Policy

Belgian households and singles found plenty of ways towards subscribing to the one-year state bond last week. That subscription period ran from Thursday 24 August 2023 to Friday 1 September 2023. This is what Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem announces at the instigation of the Belgian Debt Agency.234,310 people subscribed directly through the Ledger of the Belgian Debt Agency, accounting for 7.093 billion euros. The average amount of subscription to a state bond at the Agency thus…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the ministers of 16 EU countries today signed expressions of intent for the EIB for Ukraine Fund in support of Ukraine’s agenda for recovery and reconstruction. Announced in spring 2023 as a part of a larger EU for Ukraine initiative, the EIB’s EU4U Fund will help rapidly scale up support for Ukraine’s most urgent infrastructure needs and sustain the economy. Belgium pledges €6 million in support of the fund.

Minister Van Peteghem will be appointed as the new chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank (EIB). The chairmanship is appointed in a rotating system between member states, each for the period of one year. As chairman, Minister Van Peteghem will coordinate the work of the Board of Governors and chair the annual meeting. In doing so, he will focus on the EIB's crucial role in Ukraine's economic challenges and reconstruction.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem and Dutch State Secretary for Benefits and Customs Aukje de Vries presented the results of drug seizures for the year 2022 in the international ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam at a joint press conference. Both customs services combined seized 160 tonnes of cocaine in 2022.  

It’s my pleasure to host you here at this Symposium. I also would like to thank everyone for participating, digitally or physically. Special thanks go to our respective administrations for their preparation of this event. I am very happy to see that the event today has brought together private sector, public sector, as well as the academic sector in order to discuss and contemplate upon the topic at hand.

In the context of continuing efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, momentum is growing for action on climate change. Therefore, Belgium recently joined the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.

The coronavirus crisis has greatly increased the pressure on food banks. We need to encourage companies and businesses to donate to charitable organisations goods that are vital but not saleable. That is why we are making it more fiscally advantageous to donate than to throw away.