RRF funded projects in Belgium

What’s in the plan?

The reforms and investments in Belgium’s plan, approved on 13 July 2021, are helping it become more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities offered by the green and digital transitions.

^{*The original plan is entirely financed by RRF grants.}

• 105 investment streams and 35 reforms
• 50% of the plan will support climate objectives 
• 27% of the plan will foster the digital transition.    

The transformative impact of Belgium’s plan is the result of a strong combination of reforms and investments which address the country’s specific challenges. The reforms address bottlenecks to lasting and sustainable growth, while investments are targeted to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, to maximise the benefits of the digital transformation and to ensure social cohesion. The plan also intends to improve connectivity within the country, boost labour market performance, innovation capacity of the economy and make public spending more efficient and sustainable.

All measures have to be implemented within a tight time-frame, as the Regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Facility foresees they have to be completed by August 2026.

Belgium’s challenges for the green transition include important renovation needs of the building stock to increase its energy efficiency, making mobility and the transport sector more sustainable, and increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix. Finally, biodiversity, land use and water bodies are under pressure.

Key measures for the green transition

• The plan supports the green transition through:
  • Investments of over €1 billion in the energy-efficient renovation of buildings, including social housing.
  • €1.3 billion investments in sustainable mobility, notably by improving railway infrastructure, financing green public buses, deploying electric charging stations, developing urban public transport and creating or refurbishing cycling pathways.
  • An important reform to promote electric road transport by limiting preferential tax treatment of company cars to zero-emission vehicles by 2026.
• The plan also supports the decarbonisation of the energy sector by promoting the use of hydrogen as an energy source, with an investment of €390 million and an accompanying reform that should contribute to making it happen.
• On biodiversity and climate change adaptation €400 million will be invested for:
  • Reconnecting ecosystems, enhancing protected natural areas, forests and wetlands; and
  • Structural measures to sustainably manage water availability thereby increasing climate change resilience.

Digital challenges for the Belgian economy include addressing a lack of digital skills, strengthening fibre and 5G readiness and the digital transformation of public services.

Key measures for the digital transition

• Belgium’s recovery and resilience plan supports the digital transition with investments in the digitalisation of the public administration, in skills and digital inclusion, in cyber security and in connectivity. 
• The plan will invest:
  •  €440 million in education, for a more inclusive and future-proof education system across communities with digital and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills of pupils and students and access to digital tools and technology.
  • €585 million in the digital transformation of the public administration, justice system and health care system to improve access for citizens and businesses, and a set of reforms that will contribute to the deployment of 5G and the deployment of ultra-fast connectivity infrastructure, such as fibre.

Key macro-economic challenges for the Belgian economy include a low employment rate - in particular for people with a low educational attainment, elderly and people with a migrant background, skills mismatches, low productivity growth and a business environment not sufficiently fostering entrepreneurship, as well as low public investments, in particular for the digital and green transitions in a context of high public debt. These challenges weigh on potential growth and employment.

Key measures for reinforcing economic and social resilience

• The plan reinforces economic and social resilience with measures fostering effective and inclusive education systems, skills acquisition in line with current and future labour market needs, including the green and digital transition, and the participation of vulnerable groups (low-skilled, women, people with a migrant background, people with disabilities) to the labour market.
• The plan includes measures to make public spending more efficient and sustainable. 
  • Spending reviews will contribute to improve the quality and efficiency of Belgium’s public spending, allowing to reprioritise it towards more growth and environmentally friendly expenditures.
  • A reform of the pension regime is expected to improve the sustainability and adequacy of pensions.
  • Belgium will notably invest €450million in reskilling and upskilling measures and €400 million will boost Belgium’s innovation capacity by financing research and innovation infrastructure and programmes.
  • Furthermore, €198 million will finance projects on the promotion of recycling and reuse, eco-design projects and will support innovation in resource-handling and waste processing.

More information on the event can be found here.

Belgium’s plan is consistent with relevant country-specific challenges and priorities identified in the European Semester, the annual cycle of coordination and surveillance of the EU’s economic policies. For a detailed explanation of the European Semester see the following link: The European Semester explained | European Commission (europa.eu)

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