Belgium: over view

Belgium with major cities: thick black lines denote the language border separating the 3 regions: Brussels in the center, Flanders in the Northern half, Wallonia in the Southern half; thin lines delimit provinces

Belgium is a small, highly developed and densely populated country (10 million of inhabitants) at the cross-roads of Western Europe. Belgium is one of the founding members of the European Community, and its capital, Brussels, is also the capital of the European Union. It is a federal state, with 3 relatively autonomous regions:  Flanders in the north, where the language is Dutch ("Flemish").  Wallonia in the south, where the language is French  And the centrally located Brussels, which is officially bilingual.

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Belgium's rich history has left impressive churches, town halls, castles and works of art, dating back to the early Middle Ages, spread around the cities and country-side. Belgium has possibly the highest "quality of life" in the world, as testified by its excellent food, housing, health care, education and infrastructure, its world records for high productivity and low poverty, and the appreciation of foreigners residing in Belgium. For a personal view on what distinguishes Belgium and the Belgian character       good living pragmatism food and drink open-mindedness Compromise privacy

Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Belgium is a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The current monarch is King Albert II, who took the oath of office on August 9, 1993. As titular head of state, the King plays a largely ceremonial and symbolic role in the nation. His primary political function is to designate a political leader to attempt to

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form a new cabinet following either an election, the resignation of a government, or a parliamentary vote of no confidence. The King is seen as playing a symbolic unifying role, representing a common national Belgian identity. The Belgian Parliament consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The House of Representatives has 150 directly elected members. The Senate has 71 members. The executive branch of the government consists of ministers and secretaries of state (junior ministers) drawn from the political parties that form the government coalition. The number of ministers is limited to 15, and they have no seat in Parliament. The Council of Ministers is chaired by the Prime Minister and consists of the ministerial heads of the executive departments. The allocation of powers between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers is somewhat similar to the United States--the Parliament enacts legislation and appropriates funds--but the Belgian Parliament does not have the same degree of independent power that the U.S. Congress has. Members of political parties represented in the government are expected to support all bills presented by the Cabinet. The House of Representatives is the "political" body that votes on motions of confidence and budgets. The Senate deals with long-term issues and votes on an equal footing with the Chamber on a limited range of matters, including constitutional reform bills and international treaties.

The Council of Ministers At the federal level, executive power is wielded by the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister chairs the Council. Each minister heads a governmental department. No single party or party "family" across linguistic lines holds an absolute majority of seats in Parliament. Consequently, the Council of Ministers reflects the weight of political parties that constitute the governing coalition in the House.

The legal system of Belgium

Belgium is part of European Union follows the civil law and has a federal state. The legal system of Belgium is based on these three qualities.

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In 1830, Belgium state was established as constitutional monarchy as conciliation between Dutch and French claims, settled by the Government of Britain. Originally the Belgian legal system was influenced by the French legal system as sanctioned in the Belgiums constitution. The legislative branch was consisted of a parliament with two chambers (Chamber and Senate). The king was the head of the state (and still continues to date). The king was also the chief of the executive branch. However, the entire political power is in the hand of the government and its prime minister. The judiciary branch has regular courts in various appeal levels (criminal and private law issues). In the year 1948, an administrative court was added. Recently, in the year 1980, a constitutional court was also established. But this court is not yet a full fledged constitutional court. The court system has not changed much and is still very similar to the French system. The ordinary courts are categorized into different levels. They are as follows: Tribunal de Police criminal Tribunal des Juges de Paix Civil Cour dAssises Cour de Cassation These courts deal with reconciliation matters and small offenses. Tribunal de premiere is the first level of court to deal and settle the criminal cases. This is also known as juvenile court or correctional court. Recently specialized chambers were added to the civil and criminal courts. Social law matters are settled in the labour tribunal court. Bigger crimes appear before the Cour dAssises, the only court in Belgium with panel of judges. The Cour de Cassation is the top most appeal level which deal with only points of law. No new facts can be appealed before this highest court similar to the French system.

Geography : Area: 32,547 square kilometers (12,566 sq. mi.), about the size of Maryland. Cities: Capital--Brussels (pop. 1,089,538). Other cities--Antwerp (483,505); Ghent (243,336); Charleroi (202,598); Liege (192, 504); Bruges (116,741); and Namur (108,950).

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Population:
Belgium had a population of 10 839 905 people on January 1st, 2010. Since 1963 the Belgian population has grown constantly

The following data seem to be of interest for a national report on legal aid since many of the people granted legal aid have proven to be living in precarious circumstances and experience many social risks. Recent Belgian poverty studies have revealed that 3,65% of the working population earns a living from minimum wages. 2.1% receives social assistance, 4, 73% has a minimum income from eldery scheme . Other studies researching the impact of social class of origin on the occurrence of a selection of social risks have presented the following data: Unemployment : 6, 85 %, ill-health : 6, 57%, living, in a jobless household : 8, 60%, single parenthood 7, 60%, temporary unemployment : 8, 27% and low-paid employment 8, 69 present.

