Bart De Wever warns of budget deadlock as Belgium faces fiscal cliff

Federal ministers in Belgium worked through the night on Tuesday trying to resolve the budget impasse, yet the premier returned without a consensus. In a subsequent session of the Chamber, Bart De Wever expressed concern, saying the majority parties need to bridge their gaps to prevent a deadlock. He painted a bleak picture, likening one outlet fiscal pressure to a "wall of darkness" and warned that a failure to agree could trigger the provisional twelfths regime at the start of the year.

The premier hinted at a possible "schuldenrem" - a debt-brake that would freeze indexation of pensions, civil-service salaries and other public expenditures. The overarching goal remains to secure a ten-billion-euro saving target by 2029, with a final deal hoped for by Thursday morning.