In view of the difficult budgetary negotiations the debate about the healthcare expenditure growth rate is everywhere. For some, a more modest rate stands for the beginning of the end of a solidary social security; for others the status quo will condemn our welfare state to bankruptcy.

Among all the regional agreements, the Flemish one sadly stands alone when it comes to numerically clarifying the way politicians are going to manage public money.

We’re expected to believe that regulation will not fail next time. Yet, there’s no shame in questioning your own beliefs and being sufficiently sceptical. Financial reforms as seen by official bodies today have to be implemented in the short term.

At this moment comparable conclusions to those of our extraordinary parliamentary commission are being drawn all around the world. It would really be counterproductive to lead a strategy of divide and rule.

For Marc De Vos, it is “game over” with the preparation of ageing in Belgium. Our social security is not sustainable. The budgetary situation needs fixing, but only policy reform can save us. We urgently need a broad societal consensus on a new socioeconomic model.

Marc De Vos stresses that the harmonisation of dismissal law for blue collar and white collar workers has to serve two priorities: equal rights and labour market circulation. We need to combine income security with tailor made re-employment.