Belgian Government Crisis Looms as Budget Talks Collapse, De Wever Likely to Offer Resignation

Updated 12:53 UTC, November 2

Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed in the resignation of his government to King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels on Monday morning, following the failure of the budget negotiations inside his government, Belgium's Royal Palace confirmed in a statement reported by the Associated Press. The King is withholding his decision on whether to accept the resignation. The resignation has therefore been tendered, which replaces the earlier expectation in this report that De Wever was likely to offer it later on Monday.

"The King regrets the lack of an agreement that would provide the country with a credible budget capable of addressing the challenges it currently faces," the palace said, after a meeting of about an hour between the two men, according to the Associated Press. The palace added that, in light of the large geopolitical uncertainty and severe economic challenges, the country cannot afford a long political crisis, Reuters reported.

King Philippe will begin consultations with the leaders of the majority parties on Tuesday, and he will receive De Wever at the palace again on Friday, the palace said. If the King ultimately accepts the resignation, he could ask other parties to form a new coalition or call fresh elections, Reuters reported.

Belgium's government failed early on Monday, November 2, 2026, to agree on the budget for next year, and the failure has opened a government crisis in Brussels. Prime Minister Bart De Wever is expected to meet King Philippe later on Monday, and government sources say he is likely to offer the resignation of his government at that meeting.

No resignation has been tendered or accepted yet. Reuters, reporting the Belgian newspaper De Tijd, said De Wever was set to see the king on Monday to hand in his government's resignation. De Tijd said the king would likely not accept the resignation immediately.

Talks end at 1 am without a deal

The core cabinet, the group of senior ministers who run the coalition's main negotiations, began its latest budget session at about 9 pm on Sunday and talked until about 1 am on Monday without reaching an agreement. Vice-Premier David Clarinval of the liberal MR party said the senior ministers had failed to agree on the budget late on Sunday night, according to Belga News Agency reporting carried by Qazinform.

It was not the first failed round. The coalition has argued for months over the same package, and each new deadline has passed with the central dispute still open.

A 10 billion euro gap

At the centre of the fight is a gap of 10 billion euros, about 11.2 billion dollars, in budget cuts and tax increases. De Wever says measures of that size are needed to keep state finances in check.

His Flemish nationalist N-VA party and the liberal MR want cuts in healthcare spending. Their socialist and centrist coalition partners have instead demanded higher wealth taxes. Neither side moved far enough on Sunday night to close the deal.

The cost of delay is rising in the markets. Interest rates on Belgian government bonds have climbed sharply in recent months. De Wever has warned of a debt and interest cost spiral, a point at which the government would have to borrow money only to pay the interest on its existing loans.

A Tuesday deadline

Belga reports that the government must reach a deal by Tuesday, November 3, at the latest to avoid an emergency budget, and that it is still looking for the same 10 billion euros. De Wever had earlier made clear that he would not consider a system of provisional monthly budget allocations, the stopgap that would let the state keep spending month by month without an agreed budget.

What happens next turns on the meeting at the palace later on Monday. If De Wever offers the resignation and the king does not accept it at once, the coalition gets time to try again against the Tuesday deadline. If no deal follows, Belgium faces an emergency budget and a formal government crisis, with the budget for next year still unwritten.