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Climate:
Temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

Natural resources:
Construction materials, silica sand, carbonates

Land use:
 arable land: 27.42%  permanent crops: 0.69%  other: 71.89%

Natural hazard:
Flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes

Environment: current issue

The environment is exposed to intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries; uncertainties regarding federal and regional responsibilities (now resolved) had slowed progress in tackling environmental challenges.

Age structure:
 0-14 years: 15.9% (male 846,706/female 812,486)

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 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 3,475,404/female 3,416,060)  65 years and over: 18% (male 783,895/female 1,096,926) (2011 est.)

Medium age :
 total: 42.3 years  male: 41 years  female: 43.6 years (2011 est.)

Literacy rate :
    definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Culture of Belgium:
A discussion of Belgian culture requires discussing both those aspects of cultural life shared by 'all' or most of the Belgians, regardless of what language they speak, and also, the differences between the main cultural communities: the Flemish people from Flanders, Brussels and the French-speakers from Brussels and Wallonia. The grouping of Brussels and Wallonia as one cultural community is rejected by the Manifesto for Walloon culture as well as certain regionalists from Brussels.[1] Most Belgians tend to view their culture as an integral part of European culture or Western culture; nevertheless, both main communities tend to make their thousands of individual and collective cultural choices mainly from within their own community, and then, when going beyond, the Flemish draw intensively from both the English-speaking culture (which dominates sciences, professional life and most news media) and the Netherlands, whereas French-speakers focus on cultural life in Paris and elsewhere in the French-speaking world (la Francophonie), and less

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outside. A truly scientific discussion would also include discussion of the different cultures of Belgian ethnic minorities such as the Jews who have formed a remarkable component of Flemish culture in particular that of Antwerp for over five hundred years.

Economic environment:
This modern, open, and private-enterprise-based economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the more heavily-populated region of Flanders in the north. With few natural resources, Belgium imports substantial quantities of raw materials and exports a large volume of manufactures, making its economy vulnerable to volatility in world markets, yet also able to benefit from them. Roughly three-quarters of Belgium's trade is with other EU countries, and Belgium has benefited most from its proximity to Germany. In 2010 Belgian GDP grew by 2.1%, the unemployment rate rose slightly, and the government reduced the budget deficit, which had worsened in 2008 and 2009 because of large-scale bail-outs in the financial sector. Belgium's budget deficit decreased from 6% of GDP to 4.8% in 2010, while public debt was just under 100% of GDP. Belgian banks were severely affected by the international financial crisis with three major banks receiving capital injections from the government. An ageing population and rising social expenditures are mid- to long-term challenges to public finances.

GDP: purchasing power

 $394.3 billion (2010 est.)

country comparison to the world: 3 1

 $386.7 billion (2009 est.)  $397.3 billion (2008 est.) 2% (2010 est.)

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GDP: real growth rate

 country comparison to the world: 150  -2.7% (2009 est.)  0.8% (2008 est.)

GDP: per capita

    $37,800 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 26 $37,100 (2009 est.) $38,200 (2008 est.)

GDP: composition by sector

 agriculture: 0.7%  industry: 22.1%  services: 77.2% (2010 est.)

Labor force :by occupation  agriculture: 2%  industry: 25%  services: 73% (2007 est.) Agriculture product:
 sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk

Industries:

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 engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum

Export commodities :  machinery and equipment, chemicals, finished diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs

Import commodities:  raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products

Debt :external
 $1.241 trillion (30 June 2010)

Country comparison to the world: 12

 $1.354 trillion (31 December 2008)

Foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment (stock) totaled more than $705 billion (cumulative) in 2009. U.S. and other foreign companies in Belgium account for approximately 11% of the total work force, with the U.S. share at about 6%. U.S. companies are heavily represented in the chemical sector, automotive assembly, petroleum refining, and pharmaceutical sectors. A number of U.S. service industries followed in the wake of these investments--banks, law firms, public relations, accounting, and executive search firms. The resident American community in Belgium now exceeds 20,000. Attracted by the EU 1992 single-market program, many U.S. law firms and lawyers have settled in Brussels since 1989.

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Monetary On May 1, 1998, Belgium became a first-tier member of the European Monetary Union. Belgium switched from the Belgian franc (BF) to the Euro as its currency after January 1, 2002.

