IntroductionIntroduction Situated in the centre of Western Europe
Very small: ca. 32.500 km²
Population: ca. 10.000.000
Capital: Brussels
Neighbours: The Netherlands, Germany, France, Luxembourg & UK
2. Political system2. Political system 1830: independence: unitary state BUT: language border!
=> Flanders / Wallonia / Oostkantons
5 state reforms – 3 Communities – 3 Regions
A structure on 3 levelsA structure on 3 levelsFederal state + 3 Regions
+ 3 Communities
10 Provinces
589 Communes
CompetencesCompetences Federal state:Federal state:
– Everything that affects the interests of all belgians: foreign affairs, national defence, justice, finance,…
– Responsabilities vis-à-vis the EU and NATO
Communities:Communities:– Matters relating to the people: language, culture,
education,…
Regions:Regions:– Territorial matters: town planning, employment,
environment,…
– Foreign trade!!
Problems!!!
3. Economical profile3. Economical profilea) Geographical situation
b) General Economics
c) International cooperation
d) Economic problems
a) Geographical locationa) Geographical location Lack of mountains + border to North Sea
In the centre of the «industrial square»: Ruhr -- Randstad Holland -- Nord-Pas de Calais -- Lorraine-Saarland
in the centre of European ”megalopolis” , a major urban and economic corridor (Liverpool – Genua)
b) General economicsb) General economics
- real economic grotwh 2003: 1,0%
- inflation 2003: 1,3%
- GDP per capita: > 13% => relative wealth
- revenue per worker: 62.560 € (20% higher than EU average)
GDP in BelgiumGDP in Belgium
% of GDP
1%27%
58%
14%
agriculture
industry
privat services
public services
Import & ExportImport & Export
50% of export: neighbours25% of export: other EU members
Foreign investment!Ups and downs of economy –--
fluctuations of our neigbours
Belgium EU average
Export (% of GDP) 76,5 % 32,2 %
Import (% of GDP) 72,9 % 31,0 %
Import & ExportImport & Export 40% of export: 3 large groups
– Transport equipment– Machinery & appliances– Chemical & pharmaceutical products
Other 60%: large variety– Diamonds, carpets, comic books & childrens books,
linen, flowers (azalea & begonia), beer, chocolate,…
c) International cooperationc) International cooperation
prosperity = dependent on external trade => active part in intern. cooperation
BLEU Benelux
(+ Benelux Trademark Office)
One of the 6 founder countries of ECSC, EEC & Eurotam
pro european unification!
d) Economical problemsd) Economical problems
UnemployementUnemployement– 14 % of active population– High wage cost, high labour cost,
structural problems of Labour market– 200.000 new jobs <-> - 4.000 Ford
AAdministrative burdendministrative burden– Costs for administrative tasks: 3,4% of GDP – Lack of entrepreneurship!– ”state secretary of
administrative simplification” Government deficitGovernment deficit Welfare stateWelfare state
d) Economical problemsd) Economical problems
Administrative burdenAdministrative burden– Costs for administrative tasks: 3,4% of the GDP
(around 9 billion €)– Lack of entrepreneurship!– ”state secretary of administrative simplification”
Welfare stateWelfare state Ageing populiton => not engough money to pay
pensions ”Early retirement” at 55 (even 50)
Government deficitGovernment deficit Extreme until 1993 Draconian rehabilitation plans government debt/GDP ratio: 110.6%
4. Industrial and innovation policies 4. Industrial and innovation policies a) Belgian industry in general
b) Regional policy- Kortrijk-region
--- Flanders Language Valley
- Euregio Maas-Rhine- Flemish Diamond
Belgian industry in generalBelgian industry in general
Industrial sector: Industrial sector: 1/4e of all jobs 30% of added value
Major regional contrastsMajor regional contrasts– North: industrialised
Antwerp: chemical sectors Ghent, Zeebrugge, Brussels Central Flanders, Kortrijk-region, North-east
– South: not industrialised at all (anymore)
Belgian industry in generalBelgian industry in general
De-industrialisation & TeriarisationDe-industrialisation & Teriarisation– structure of industrial activity has changed a lot
– De-industrialisation since 50s: 1957-1992: all 120 coalmines have been shut down
(in Flanders) Production of steel (Wallonia) almost entirely stopped
– decline in jobs compensated by development in tertiary sector
b) Regional policyb) Regional policy
Complex structure + different cultures => no single industrial policy
Stimulation of regional development within different Communities & Regions– Wallonia: after decline of steel production: ??– Flanders: certain regions developed
70s – 80s: Euregio Maas-Rhine Early 90s: Kortrijk-region Late 90s: Flemish Diamond
Kortrijk-region –Kortrijk-region –Flanders Language ValleyFlanders Language Valley
Light industries, SMEs, local management Part: ”Flanders Language Valley” (speech tech)
Cluster of localised technological change After Sillicon Valley-model: strong pilote firm,
venture capital, education, informal networking L&H research lab: a common source of codified
knowledge Fast entrepreneurial reaction => developing broad
range of applications Favourable communication conditions innovative
linkages between SMEs
Kortrijk-region –Kortrijk-region –Flanders Language ValleyFlanders Language Valley
Companies: mutual advantage: – learn form each other– Using common pools of resources in proximity
E.g. employees in ”collective pools of labour” created by several education and training programmes
But: owners of L&H: FRAUDE !– Big scandal– Technology sold to Americans– FLV collapsed
Euregio Maas - RhineEuregio Maas - Rhine Norhteast of Flanders, near Holland & Germany,
near Maas and Rhine rivers
Lagging region without industries
70s: development started, because in “New” Europe cross-border cooperation at local and regional level was becoming more important
Agreement with Holland & Germany
Large foreign companies ( <-> SMEs in FLV)
Benefited from large amount of labour force
Flemish DiamondFlemish Diamond Region in centre of Flanders,
Antwerp – Ghent – Brussels – Leuven Urban network on international level Industrial economy => knowledge
economy Knowledge = critical succes factor for
the future Well-functioning urban network, modern
infrastructure to transport goods and person are necessary
Growth of Flanders depend on development of this diamond