Key Elements of the Annual Budget
The budget is among others composed of two parts: one for expenditures and the other for revenues. The former reflects the political will and the latter is dedicated to revenue and largely includes the allocations - obtained via the federal government in application of the SFA.
These budgets are adjusted according to new macroeconomic parameters.
Context
The initial 2026 budget was drawn up in October 2025 based on the September 2025 macroeconomic forecasts by the Federal Planning Bureau, which forecasted:
- a GDP growth of 1.2% for 2023 and 1.1% for 2026
- a CPI growth of 2.4% for 2023 and 1.4% for 2026
In a context of accelerating deterioration of public finances and in order to preserve FWB’s capacity to finance public policies, the initial 2026 budget was drawn up by integrating a set of measures aimed at achieving the objective set out in the Community Policy Statement of reducing the deficit to €1.2 billion by 2029 and considering a gradual return to balance during the next legislature.
Most of these measures were included among the recommendations of the Expert Committee set up by the Government in order to objectify the budgetary situation of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and to make savings recommendations. They affect all FWB sectors and represent an effort of around €700 million for slightly less than €200 million in new policies. This therefore represents an improvement in the ESA balance of more than €500 million in 2029.
ESA Balance
| 2026 initial Budget (€ millions) | |
|---|---|
| Total revenues* | 13,602 |
| Total Expenditures** | 15,407 |
| Under utilisation | 138 |
| Gross balance | -1,667 |
| Perimeter balance | 216 |
| ESA correction | -157 |
| ESA financing balance | -1.608 |
* excluding borrowings
** excluding debt amortisation
Revenues
The French Community has no fiscal power, the main part of its revenues comes from the Special Financing Act allocations which are tax transfers collected by the federal State. These allocations are calculated in particular with the GDP growth, the inflation, the “pupil key”, the demographic adjustment coefficient (growth of the population under 18 years old), or the IPP key (distribution of the tax on natural persons between the Flemish and French Communities).
| 2026 initial Budget (€ million) | |
|---|---|
| LSF Transfers | 12,996 |
| Other revenues* | 606 |
| Total | 13,602 |
* French Community’s own revenues, sales of real estate, revenues from the National Lottery, etc.
Expenditures
Education, Research and Training sector represents a little over 70% of the French Community’s general expenditure budget, excluding debt amortisation. For the Education field, from nursery school to higher education level, a very large proportion of the expenditure goes towards payment of teachers’ salaries.
The expenditure budget is divided into five main categories. The allocations to the Walloon Region and the French Community Commission represent the funds paid annually by the FWB to the Walloon Region and to the French Community Commission of the Brussels-Capital Region as part of the transfer to these two entities of the exercise of certain of its powers under the St Quentin agreements.
| 2026 initial Budget* (€ thousand) | |
|---|---|
| General Services | 1,184,679 |
| Culture, health, social issues, sport, etc. | 2,325,485 |
| Education, research, teaching, etc | 10,928,638 |
| Public debt** | 392,761 |
| Allocation to the Walloon Region and the Cocof | 575,316 |
| Total | 15,406,879 |
| *payment appropriations including budgetary funds |
| ** excluding debt amortisation |
| The French Community’s expenditure is particularly dependent on Belgian CPI growth as staff expenditure represents about 50% of the budget. |
Multiannual Path
The multiannual path is drawn up by the Federation’s Monitoring Committee. The projection assumption consists in assuming a known-policy environment, based on the latest known macroeconomic parameters and integrating the measures decided as part of the preparation of the initial 2026 budget.
The ESA balance of the FWB, including its scope of consolidation and after correction, is estimated at €-1,608 million in 2026, €-1,405 million in 2027, €-1,390 million in 2028 and €-1,224 million in 2029.