De Wever introduces debt brake as budget talks reach wages and pensions
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Bart De Wever has introduced a 'debt brake' to the federal budget negotiations, a mechanism intended to prevent financial catastrophe but which has immediately raised questions about potential consequences for citizens' wages and pensions. The Prime Minister is also looking toward the border, warning that the pharmaceutical sector—specifically the major employer GSK—must be protected from competition from the United States and China.
Asylum applications have fallen for the ninth consecutive month, a trend Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt attributes to her own policies and which advocacy groups attribute to harsher conditions. While migration figures fall, domestic tensions are rising; a verbal spat in which an N-VA group leader reportedly called a coalition colleague 'scum' has left party leaders attempting to restore a semblance of order.
The government's reach is being felt in smaller corners of the country too. Minister Ben Weyts has ordered the closure of sixteen animal enclosures at Pakawi Park, stating that at some point it has to stop, while Social Affairs Minister Frank Vandenbroucke is moving to restrict 'flexi-jobs' for those on long-term sick leave.