Coronavirus: measures extended until 3 May with some flexibility added, but basic instructions remain unchanged – lockdown rules to be eased gradually
At its meeting this Wednesday, 15 April, the National Security Council took several decisions, which, as always, were based on the opinions of scientific experts. One such decision, taken in consultation with the minister-presidents, was to extend the current lockdown measures until 3 May inclusive. To make this extension more bearable, we also decided that: DIY stores and garden centres will be allowed to reopen, under the same conditions as food stores. In other words, social distancing…
Additional socio-economic and health measures in the fight against covid-19
Today, Saturday, April 11th, the Inner Cabinet, extended to include the presidents or representatives of the ten parties (N-VA, PS, MR, Ecolo, CD&V, Open VLD, sp.a, Groen, cdH, DéFI) met in a virtual meeting. The agenda included several straight-forward decisions about, among other things, powers of attorney: The introduction of a temporary moratorium on company bankruptcies. During this difficult period, any company that is struggling to pay off its debts as a result of covid-19,…
Response to the questions in plenary on the COVID19 crisis and the government's approach
Check against delivery. Thank you for your questions, which I will come to in a moment. As in my other addresses over the past few weeks, let me start by thanking, on behalf of everybody here, our many fellow citizens who are tirelessly working to save lives and keep our country going. Thank you also to those who, by complying with the difficult lockdown measures, are doing their bit to look after the population as a whole. Our thoughts also go out to the most vulnerable among us, on whom…
Speech of the Prime Minister
Ladies and gentlemen, For weeks now, the fight against the spread of Covid-19 in Belgium has been the daily reality for all of us. It’s the right time, I think, to take stock together with you. The period we are going through at the moment is unprecedented and overwhelms us, in more ways than one. To protect you and the people you love – and in fact to protect society as a whole – we have had to take a series of difficult measures that have turned our habits, our social…
Answers to parliamentary questions on the Corona crisis
Check against delivery Mr Speaker, Colleagues, Inside this chamber and beyond, all of us realise the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe impact it is having. Obviously, first and foremost there is the effect on the health of our fellow citizens. But the virus has also completely transformed our daily lives, our social interactions and the vitality of our economy. In these challenging times, the government is, and will remain, fully committed to protecting the public. Nor is…
Coronavirus : Extension of the measures until 19 April, extendable by two weeks & adapted sanctions
The National Security Council of 27 March, which was extended to include the Ministers-President, decided to extend the measures taken earlier by two weeks, i.e. until 19 April. After that, they can then be extended a further two weeks, i.e. until 3 May. In any case, the situation will be monitored constantly. The National Security Council will meet regularly for this purpose. As a reminder, details of the measures are available on the website www.info-coronavirus.be. We would still like to…
Closure of hairdressers until April 5th
At the e-meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday 24 March, it was decided that article 1 § 1 of the ministerial decree of 23 March 2020 would no longer make an exception for hairdressers. So far, they were allowed to remain open provided they received their customers only by appointment, one customer at a time and while respecting the instructions of social distancing as much as possible. This exception will be abolished effective midnight this evening. The various measures taken in the…
Agreement for the deposit of a "special powers" bill
On Saturday 21 March, the Inner Cabinet met with the leaders of 10 parties (N-VA, PS, MR, Ecolo, CD&V, Open VLD, sp.a, Groen, cdH, DéFI) to reach an agreement on the bill authorising the King to take measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, as provided for in Article 105 of the Constitution. As a reminder, under this Special Powers Act, Parliament authorises the King to act without going through the traditional legislative procedure in order to respond to the emergency situation linked…
Coronavirus: launch of the second part of the Federal Plan for Social and Economic Protection
During the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Friday 20 March a number of measures were approved to alleviate the socio-economic consequences of Covid-19. They are based on the recommendations of the ERMG (Economic Risk Management Group) which met yesterday, and the meeting with the G10. These measures belong to the second part of what is known as the Federal Plan for Social and Economic Protection. These come on top of the 10 measures adopted on 6 March from the first part of this federal…
Speech during the debate on the Government statement
Check against delivery. Mr President, Ladies and gentlemen of the Chamber of Representatives, Protecting the health of our fellow citizens is our main goal, our duty, our responsibility but also our commitment. This should be the driver for us all, constantly, in the hours, days and weeks ahead. In this unprecedented situation, it is imperative that we work together. Each of us has a role to play. Not only to protect ourselves, but also to protect our loved…