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The Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard

Country data: Belgium

Transposition of Single Market directives (Belgium)

Trend since last reporting period:  positive;  negative; = neutral
Ranking out of 27: 1 to 9; 10 to 18; 19 to 27
Indicators on Single Market DirectivesDec. 2024EU averageRankingTrend
Transposition deficit (percentage of all directives not transposed)1.0%0.8%20↗↗
Overdue directives108
Long-overdue directives (> 2 years)1110=
  • Directive 2020/1057/EU – Specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector
Average delay in transposing directives (in months)10.111.911
Conformity deficit (percentage of all directives transposed incorrectly)1.3%0.9%22
Duration of infringement proceedings for late transposition (in months)19.018.017

Single Market infringement cases (Belgium)

Trend since last reporting period:  positive;  negative; = neutral
Ranking out of 27: 1 to 9; 10 to 18; 19 to 27
Ranking out of 20 (compliance with Court rulings): 1 to 7; 8 to 14; 15 to 20

Indicators on Single Market Infringement ProceedingsDec. 2024EU averageRankingTrend
Number of pending infringement proceedings342423
Problematic sectors
  • Services and professions (6 cases)
  • Direct taxation (4 cases)
Average duration of infringement proceedings (in months)51.545.822
Average time taken to comply with Court rulings (in months)74.661.314

Internal Market Information System (Belgium)

Technical regulations information system (Belgium)

On these, the Commission issued 2 detailed opinions and 7 comments, while other Member States issued 12 detailed opinions and 8 comments.

SOLVIT (Belgium)

Caseload
Submitted cases: 119 (98 in 2023)
Received cases: 83 (62 in 2023)
Cases not accepted: 133 (109 in 2023)

Resolution rate: 59% (80.6% in 2023)

Handling time (as home centre)
Reply in 7 days: 93% (92% in 2023)
Cases prepared in 30 days: 84% (94% in 2023)
Solutions accepted within 7 days: 92% (96% in 2023)
Cases not accepted within 30 days: 77% (78% in 2023)

Handling time (as lead centre)
Cases accepted within 7 days: 85% (91% in 2023)
Cases closed within 10 weeks: 38% (60% in 2023)

Staffing level
Urgent action needed

Payment delays (Belgium)

In 2024, the average payment delay (the time exceeding the legal or agreed payment terms) by Belgian public authorities was 17 days.

The average number of days needed for a business to have its invoices paid by other businesses (business-to-business payments) was 63 days.

Responsive administration and burden of regulation (Belgium)

IndicatorYearBEEU average
Burden of government regulation (survey replies: 1 = worst, 7 = best)20234.37  3.87  
Digital public services to start and run a business (100% = best performing)202391.6%85.4%  
Payment delays by public authorities (days)202417 days16.76 days
Time to resolve insolvency   
Impact of regulation on long-term investment decisions (survey replies)    

Access to public procurement (Belgium)

Indicator2023EU average
Single bidder

26%

38%

No calls for bids

2%

6%

Publication rate (value advertised on Tenders Electronic Daily, in % of GDP)

3.7%

5.84%

Cooperative procurement (proportion of procedures with more than one buyer)

14%

7%

Award criteria (proportion of procedures awarded to cheapest bid)

30%

56%

Decision speed (days)

103 

84 

SME contractors

31%

58%

SME bids

60%

66%

Procedures divided into lots

33%

30%

Missing calls for bids

2%

1%

Missing seller registration numbers

90%

47%

Missing buyer registration numbers

14%

36%

Note: A typical (mid-ranking) EU country is used for the EU average for all indicators except the publication rate. Due to delays in data availability, publication rate results are based on 2022 data.

Access to services and services markets (Belgium)

IndicatorYearBEEU average
Restrictiveness indicator – architect20213.0  2.5  
Restrictiveness indicator – accountant20212.3  1.7  
Restrictiveness indicator – civil engineer20211.0  2.4  
Restrictiveness indicator – lawyer20213.7  3.4  
Restrictiveness indicator – real estate agent20212.7  1.3  
Restrictiveness indicator – patent agent20210.9  2.2  
Restrictiveness indicator – tourist guide20211.5  1.2  
Domestic priority letter prices, letter 20 g2022€ 1.89€ 1.06
Intra-EU priority letter prices, letter 20 g2022€ 2.23€ 1.71
Domestic transit times, day+1 performance, priority letters 20 g202294.5%81.7%

Note: The EU restrictiveness indicator (EURI) measures the restrictiveness for the cross-border provision of services and the right of establishment for seven groups of professional services with a high share in EU firms’ intermediate consumption or cross-border mobility. The level of restrictiveness is measured on a scale from 0 (least restrictive) to 6 (most restrictive).

Access to finance (Belgium)

IndicatorYearBEEU average
Access to public financial support (% of SMEs indicating deterioration)202315.26% 19.11% 
Time to get paid by businesses 202463 days62 days
Venture capital investments (% of GDP)20230.045%0.050%
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