Belgium sends recovery plan to European Commission
The federal government today gave green light to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The plan was submitted today to an electronic consultation committee and then sent to the European Commission. The Belgian economic recovery is fully in line with the transition to a sustainable and digital economy.
"The coronavirus crisis represents an unprecedented economic and social shock for our country. The recovery plan that we are submitting to the European Commission today is a unique opportunity to emerge from the coronavirus economically stronger, by taking the turn towards a more sustainable, digital and future-oriented growth" said Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
"I am pleased that we managed to send the plan within the timeframe imposed by Europe. We started late but we have joined the group of countries that will submit their plan on time. This is proof that our Belgian model, based on cooperative federalism, can work effectively," said Secretary of State Thomas Dermine, underlining "an inter-federal and concerted process unlike any our country has ever experienced.”
A green and digital plan worth €5.926 billion euros
The total cost of the plan's measures is €5.926 billion and is deployed through 17 components containing 85 investment projects and 36 reform projects.
The plan submitted by Belgium is "greener" than the minimum imposed by the European Commission (51% compared to 37% imposed). It also devotes more resources to digital than the minimum threshold set by Europe (25% compared to 20%).
85 projects with a short-term impact
- 56% of the amounts allocated to the recovery concern infrastructure projects such as the renovation of buildings including schools, the construction of new generation energy networks for CO2 capture and hydrogen transport, the renovation and construction of transport infrastructure (mainly cycling and railways) or digital infrastructure (5G, optical fibre).
- 26% concerns training and human capital projects (creation of new training centres/hubs, implementation of new support measures for job seekers, improvement of the performance of education systems, etc.)
- 28% concerns digital transition projects, particularly in education, justice or social security applications.
- 13% concerns research and development projects in future technologies to strengthen and capitalise on Belgian excellence (such as nuclear medicine, space and aeronautics, artificial intelligence, etc.).
The Belgian plan has given priority to projects that can have a maximum short-term impact on the country's recovery. Thus, 65% of the amounts can be budgetarily committed by the end of 2023. All projects must be completed by 2026.
Working together
The plan for Belgium's recovery and resilience is the result of inter-federal coordination work that began in October. Dozens of working sessions have brought together the project leaders with the aim of producing a coherent plan.
The Central Economic Council (CCE), the Federal Council for Sustainable Development (CFDD) and the National Labour Council (CNT), as well as the Federal Planning Bureau and the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, but also the FPS Social Security, the FPS Social Integration and the FPS Economy were involved in the process. Finally, numerous exchanges took place between the European Commission's technical experts and the project leaders in order to discuss the relevance of the measures proposed by Belgium.
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan can be consulted via these links:
