After managing to form a government just one month after regional elections held on 7 June, the Flemish government announced that family allowances would be increased. The changes see the addition of a new Flemish hospital allocation and increases in school allocations, for the benefit of Flemish families only.
Joëlle Milquet, president of the EPP-affiliated cdH party (Democratic Humanist Centre) reacted immediately by stressing that family allowances are a federal competence in Belgium.
"We wish for allowances to be increased for all children," she said, adding that Belgian legislation treats all children as equal.
The president of the Walloon Socialist party, Elio di Rupo, warned that it would be detrimental for the country to create tensions over social security.
"The country holds together precisely because we have inter-personal solidarity," he said.
The president of Walloon green party Ecolo, Jean-Michel Javaux, said that the new measure would create discrepancies in Belgium.
"We must keep the common base of our social security as large as possible. Not necessarily for community reasons, but also for economic reasons: the larger the base, the most efficient the solidarity," Javaux said.
