State bank as war chest: "Some compare it to the Verhofstadt years, but that is not correct"

The De Wever government wants state bank Belfius to pay out 84 percent of its profit - 1 billion euros - as dividend. That money should help to increase the defense budget. A decision that has been heavily criticized. Some refer to the Verhofstadt years: back then, people tried to embellish the budget using all kinds of accounting tricks and strange sales operations. However, that comparison does not hold. What is correct is that the additional …