Belgium’s Brussels-Capital Region is facing serious allegations of misusing €250 million in EU loans—earmarked for metro infrastructure—to cover day-to-day government expenses. A Brussels Times investigation reveals that, amid runaway debt and over a year without a functioning regional government, public finances have slipped into disarray.
Instead of transferring the funds to the Brussels public transport operator STIB/MIVB, the Brussels Debt Agency reportedly pooled the money into general reserves and used it to pay off old debt, interest, and operating costs. Former regional finance minister Guy Vanhengel denounced the move as sjoemel, a Brussels slang term for financial fiddling.
The European Investment Bank, which provided €175 million of the loan, insisted the funds were strictly limited to transport infrastructure projects. Yet by treating them as fungible, the Region may have misrepresented its financial position to parliament, investors, and credit agency S&P, which cited the loans in its June credit rating assessment.
With regional debt doubling in five years to €15 billion, collapsing pension funds, and essential public bodies requiring emergency bailouts, political oversight has broken down. “This isn’t technical improvisation,” said Vanhengel. “It’s a misuse of public money—and a betrayal of public trust.”
