541 days of political and institutional deadlock.
541 days of shattered hopes.
541 days of sterile debates and unanswered mobilizations.
541 days watching Brussels slide into an unprecedented institutional vacuum and funding crisis.
541 days: a sad record.

We gave political leaders time to reach an agreement. A lot of time. But Brussels no longer has any to spare.

Not its businesses, worried about their future, nor the 40,000 people who may be excluded from unemployment benefits.
Not the associations that keep our Region alive every day, nor the artists, creators, and cultural actors who carry the soul of Brussels.
Not young people and students still searching for reasons to hope, nor older citizens who deserve stability and respect.
Not the academic community, whose thinking, questioning, and imagination nourish our democracy.
Not the civil servants who, for a year and a half, have kept Brussels afloat without a fully functioning government.
Not the citizens who are growing discouraged by this disheartening spectacle.

Political inaction now has consequences for our lives and our daily realities.
We have had enough. Brussels — our city, our Belgian and European capital — deserves better. The immense challenges it faces — economic, social, climate-related, and institutional — can no longer wait.

Faced with this paralysis, we, citizens of all generations, choose to build ambitious, joyful, creative, and inclusive actions for Brussels. We no longer want to count the days, but to break the deadlock and breathe new life into our democracy.

December 1 marked the eve of a historic world record: a State or Region without a fully functioning government. On that day, we demonstrated in front of the home of all Brussels residents, the Parliament, to show our determination. Together, we blew the whistle on political recess!

In the short term, we demand that political leaders meet in conclave from December 2 onward and finally agree on a governing deal and a budgetary roadmap.

We are not asking for a perfect agreement, but for one that allows the Region to protect what is essential, keep public services running, support those who keep Brussels alive, and care for the most vulnerable among us.

We will not stop there. In the medium term, if no agreement emerges quickly, we will continue to express, with strength and creativity, our concerned love for Brussels through bold democratic actions, alongside all the Region’s driving forces. We will propose credible, civil-society-based alternatives to move negotiations forward and finally achieve a political and budgetary program for Brussels.

In the long term, the Brussels Region needs not only oxygen, but also direction, a vision as it approaches its 40th anniversary. That is why we also wish to organize a Citizens’ Convention, through a B1000 process, to reflect on the political and institutional future of Brussels beyond the current crisis.

We are determined citizens taking action not against politicians, but with them, to find a constructive solution for our Region and its residents, who deserve better.

We invite all Brussels residents who share our vision and our will to act to sign our manifesto and share it.

Together, we keep going and we won’t give up.