Open Vld goes to voters with a calculated Growth Plan: “Introducing seriousness into the election campaign” | Domestic

The Growth Plan will be discussed on Saturday at the Open Vld Growth Congress. It is a calculated plan “with which we want to bring ‘seriousness’ into the campaign. We are facing a new ‘Maastricht’ (the operation of then Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene to reduce the deficit to 3 percent in order to join the euro),” party chairman Tom Ongena said during a press briefing of the plan. “Everyone should now put their cards on the table,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo added.

The Growth Plan contains recipes for more prosperity, a stronger and safer country, and more freedom. To achieve a deficit of 3 percent of GDP by 2029, an effort of 3.4 billion will be needed next year, rising cumulatively to 7.1 billion in 2026, 13.3 billion in 2027, 18.6 billion in 2028 and 24.7 billion in 2029.

A large chunk of the effort goes towards creating more jobs. For Open Vld, the difference between working and not working must be at least 500 euros net per month. That is why a duo boost is needed for everyone who works: the abolition of the 45% tax bracket with an expansion of the Flemish job bonus, which should yield an increase in wages of 60 to 65 euros per month. At the same time, the party wants to slow down the increase in benefits and limit the welfare envelope to minimum pensions.

The party also wants to remove a number of barriers to work by expanding flexi-jobs to all sectors, removing the ceiling on tax-free overtime, allowing pensioners to earn unlimited and tax-free additional income and ending the restriction on student jobs.

The plan also contains a number of activation measures, such as limiting unemployment to a maximum of 1 to 2 years, depending on the economic situation, encouraging and making OCMWs responsible to get people on a living wage to work, guiding the long-term unemployed into work, if necessary part-time. or from home.

To protect the competitiveness of companies, Open Vld wants to index net wages, not gross wages, as long as the wage handicap exists. The transformation fund must be reoriented towards future-oriented sectors. Permits must be issued more quickly and companies must be given more legal certainty. There must be a stronger focus on STEM training and dual learning. Furthermore, the seaports and Brussels Airport should be strengthened as a gateway to foreign countries and Open Vld does not want ‘gold plating’ when transposing European legislation.

The Growth Plan also contains a pension reform, which will start to pay off especially at the end of the legislature and should ensure that the additional pension cost falls from 2.6 percent to 0 percent of GDP in 2070. The most efficient measure in the short term is the abolition of equalization in pensions. The party also wants to valorize the equated periods less and give more weight to the periods worked. In the long term, there must be a second pillar of at least 3 percent for everyone and no taxes when paying out the third pension pillar.

In healthcare, Open Vld puts forward a growth standard of 1.5 percent, on top of inflation. Hospital reform must continue. More focus must be placed on prevention and early screening and detection. The increased compensation must be awarded in a more targeted manner.

The plan also contains proposals for a more rational government, including the phasing out of subsidies, the abolition of sick pay, the Senate and provinces, the halving of cabinets and the introduction of a civil service standard, based on a comparison with neighboring countries.

Open Vld also wants to invest more in security and defense. For example, defense expenditure must increase to 2 percent of GDP by 2029. This is financed by a Defense Fund, which is supplemented by the phased privatization of Belfius, BNP Paribas and Ethias. After 2029, the pension reform will reach cruising speed and additional resources will be released.

With regard to asylum and migration, Open Vld is counting on the migration pact for greater distribution of refugees and less influx. Through faster procedures, the number of shelter places can be increased from 35,000 to 25,000.