King gives Mr Vande Lanotte and Mr Reynders another two weeks
King Filip has extended the mission of Didier Reynders (Francophone liberal) and Johan Vande Lanotte (Flemish socialist) to hold consultative talks with party leaders with a view to paving the way to start talks that could lead to the formation of a new federal coalition government. Mr Reynders and Mr Vande Lanotte reported to the King on Monday afternoon. King Filip has given them another two weeks as so-called “informateurs”. They are expected back at the palace on 1 July.
Mr Reynders and Mr Vande Lanotte were given their mission on 30 May, four days after the elections. They were given the task of “identifying the challenges faced by our country and looking into the prerequisites necessary to lead to the formation of a Federal Government”.
They reported to the King on their progress for the first time on 6 June. Then Belgium’s Head of State extended their mission by a further 10 days. On Monday the King was given a second progress report and the decision was made to give the “informateurs” another 2 weeks.
The Royal Palace said in a statement that “They will continue to strive for the speedy formation of a Federal Government”.