COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - BELGIUM Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, EU environmental policy, EU initiative, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 34 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review  Country Report - BELGIUM   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33 final} {SWD(2017) 35 - 60 final}  
 
 
Belgium  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
Commission. Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). 

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Luhrenberg/iStock; p.29 – ©kartouchken/iStock 

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright 
holder. 

©European Union, 2017 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Belgium  3 

Table of Content 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................... 5 

1. 

TURNING THE EU INTO A CIRCULAR, RESOURCE-EFFICIENT, GREEN AND COMPETITIVE ECONOMY ... 5 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ..................................................... 5 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 8 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ..................................................... 10 

Nature and Biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 10 
Estimating Natural Capital................................................................................................................... 12 
Green Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 13 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 14 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 15 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE .......................................................................... 17 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 17 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 18 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 18 
Enhancing the sustainability of cities .................................................................................................. 21 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 23 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ..................................................................... 24 

4.  MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT ............................................................................ 24 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 24 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 25 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 26 

5. 

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................... 28 

Effective governance within federal, regional and local government ................................................ 28 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 30 
Public participation and access to justice ........................................................................................... 31 
Access to information, knowledge and evidence ................................................................................ 32 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
 
 
Executive summary 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

governance. 

Belgium  4 

Main Challenges 

The main challenges with regard to implementation of EU 
environmental policy and law in Belgium are to: 

  Maintain air quality where compliant (such as PM10) 
and  achieve  such  compliance  in  the  near  future 
(NOx)  through  reducing  traffic  congestion  and 
introducing disincentives for car use. 

  Continue  addressing  water  pollution  from  urban 

waste water and agricultural sources. 

  Ensure  that  the  Natura  2000  network  is  managed 
towards  favourable  conservation  status  for  all 
species and habitats 

Main Opportunities 

Belgium  could  perform  better  on  topics  where  there  is 
already a good knowledge base and good practices. This 
applies in particular to: 

  Use  the  funding  opportunities  for  EIB  loans  and 
environmental investment with the ESIF support and 
the EFSI in the sectors covered by the EIR. 

Points of Excellence 

leader  on  environmental 
Where  Belgium 
implementation,  innovative  approaches  could  be  shared 
more widely with other countries. Good examples are: 

is  a 

  The extensive activities at federal and regional levels 
in promoting circular economy showing leadership to 
public  and  private 
stakeholders;  using  ERDF 
Operational  Programmes  to  promote  the  circular 
economy. 

  The  BNIP  Integrated  LIFE  project  supporting  the 
implementation  of  the  Belgian  Prioritised  Action 
Framework for Natura 2000 sites which will improve 
governance,  capacity  building  and  collaboration 
between the Federal and regional authorities. 

  Progress 
1990s.

in 

improving  recycling  rates  since  the 

launched 

reports  describing 

the 
the  Commission 
In  May  2016, 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Agenda 
Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs)3  to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law4.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General profile 

Due to its federal structure most environmental issues in 
Belgium are a regional competence. Hence, effective co-
ordination  is  needed  within  a  system  of  multi-level 

1 Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals  
4 This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
                                                            
Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive economy 

Belgium  5 

Developing  a  circular  economy  and  improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
infrastructure,  promote 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG 12  encourages countries  to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

Transforming our economies from linear to circular offers 
an  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and  make  them  more 
stimulate 
sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
investments and bring both short and long-term benefits 
for the economy, environment and citizens alike5. 

Belgium is performing slightly better than average in the 
EU in terms of resource productivity6 (how efficiently the 
economy  uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth), 
with  2.45  EUR/kg  (EU  average  is  2  EUR/kg)  in  20157. 
Figure 1 shows trends over time and indicates a slight but 
steady  increase  of  resource  productivity  since  2007  in 
Belgium. 

