Mobility infrastructure is largely escaping the axe in the Flemish government’s biggest savings operation yet. While Flanders must find nearly €2 billion in savings next year and more than €3 billion by 2029, roads, waterways, and other major public works remain relatively protected compared with many other policy areas.

Of the total effort, €1.2 billion should come from government operations and subsidies, leading to substantial cutbacks in areas such as child benefits, subsidies, and the civil service. Public transport is less insulated: De Lijn appears to face another delay in expanding its operating budget.

At the same time, motorists are heading for a major change of their own, as 2027 will bring a fundamentally different Flemish car tax regime.

‘Essential for economic growth’

Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) stressed in his September Declaration that the planned investment will be maintained: more than €1 billion in additional public works investment during the legislature. Diependaele argued that good infrastructure and smooth mobility are essential for economic growth.

The picture is less favorable for De Lijn, however. Earlier in 2026, the government said the expansion budget would resume, with an additional €50 million in 2027, increasing to €125 million by 2029.

But according to early reports on the new budget agreement, only €25 million of that €50 million would be available next year. Public-service union ACV has already criticized the move, warning that it would again delay the provision of additional services and recruitment.

The final detailed 2027 mobility budget still has to confirm the exact figure, but it would mark the second successive weakening of De Lijn’s promised growth trajectory.

Major changes for motorists

For motorists, meanwhile, 2027 will bring major changes. From 1 January, Flanders will replace the existing annual road-tax calculation for newly registered private cars with a system based primarily on maximum authorized mass and CO2 emissions.

The reform is particularly relevant as cars, including electric models, become heavier. Existing owners can keep the old system or voluntarily switch to the new one. Leased cars remain outside the reform, and the registration tax or BIV is unchanged.

Road vignette

A second major change arrives on 1 May 2027 with the Flemish digital road vignette. Cars, vans and motorhomes up to 3.5 tons using regional roads and motorways will need one, including foreign vehicles.

For Euro 4 or cleaner vehicles, an annual vignette will cost €100; zero-emission vehicles pay €90, while Euro 0-3 vehicles pay €125. Shorter one-day, ten-day, one-month, and two-month options will be available for occasional users.

European non-discrimination rules mean Flemish motorists must also pay the vignette formally. For privately owned combustion-engine cars, however, the government is combining it with the road-tax reform so that the overall fiscal changes remain budget-neutral in 2027.

The road vignette, new car-tax formula, and EV taxation are not new September-agreement surprises. The vignette had already received renewed approval on 18 September, with a planned start date of 1 May 2027. The annual road-tax reform was already underway.

Paradoxical mobility budget

The result is a somewhat paradoxical mobility budget: Flanders is making a major general savings effort but protecting major infrastructure investment, while the promised expansion of public transport appears to be slowed again.

Although this week’s agreement contains few entirely new measures for drivers, 2027 is nevertheless shaping up to be one of the biggest years of change for Flemish road taxation in decades. Mobility is clearly not a main target of the new savings package.

Contrast

That produces quite an interesting contrast. Roads, waterways and major infrastructure remain positioned as investments necessary for economic growth, whereas De Lijn’s operating expansion is being used as a budgetary adjustment valve. At the same time, motorists face a fairly fundamental restructuring of how road use and car ownership are taxed in 2027.

In other words, the September Declaration is surprisingly vague on mobility. It does not announce a new mobility masterplan or a new tranche of named road projects, but merely reconfirms the additional public works investment and says that a prosperous Flanders requires “vlotte mobiliteit, degelijke infrastructuur en verkeersveiligheid” (smooth mobility, sound infrastructure, and road safety).