The policy of Belgium within the EU

In brief

In a single market without internal borders, EU citizens can study, live, shop, work and retire in any EU country they choose and have access to products originating from all parts of Europe. The freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and people within a single European market is what makes that possible.

European legislation furthermore sets out to achieve sustainable growth via the transition to a carbon-neutral economy and by means of a broader and more integrated vision of the internal market that corresponds more closely to industrial and trade policies.

In line with the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 and in response to the challenges described in the reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi, the European Union will devote a greater deal of effort to increasing the competitiveness of the Union, to strengthening economic resilience, to ensuring the resurgence of industry, to utilising the full potential of the single market and to guaranteeing a level playing field both internally and externally.

Objectives for Belgium

Over and above the reflex actions initiated by certain Member States (border controls or bans on the export of critical goods, etc.), the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine have demonstrated that progress with regard to the proper functioning of the internal market has remained very fragile and that the Commission should ideally play an active role as the guardian of the Treaty in monitoring and enforcing the existing instruments, in order to avoid further shortcomings in the future and thereby safeguard the very foundations of the internal market. The EU's recovery, resilience and open strategic autonomy must therefore be harnessed to make the internal market more resilient to possible crises in the future, both in terms of health as well as in other areas (e.g. cybersecurity).

Indeed, it is essential for Belgium that free movement and free access to goods and services be guaranteed by means of a barrier-free internal market. To this end, Belgium continues to prioritise the harmonisation of rules to the maximum degree possible, so that can be achieved more easily. It is therefore necessary to safeguard the quality of legislation, by ensuring that it is flexible and is free of excessively onerous administrative burdens, while not losing sight of the importance of promoting the internal market so that it is more visible to the public (the well-known "acquis communautaire").

That is the reason why Belgium is in favour of the continual deepening of the internal market, as the driver for growth and employment, which would include a gradual economic, fiscal and social convergence (as a means of combating social dumping). We must allow the internal market to merge with the digital market, given the advent of a data economy and the green transition.

Belgium calls for a European industrial strategy and for the strengthening of the EU's competitiveness on a global level, in particular by bringing about integration and diversification within European and global value chains. In this context, the emergence of the concept of strategic autonomy gains ground in the European debate and must be developed further. It must not, under any circumstances, lead to any form of protectionism.

The various priority themes for Belgium include: a more effectively integrated services market and the growth of SMEs/start-ups, the digital economy (data) and the emergence of new technologies (artificial intelligence, etc.). Belgium monitors the following themes that relate to the digital and green agendas very closely: the circular economy, the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), the future of the internal market, European legislation in relation to critical raw materials, economic security, strategic technologies and finally the transition to a net-zero industrial sector.