In 2014, the federal administration prepared a roadmap8 
that laid out proposals for action to transition towards a 
more  circular  economy.  Furthermore,  a  number  of 
relevant  plans  and  programmes  for  circular  economy 
have  been  initiated  at  the  federal  level.  Most  of  these 
encompass measures that build the enabling institutional 
and  market  environment  for  eco-innovative  solutions. 
The federal level develops ‘instrumental’ competences to 
provide  support  for  the  effective  implementation  or 
market  translation  of  the  regional  objectives  and 
initiatives  (fiscal  and  quasi-fiscal  provisions,  taxation, 
competition  rules,  market  structures,  price  regulation, 

5   European Commission, 2015. Proposed Circular Economy Package 
6   Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 

7   Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 
8   Vers une Belgique Pionnière de l’Economie Circulaire 

etc.).  Currently  there  are  plans  to  set  up  a  knowledge 
centre  to  elaborate  a  federal  strategy  and  a  new 
roadmap.  
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-159 

In 2016, 21 proposals were made by the Federal Ministry 
for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development to 
promote  a  circular  economy10.  A  study  (by  PWC) 
commissioned  for  this  Ministry  on  the  potential  of  the 
circular economy in Belgium, foresees an increase in the 
GDP  between  EUR  1-7  billion  by  2030  with  the  creation 
of  15,000-  100,000  jobs11.  There  is  also  an  audit  to  see 
which legislation is hindering the circular economy12. The 
Central  Economic  Council13  adopted  an  opinion  on  the 
circular economy on 24.02.16 which focuses on recycling, 
and another opinion on 21.09.16 focusing on the Federal 
circular  economy  proposals.  The  Federal  Development 
Council14  also  underlined 
resource 
efficiency.  Within  BENELUX  there  is  also  cooperation  on 
the circular economy1516. 

importance  of 

The  Walloon  Government  has  put  a  clear  focus  on 
resource  efficiency  and  circular  economy  since  the 
Marshall Plan 2 in 2009. In the Plan Marshall 4.0 that was 
presented  on  29.05.15,  promoting  clean  energy  and 

9 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 
10 Ensemble,faisons tourner l’économie & Samen de economie doen 

draaien  

11 Oakdene Hollins, PwC and ICEDD study on the Circular Economy in 

Belgium  

12 Media Planet, 2016. 3 questions à Marie-Christine Marghem 
13 Conseil Central de l'economie (CEE), 24.02.16 opinion mentioned in 

the Programme National de Réforme, April 2016, p.185 

14 Conseil Féderal du Developpement  (FRDO), mentioned in the 

Programme National de Réforme, April 2016, p.186 

15 BENELUX, Roundtable 14.12.2015 
16 Luxembourg Government, Portail de l'environnement. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Belgium  6 

circular  economy  is  one  of  5  priority  areas  for  action17. 
The  NEXT  programme18  is  fully  dedicated  to  circular 
economy  and  it  is  a  transversal  axis  for  deepening  the 
Walloon  Strategy 
for  Smart  Specialization  through 
linkages with other key sectors and clusters. Since 2004, 
the  Agency  for  Entreprise  &  Innovation  provides  a 
support  role  for  SMEs  willing  to  be  involved  in  circular 
economy  19.  The  region  has  also  an  employment-
environment alliance for sustainable construction20. 

