Tuesday and receive De Wever again on Friday. If the resignation is accepted, parties could be asked to form another coalition or the country could head toward an election.
A €10 billion dispute divides the coalition
The five-party government has spent months arguing over how to stabilize public finances. Reuters reported that De Wever has sought about €10 billion in spending cuts and tax increases. Coalition partners disagree over how much to cut and who should carry the cost: the Flemish nationalist N-VA and liberal MR have pushed for deeper savings, including in health care, while socialist and centrist partners have pressed for higher taxes on wealth.
The €10 billion figure is a proposed fiscal effort, not an agreed budget. The deadlock reflects the political trade-off between reducing deficits and preserving public services, as Belgium faces rising debt-service costs.
A missed deadline would constrain monthly spending
If lawmakers do not approve a 2027 budget by the end of the year, Reuters reported, Belgium would operate under provisional spending rules that limit monthly expenditure to one-twelfth of the previous year’s budget.
The palace has warned against a prolonged political crisis. For now, the next concrete steps are the king’s consultations with coalition leaders and Friday’s meeting with De Wever; neither the resignation nor a new election has been decided.
Sources
2 references
- ReutersBelgian government in crisis after budget talks collapseSame-day reporting on De Wever’s resignation offer, the coalition’s €10 billion fiscal dispute, provisional budget rules and the king’s consultations. · 2026-11-02
- The Associated PressBelgian prime minister quits after budget talks fail as king mulls whether to accept his resignationIndependent same-day report confirming the palace’s decision to withhold acceptance and its timetable for party consultations. · 2026-11-02
