Belgium

The number of new foreign investment projects in Belgium fell 11% in 2025 to 187 projects, the lowest count since 2014, according to EY's annual European attractiveness barometer. Structural headwinds—including geopolitical tensions, U.S. tariff-driven policy guidance directing American companies to invest domestically, and high energy costs—are cited as primary drivers, with Belgium recording a larger-than-average decline relative to the European continent-wide drop of 7%.

Belga News Agency · 2026-05-21

A legal analysis published by Loyens & Loeff on 20 May 2026 identifies significant unresolved ambiguities in Belgium's ISC screening regime as applied to technology-sector transactions, particularly asset deals involving intellectual property and large datasets. The authors note that the concept of 'control' is interpreted broadly—potentially applying even without share acquisition—and that the absence of precise guidance at both Belgian and European Union levels creates compliance risk and transaction-timeline uncertainty for foreign investors.

Loyens & Loeff · 2026-05-20

Despite the decline in project numbers, job creation from new foreign investments in Belgium continued to rise in 2025, indicating that individual projects are larger in employment terms even as headline deal counts contract. U.S. investors remain the most active source of notified FDI under the ISC mechanism, accounting for 43.4% of filings in the scheme's first operational year.

Belga News Agency / Lloyd's Bank Trade Portal · 2026-05-21

From 10 May 2026, Queen Mathilde led a high-level Belgian economic mission to Türkiye, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prévot and Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken. The mission, the first Belgian royal economic mission to Türkiye in nearly fourteen years, culminated in a joint statement aimed at strengthening bilateral trade relations.

Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs · 2026-05-13

The European Union–Mercosur free trade agreement entered into provisional force on 1 May 2026, creating one of the world's largest trade zones covering approximately 30% of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers. The agreement, which facilitates European exports of cars, machinery, wine and spirits while opening access for South American agricultural products, remains politically contested; several EU member states including France and Poland have voiced opposition, and the European Parliament has yet to grant final ratification.

Belga News Agency · 2026-04-27

Belgium and the European Union have signalled continued commitment to reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO) following the 14th Ministerial Conference in March 2026 in Cameroon, which confirmed the institution's structural difficulties. Belgium's Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs characterised the WTO as 'a unique and indispensable tool for international trade' while acknowledging the need for institutional reform.

Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs · 2026-05-15

The European Commission's spring 2026 forecast projects Belgian real GDP growth decelerating to 0.7% in 2026, down from 1% in 2025, with Q1 2026 registering only 0.2% quarter-on-quarter expansion and declining consumer confidence pointing to a further slowdown in Q2. The general government deficit is projected to stabilise at 5.2% of GDP in 2026 as federal and regional spending containment measures partially offset higher defence and interest expenditure.

European Commission – DG ECFIN · 2026-05-21

Headline inflation is projected by the European Commission to rise from 3% in 2025 to 3.4% in 2026, driven by higher energy prices linked to Middle East conflict dynamics, elevated services inflation, and VAT increases on selected product categories. KBC Economics forecasts Belgian headline inflation averaging 3.1% in 2026, with energy price futures suggesting some moderation in the second half of the year.

European Commission – DG ECFIN / KBC Economics · 2026-05-21

Rating agency Moody's downgraded Belgium's sovereign credit rating from Aa3 to A1 in April 2026, citing concerns over the country's budgetary and economic outlook. The IMF's medium-term scenario projects average Belgian real GDP growth of only 1.1% per year over 2026–2031, among the lowest in Europe, compounded by Belgium retaining the highest structural budget deficit in the EU by 2031 under unchanged policy.

KBC Economics · 2026-05-01

Belgium's mandatory structured e-invoicing regime for domestic business-to-business (B2B) transactions via the Peppol network took effect on 1 January 2026, with the Federal Public Service (FPS) Finance granting a three-month grace period for companies demonstrating good-faith implementation efforts. From 1 May 2026, the VAT current account was replaced by a provisional VAT account, centralising management via the MyMinfin portal and discontinuing the summer filing extension—changes that directly affect cash-flow and compliance workflows for all VAT-registered operators.

Thomson Reuters / FPS Finance · 2026-05-15

Labour law amendments effective from 1 January 2026 liberalise Belgium's employment framework for market entrants: the general prohibition on night work has been abolished, the minimum one-third full-time threshold for part-time contracts has been removed, and employees may now work up to 360 hours of voluntary overtime annually without prior justification—240 of which benefit from exemption from social security contributions and withholding taxes. Employer-initiated notice periods are capped at 52 weeks for new contracts, reducing long-term termination liability.

Van Olmen & Wynant / L&E Global · 2026-05-15

The IMF's 2026 Article IV mission concluding statement identifies price controls, complex regulatory procedures, and strict occupational restrictions as persistent barriers to productivity gains, and characterises Belgium's insolvency framework as 'lengthy and court dependent.' The IMF recommends energy market reforms to narrow the cost-competitiveness gap with non-EU trade partners such as the United States and China, which benefit from structurally lower energy costs.

International Monetary Fund · 2026-05-15