The potential collapse of Belgium’s government risks upending key strategic decisions for Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s coalition, including the partial privatization of Belfius Bank and a deal to buy Engie’s nuclear assets.

Deadlines for decisions on the two signature policies came and went this week after King Philippe held off accepting De Wever’s offer to resign on Monday. Both deals are worth billions of euros at a time when the government is struggling to agree a budget.

The government and Engie announced Wednesday a delay to the deadline for an agreement that could see Belgium take control of the company’s nuclear assets, citing “current circumstances” among the reasons. A new deadline of Dec. 12 has been set, though this could yet be derailed by a prolonged government crisis or new elections.

Similarly, Thursday marked the deadline for binding offers for the government’s sale of a stake of up to 20% in Belfius, which is expected to raise around €2 billion ($2.2 billion). The government had been eyeing a deal by year-end.

A spokesperson for Finance Minister Jan Jambon said the binding offers for the Belfius stake would be analyzed and then examined by the government ahead of negotiations with selected candidates. They declined to comment on the impact of the current political situation on the process. A spokesman for Belgium’s energy ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Belgium’s monarch has been meeting government parties throughout the week in Brussels, with De Wever due at the Palace on Friday morning, where a decision about the future of the government is expected.

The most likely scenario would be for the king to give the prime minister additional time to continue negotiating the budget, according to people within the government, though they cautioned that no decision has been made. Other possible scenarios include negotiating a new coalition agreement, changing the coalition without elections, or the collapse of the government and fresh elections.

Budget Challenges Speaking in parliament on Thursday, De Wever urged his coalition partners to prioritize finding agreement on the budget. “I only want to be prime minister of a government that puts this at the center, otherwise this is meaningless,” he said.

Belgium had the highest deficit in the euro area in 2025, at 5.2% of gross domestic product. The country has also faced a sharp rise in borrowing costs, reflecting spillover from neighboring France, as well as concerns about its own fiscal sustainability. The OECD on Tuesday warned that Belgium needs a deeper fiscal effort than that planned by the government to stabilize its debt, as it faces further strain from rising pension and health costs.

Following their meetings with the king, coalition party leaders have called for compromise but have also reasserted their positions, as the coalition tries to find €10 billion in savings by 2029, underscoring the differences that separate the parties.

The government has so far failed to reach a deal on a multi-annual budget despite repeated warnings about the risk of investor backlash. Parties have split sharply over the balance between additional tax revenue and spending cuts in the budget.

De Wever took office as head of the so-called “Arizona” government in 2025, so named because its colors match the Arizona state flag. He was an unlikely prime minister given that he heads a Flemish nationalist party that ultimately seeks the breakup of the Belgian state.

However, his image as a competent deliverer was burnished across the Belgian political spectrum when he took a tough stance against the European Union’s push to use immobilized Russian central bank assets held at Brussels-based Euroclear to finance Ukraine. Belgium’s opposition ultimately derailed the plan, though there have been fresh calls from some EU countries to reconsider the matter.