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The Future of Europe

As 2011 is slowly drawing to an end, the figures for Wallonia in particular are still on the rise. Belgium is more than ever an international hub, which is shown in one of Europe’s leading biotechnologies conference being moved from London to Brussels next year. The 19th edition of BioPartnering Europe, which will be held in London on 9th and 10th October 2011 and where we will of course be exhibiting, is evolving into BioPartnering FutureEUROPE in Brussels. The name is very well chosen and surely a sign that the future of Europe starts in Belgium. If you want to know more about it, there will be a special Belgian-themed event on Tuesday at BioPartnering, entitled “A Historic Farewell to London and a Welcome Look into the Future in Brussels”. Please get in touch if you would like to attend.

Didier DENAYER
Economic and Commercial Counsellor

News & Events

In Ernst & Young's annual barometer on Belgian attractiveness, Belgium has moved up from eighth to sixth place with respect to foreign investments in Europe, which is due primarily to Wallonia. The southern region received 57 of the 146 investment projects, a rise of 17 over 2008. Flanders and Brussels fell far short, with the number of projects in Flanders down from 74 to 64 and in Brussels from 28 to 25. A survey among business CEO's showed that the main reasons companies opt for Belgium are the quality of life, the good telecommunications infrastructure, transport and logistics, employee skills and the stable social climate.

Wallonia is the first logistic region in Europe. This is the conclusion of a survey lead by Cushman & Wakefield. The report makes a ranking of top locations for distribution and logistics in Europe, based upon macro-economic parameters for 61 European regions. Read the abridged version here.

H&M European hub in Wallonia
The Swedish clothing group H&M and Wallonia authorities have announced the development of a distribution centre in the Ghlin-Baudour economic zone, which will lead to the creation of more than 300 jobs. Wallonia was the group's first choice because of the attractive price of greenfield land, the quality of the workforce and the availability of investment grants.

Belgium remains in first position in the European logistics and distribution market, according to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield. This report ranks 25 countries based on rent, labour costs, congestion, size of freight markets by type, proximity to key markets and population densities.With low property and building costs and a central location in Europe, Belgium is the place most investors chose for their distribution centres and logistics platforms. Download the report here.

Charleroi airport - flying colours!
Brussels South Charleroi Airport, which recently opened its new terminal and launched 6 new destinations, shows an unrivalled 14% growth for the first quarter 2008, remaining one of the country's favourite airports.

IBA expanding again
Walloon biotech company Ion Beam Applications opens a new radiopharmaceuticals production centre in Guilford (Surrey), which reinforces the position of IBA as the largest radiopharmaceuticals distribution network in the world.
www.iba.be