The Law on Economic Growth, Social Progress and Fiscal Redressment (, ), better known as the Unitary Law (''Loi unique'' or ''Eenheidswet''), was a controversial law in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

which was passed on 14 February 1961. It introduced a programme of

fiscal austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: high ...

intended to reduce the country's large government debt and respond to the economic consequences of the independence of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

in June 1960. The Unitary Law was championed by

Gaston Eyskens Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democracy, Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (Belg ...

's coalition government of Eyskens's own Christian Social Party and the Belgian Liberal Party (Eyskens IV). The bill met with fierce protest from Liberals and

Socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

alike. Opposition culminated in a general strike over the winter of 1960-61, described as "one of the most serious class confrontations in Belgium's social history", which brought out 700,000 workers out on strike. The protest was unsuccessful, however, and the Unitary Law was passed on 14 February 1961 but the Eyskens IV government nonetheless collapsed in April 1961. New elections were held bringing to power a coalition of the Christian Social Party and Socialists.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book, ref={{harvid, Witte et al., 2009, last1=Witte, first1=Els, last2=Craeybeckx, first2=Jan, last3=Meynen, first3=Alain, title=Political history of Belgium from 1830 onwards, date=2009, publisher=ASP, location=Brussels, isbn=978-90-5487-517-8, edition=New

External links

Full text of the law
at the

Belgian Official Journal The Belgian official journal (, , ) is the official journal or gazette of the Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium. It is where the official publication of laws, royal decrees, decrees, ordinances, and official notices are published. The publication is h ...

Belgian legislation 1961 in Belgium Economic history of Belgium