Trade Most of Belgium's trade is with fellow EU member states. As a result, Belgium seeks to diversify and expand trade opportunities with non-EC countries. Through November 2010, Belgium ranked as the 14th-largest market for the export of U.S. goods.
Bilaterally, there are few points of friction with the U.S. in the trade and economic area. The Belgian authorities are, as a rule, anti-protectionist and try to maintain a hospitable and open trade and investment climate. As a result, the U.S. Government focuses its market-opening efforts on the EU Commission and larger member states. Moreover, the Commission negotiates on trade issues for all member states, which in turn lessens bilateral trade disputes with Belgium.

Budget Although Belgium is a wealthy country, public expenditures far exceeded income for many years, and taxes were not diligently pursued. The Belgian Government reacted with poor macroeconomic policies to the 1973 and 1979 oil price hikes by hiring the redundant work force into the public sector and subsidizing industries like coal, steel, textiles, glass, and shipbuilding, which had lost their international competitive edge. As a result, cumulative government debt reached 121% of GDP by the end of the 1980s. However, thanks to Belgium's high personal savings rate, the Belgian Government financed the deficit from mainly domestic savings, minimizing the deleterious effects on the overall economy.
The federal government ran a 7.1% budget deficit in 1992 at the time of the EU's Treaty of Maastricht, which established conditions for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) that led to adoption of the common Euro currency on January 1, 2002. Among

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other criteria spelled out under the Maastricht treaty, the Belgian Government had to attain a budget deficit of no greater than 3% of GDP by the end of 1997; Belgium achieved this, with a total budget deficit in 2001 (just prior to implementation of the Euro currency) that amounted to 0.2% of GDP. The government had a positive primary balance between 1993 and 2007, during which time Belgiums debt to GDP level fell from 133% to just over 84%. In 2009, due to the financial and economic crisis, Belgiums deficit and debt levels increased to 6% and 96.2% of GDP respectively, with debt rising to close to 97% of GDP in 2010. Thanks to improving economic growth, Belgiums budget deficit was 4.6% in 2010. According to the countrys Stability Program, the deficit is planned to be 4.1% in 2011 and 3.0% in 2012, although the government signaled in early 2011 that it wants to bring the 2011 deficit to below 4.0%.

Difference between wages of men and women

2002 Women Men Wage gap 29.832 34.59 14%

2003 28.316 33.942 16%

2004 30.161 35.331 15%

2005 31.223 36.432 15%

2006 32.334 37.354 12%

2007 33.221 38.376 12%

Wage gap between man and women (2002-2007)

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Competitive environment
The new ranking in the Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010 of theWorld Economic Forum (WEF) demonstrates that Belgium is continuing to maintain its competitive edge. And even more than that, we have moved one step up, demonstrating that Belgium has managed to limit the effects of the crisis. The general tendency in the rankings this year was a drop for many countries which previously have performed very well in the rankings. Belgium is not doing as well on a number of points, but it is remarkable that they have limited the damage, whilst many other countries have significantly dropped behind. This year Belgium was the 18th most competitive economy in the world. Therefore for the second year in a row we have moved up slightly: 19thplace in 2008 and 20th place in 2007 and 2006. Belgium has its excellent healthcare and primary education systems (worldwide 3rd position) to thank for its position at number 18. The position of higher education and training remains good, although there was a slight drop (worldwide 8th position instead of 6th in 2008). The same can also be said for the efficiency of the goods market and infrastructure. Belgium needs to take care to ensure that the decline does not continue. Innovation and business sophistication are also contributing to our competitive position. It is noticeable that their primary neighbors continue to be more competitive than Belgium. The Belgian governments debts are part of the explanation for this and continue to affect macroeconomic stability in Belgium. The enormous tax burden and uneven efficiency in the job market have also ensured a decline in competitiveness. Finally, business leaders have also observed that access to financial means was problematical in 2009.

Doing Business in Belgium

The languages of Belgium are Flemish (a regional variation of Dutch), French and Walloon, an historical language of southern Belgium. Whether your partner speaks Flemish or French is of course important to him, so make sure you know which region you are in! Belgium is a founding member of the European Union, a member of NATO and Brussels is home to the headquarters of both organizations. The European

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headquarters of many commercial companies are also in Belgium because of the excellent road and rail links. When doing business in Belgium, here are some tips to consider:  Belgians are generally cautious so it is wise to take time to build trust.  First appointments are more socially than business oriented, as Belgians prefer to do business with people they know.  Pay attention to administrative detail in business dealings.  Belgians prefer subtlety to directness as they believe that subtlety is a reflection of intelligence.  Have your documents translated into the right language or if you are dealing with all of Belgium, into both Flemish and French

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