BRUSSELS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The mission entrusted to the newly-appointed royal informants Didier Reynders and Johan VandeLanotte to form a new federal government in Belgium has been extended until July 1, the Royal Palace of Belgium announced in a statement on Monday.
The informants arrived at the Royal Palace at around 4 p.m. on Monday to meet with the King. After the visit, the Royal Palace announced in the statement that the mission had been extended and Didier Reynders and Johan VandeLanotte will report back to the King on July 1.
"They will continue to work to enable the formation of a federal government as soon as possible," read the statement.
On May 30, King Philippe appointed the current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Didier Reynders (MR) and former Deputy Prime Minister of Flanders, Johan VandeLanotte (SP. a) as informants to examine the conditions under which a Federal Government can be established.
After a week long of discreet consultations with representatives of different political parties and various independent organizations to determine the country's main socio-economic challenges, their mission was extended by the King until June 17.
The Belgian federal elections took place on May 26, during which 150 members of the House of representatives were duly elected.
Given the economic, social and administrative configuration of Belgium's three regions, the linguistically divided country may well take considerable time before it is able to establish a new federal coalition.
