In October 2025, the Flemish Government approved the Program Decree accompanying the 2026 budget, first in principle on 3 October and definitively on 24 October, after consultation with advisory councils, social partners and the Council of State. The decree introduced structural changes that directly affect internationalisation, research capacity and student supports in higher education. 

A key measure is the strict enforcement of the long-standing 2% cap on publicly funded non-EEA students. From 2026 onward, universities and colleges will no longer receive operating funds for non-EEA enrolments exceeding that threshold, generating estimated savings of EUR 30.7 million. Institutions remain free to enrol these students but must absorb the financial gap, potentially through higher tuition fees. 

The decree forms part of a broader package reducing higher education funding by more than EUR 80 million. Measures include EUR 33.8 million in cuts to study grants, the abolition of Brussels-specific higher-education funding (EUR 10.6 million), and the termination of management agreements with the Institute of Development Policy (IOB) and the Institute for European Studies (IES). Funding for fundamental scientific research is reduced by EUR 14.5 million. 

Government representatives present the reforms as necessary fiscal consolidation and a recalibration of financing structures. In parliamentary debate, reference was made to the comparatively low tuition contributions of non-EEA students. 

Criticism has followed from academics, student representatives and the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR). Commentators described the non-EEA funding cap as economically and educationally counterproductive, citing studies that estimate positive long-term net contributions from international students. VLIR estimates universities could lose EUR 34.9 million, potentially affecting up to 350 full-time positions, and warns of consequences for research capacity and global competitiveness. These questions about the future direction of international engagement are set to continue in the coming months, including at the University of Antwerp’s Global Engagement Conference on 26 March 2026, which will bring together policymakers, institutional leaders and researchers to reflect on the academic and societal implications of evolving internationalisation strategies. 

In January 2026, additional draft measures to reducing study trajectories extended concerns to all students, domestic and international. Flanders’ Minister of Education Zuhal Demir is preparing proposals aimed at reducing prolonged study trajectories, including a minimum annual completion of 54 credits, extension of the four-attempt exam limit to all students, stricter progression rules, and the possible abolition of the student credit system. Separate draft provisions would require some scholarship students with insufficient academic progress to repay part of their grant. 

Student organisations, social policy scholars, and politicians caution that tighter grant conditions and repayment mechanisms may disproportionately affect financially vulnerable students. Critics in the Flemish Parliament also argue that Education Minister Zuhal Demir’s rhetoric about “eternal students” and her draft measures to tighten study-progress rules risk caricaturing students and lack solid data, with calls for more nuanced, evidence-based reform and meaningful consultation with students. The minister’s office emphasises that these texts are preliminary and subject to political negotiation.