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Belgium considers selling royal jewels to fill budget gaps

Politiko 2026-06-05 16:45:02

Belgium considers selling royal jewels to fill budget gaps

Belgium is looking for a way to cover a budget gap of around seven billion euros and, among more than 250 proposals, the sale of royal jewels was also found.

The idea is part of a long list of measures that economists, institutions and experts have presented to the government of Prime Minister Bart de Wever. In that “austerity menu” there are also much more serious but politically painful proposals: higher VAT, changes to the system of automatic wage adjustment with inflation, higher taxes on property income, reduction of subsidies and a review of announced tax breaks, reports The Brussels Times.

The proposal does not mean that the Belgian royal family will truly be left without jewelry.

The list compiled by the Federal Planning Bureau is not a decision, but a catalog of possible measures. The bureau says it is only proposing, while it is up to the government to decide what is politically feasible.

The VAT increase would directly affect citizens. The manipulation of automatic wage indexation in Belgium is a politically explosive issue, as the system protects wages, pensions and benefits from inflation. Wealth taxes have caused ideological conflicts for years. Subsidy cuts and higher healthcare overpayments would also not go without resistance.

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