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Belgian coalition agrees to budget controls

Xinhua, March 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

After a series of marathon talks, the parties involved in the coalition of the Belgian government have finally agreed on the contentions issue of budget cuts.

The government parties have agreed on budgetary cuts amounting to 1.2 billion euros (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars).

At a press conference in Brussels on Monday, Prime Minister Charles Michel said that the final agreement of the details of the budget, a long-standing and divisive issue separating the partners, was "mission accomplished."

The prime minister told journalists on Monday that there would be "no new taxes" introduced.

In addition, Budget Minister Herve EL Jamar, said that "we have managed to balance the budget. I am a minister of happy Budget."

Michel also announced that the federal government has gained a surplus of 230 million euros, mainly resulting from the increased fight against tax evasion. However, a reduction of 750 million euros for regional policy has been announced. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars) Endit