Belgium: new coalition government plans to make work more flexible

Featured image of the article Belgium: new coalition government plans to make work more flexible
The new coalition government led by prime minister Bart De Wever, leader of the Flemish Conservatives (N-VA), won a vote of confidence from the Chamber of Representatives in the early hours of the morning on Friday 7 February. The government programme, centred on "work that pays" and "business competitiveness", contains proposals for employment reforms, including a set of measures designed to make the labour market more flexible.
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After 40 hours of debate, the lower house of the Belgian parliament finally voted on the motion of confidence in the government, with 81 votes cast in favour and 66 votes against. This vote was on the basis of the general policy statement, presented by the new prime minister Bart De Wever on 4 February. This statement is based on the agreement reached on 31 January between the representatives of the political parties (liberals, socialists, Christian democrats and Flemish nationalists) that make

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