Belgium Travel Tips Economy

ECONOMY

The economies of Belgium and Luxembourg have been unified since 1921, when the two governments signed a Convention of Economic Union; this is distinct from the Benelux Union (which includes The Netherlands) and the EU (Belgium being a founder member of both). The country’s traditional industries of steel, motor vehicles and textiles suffered from the recession of the 1980s. While important, these no longer play the central economic role of the past. Coal mining ceased when the last mine was closed in 1992. Nuclear power accounts for almost two-thirds of Belgium’s energy consumption; the remainder is generated from imported fuel products. Manufactured goods and machinery are the largest export sectors, with the major markets inside the EU – including France, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK. These are also Belgium’s main source of imported goods. Belgium relies particularly heavily on export earnings – 70 per cent of GDP is exported, one of the highest proportions in the world. Successive Belgian governments have been keen proponents of the process of European integration, including the introduction of a single European currency, which Belgium adopted upon its inception in 1999. The Verhofstadt government has managed to reduce Belgium’s high unemployment level to around 7 per cent, while keeping inflation below 2 per cent. Growth is sluggish at present, at just over 1 per cent.