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The congestion issue in Belgium was also noted in the EU’s country-specific recommendations in May 2019, which specifically called out the problems around Brussels and the Ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge. Congestion not only results in decreased productivity, it also affects our quality of life, making Belgium less attractive for investment and international talent.
Belgium only invests 0.4% of its GDP in mobility, which is the second lowest among OECD countries. In addition to chronic underinvestment, another challenge is the lack of cooperation between the different regions, as mobility is a shared competence. Companies are trying to put in place creative solutions for their employees, such as carpooling schemes, but it can be difficult to navigate the different fiscal and regulatory policies. Innovation should be encouraged.
Mobility patterns are changing – the work-from-home trend, for example, is likely to persist beyond the pandemic – and new technologies are also changing the way we move. As mobility is shaped first and foremost by people’s behavior, data collection and processing is a first step towards understanding the problem and developing solutions.
What Belgium really needs is an integrated mobility strategy. Mobility illustrates well our concerns about country governance: it requires effective coordination between different levels of government, efficient decision-making processes and targeted public investments. To keep people and goods moving, in our 2020 Priorities for a Prosperous Belgium (#PPB20), we urge the newly formed Federal Government to invest in mobility and infrastructure.
AmCham Belgium recommends
To invest in mobility and infrastructure
Invest in public transport and promote multimodality between private and public transport modes.
Foster innovation to tackle traffic problems and to implement smart mobility solutions.
Invest in infrastructure and introduce a fast-track permit procedure for projects of general interest.
Our ambition is for Belgium to achieve a top ten position in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index by 2030, up from 22nd today. To climb the ranks, Belgium will need to address its congestion problem in a meaningful way. This is important not only for Belgium to continue attracting logistics investments, but also to put the economy on the path of sustainable growth.
Optimistic and always willing to discuss legal and economic developments, Gauthier translates expertise from our members to new policy opportunities for the Chamber. He gets his energy from either sports or breakfast.
