Investing in Brussels

With around 1 million inhabitants and a surface area of 162 km2, Brussels is home to more than 50,000 companies – most of them SMEs and multinationals. The city is officially bilingual (Dutch and French).

Brussels, as the capital of Belgium and of Europe, is one of the most cosmopolitan European cities. The European Institutions and many professional organisations are based in the city, which is a leading international business centre where opinion leaders from all branches of industry meet on a daily basis.

Brussels helps companies by complementing the federal fiscal measures with fiscal incentives, support measures and a range of allowances. The region also provides assistance in the following areas (among others):

• recruitment;
• training;
• logistics;
• research and development.

You can find comprehensive information about investing or starting up a business in Brussels on the website www.investinbrussels.be.

Europe’s economic crossroads

The presence of the main European Institutions makes Brussels a leading decision-making centre and a dynamic economic hub. With 13,000 lobbyists, Brussels is second only to Washington in terms of its concentration of interest groups and NGOs.

The city is at the centre of the European railway network, meaning that from Brussels you can reach Paris in just 1 hour 20 minutes and London in 1 hour 51 minutes.

In comparison with neighbouring countries, the property market is still very competitive. This helps to explain why many multinationals have located their European headquarters in the city.

Brussels International Development Plan

As the capital of Europe, Brussels has a high profile on the world stage, meaning that this multicultural city has an amazing number of strengths, which it will have to emphasise if the region wants to safeguard its future in the growing competitive struggle between the major European cities.

For this reason, the Brussels-Capital Region drew up the Brussels International Development Plan (IDP), which sets out a range of guidelines to prepare the development of tomorrow. You will find comprehensive information about the IDP at www.morgenbrussel.be (Dutch). 
 
You can find more information about investing in Brussels on the following websites:

• Invest in Brussels
• Brussels-Capital Region portal
• Brussels Innovation Relay Center
• List of Brussels Economic and Commercial Attachés in the world

Contact:

For private companies and individuals:

Brussels Enterprise Agency
International Relations Department
Avenue du Port 86 C, bte 211
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: +32 (0)2 422 00 20
Fax: +32 (0)2 422 00 43
e-mail: info@bea.irisnet.be