The money will not lead to an immediate spending spree, the government said. Part of it will go towards paying the index- linked increases in the pay of civil servants. Some goes to a reserve to guarantee a balanced budget. And some will be set aside to tackle the problem of the government not paying its bills on time, which became an issue at the end of last year as private sector suppliers complained.

But still, amid all that budgetary caution, there is good news. The budget windfall will lead to increased spending on a number of pressing issues.

A total of €100 million will be set aside for roadworks on the most dangerous places on Flanders' roads, part of an ongoing campaign that has been budgeted at €100 million a year.

Schools will receive €25 million extra. That will provide, in the short term, 390 new places in Brussels schools to take care of the shortage - estimated at about 500 places - at a cost of €18 million. Over the years to come, 18 new schools in Brussels will provide some 3,200 new places by 2015. Among the new arrivals is a new primary school in Schaarbeek, where there has been no municipal Dutch-speaking school now for 33 years.

Scientific research and development receives extra funding of €65 million, which, according to minister Ingrid Lieten, will make up for the savings suffered by the sector over the last two years.

The Fund for Scientific Research (FMO) receives just over €10 million. The aptly- names Odysseus project, intended to attract expatriated Flemish scientists back to the region, will get a top-up of €2 million. The four strategic research centres - the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), nano-technology institute IMEC, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) and the Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology (IBBT) - will share about €10 million. The Agency for Innovation through Science and Technology gets €10 million for business-related research. The agency will also hand out more than €17 million to outside projects submitted for funding.

At the same time, the government has decided to increase spending on Research and Development by €200 million between now and 2014, with a view to reaching a target for R&D spending of 3% of GDP by 2030. According to Lieten, priority will be given to major social challenges such as energy, food, migration and the ageing population.

The job of protecting against the so- called "thousand-year storm" (Flanders Today, 24 March 2024) receives €23.5 million to widen and strengthen the beaches in: the zone De Haan-Wenduine, the dunes of De Panne and Koksijde, and the Zeeheldenplein in Ostend. Most of the work will be done outside of the tourist season.

Last week CD&V member of parliament Johan Verstreken warned that as a result of climate change, the sea level at the coast could rise by 1.5 metres, bringing the centre of Ostend and a large part of the city's hinterland under water. The government's own calculations foresee a rise of 30 centimetres by 2050 and 80cm by 2100.

Other spending:
€6 million for efforts against flooding
€10 million for getting older people back into the workforce
€25 million for the restoration of the Park Abbey in Leuven
€2 million for restoration of the Sint- Catharina church in Diest
€250,000 for work on "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" altarpiece in Ghent's Sint-Baaf's cathedral
€10 million for the new investment agency for heritage properties
€1 million to tackle child poverty

Pictured: Stormy weather: Belgium’s coastal defences get €23.5 million