is  equal  to  1%  of  employment 

According  to  calculations,  the  circular  economy  can 
generate  EUR  2.3  billion  worth  of  added  value  for 
Flanders.  In  this  regard,  27,000  new  jobs  would  be 
in 
created,  which 
Flanders21.  In  March  2016  Flanders  approved  ‘Vision 
2050’  with  circular  economy  as  one  of  the  seven 
transitions22.  The  transition  policy  is  further  shaped 
through  a  continuation  of  the  Flemish  Materials 
Programme  as  a  circular  economy  platform  focused  on 
innovation  incorporating  and  streamlining  the  different 
former  initiatives.    Flanders  also  has  a  Policy  Research 
Center  on  Sustainable  Materials  Management  (SuMMa) 
that  does  research  on  how  to  make  the  transition 
towards  a  sustainable  use  of  materials.    There  is  more 
policy  focus  on  stepping  up  separate  collection  and 
finding  new  markets  for  recycled  waste.  Other  policies 
that  play  an  important  role  in  the  circular  economy  are 
the  extended  producer 
improving 
ecodesign  and  enhancing  the  quality  of  recycled 
materials  and their  use.  Work  has  also  started  on  green 
economy covenants with industry, inspired by the Dutch 
example  of  green  deals.  Participating  industries  will 
benefit  from  advice  to 
improve  their  material  use 
throughout  their  production  process.    The  approach  in 
these convenants is to facilitate the evolution to a green 
economy  by 
industry, 
government,  NGOs  and  the  academic  world,  bring  in 
additional  ‘benefits’.  There  is  also  more  attention  for 
supporting  new  circular  business  models,  green  public 
procurement.  Furthermore,  Flanders 
that 
material cycles be closed in the building and construction 
sector by 202023.  As  an  example  of  a  good practice,  the 
European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  has  been 
used  to  encourage  circular  economy  in  the  Flemish 
furniture industry24. 

a  partnership  between 

responsibility, 

intends 

(transversal, 

In  March  2016  the  regional  government  of  Brussels 
adopted a Circular Economy Regional Plan25,26 laying out 
a  strategy  to  transition  from  a  linear  to  a  circular 
economy by 2025 with a budget of more than EUR 12.8 
million  in  2016.  The  plan  contains  111  measures  in  4 
fields 
territorial  measures,  
sectorial, 
governance) and is meant to be complemented every 18 
months  with  new  measures.  Transversal  measures 
concern legislative barriers, financial and methodological 
support, 
public 
procurement, employment, training. In addition to these 
transversal  measures  concerning  all  sectors,  some 
specific sectoral measures were adopted for five sectors : 
construction,  waste, 
food. 
Furthermore,  the  Brussels  Region  is  supporting  various 
initiatives to stimulate sustainable development (see the 
cities section for more details). 

trade  and 

innovation, 

transport, 

economy, 

social 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Between  2009-14,  the  value-added  of  Belgian  Small  and 
Medium  Sized  Enterprises  (SMEs)  increased  annually  by 
3.4%, compared to 1.2% for large enterprises. In terms of 
employment,  SMEs  saw  growth  of  12%  over  the  same 
period versus 3% for large enterprises.  

Around 57% of Belgium's SMEs have invested up to 5% of 
their annual turnover in resource efficiency actions (EU28 
average 50%), 24% are currently offering green products 
and services (EU28 average 26%), 64% took measures to 
save energy (EU28 average 59%), 73% to minimise waste 
(EU28  average  60%),  47%  to  save  water  (EU28  average 
44%),  and  58%  to  save  materials  (EU28  average  54%)27. 
From a circular economy perspective, 39% took measures 
to  recycle  by  reusing  material  or  waste  within  the 
company  (EU28  average  40%),  32%  to  design  products 
that  are  easier  to  maintain,  repair  or  reuse    (EU28 
average  22%)  and  30%  were  able  to  sell  their  scrap 
material to another company (EU28 average 25%)28.  

In 

In  Belgium,  65%  of  the  SMEs  taking  resource  efficiency 
actions  are  doing  so  for  reasons  of  cost  savings  (EU 
average  68%). 
fact  resource  efficiency  actions 
undertaken allowed the reduction of production costs for 
42%  of  Belgian  SMEs29.  In  terms  of  green  jobs  around 
27% of  the SMEs  in  Belgium have one  or  more  full time 
employee  working  in  a  green  job  at  least  some  of  the 
time (EU28 average 35%)30. 

17 Walloon government, Plan Marshall   
18 Walloon government, declaration of Regional Policy (DPR), 

p.22,24,83 & 90 

19 Walloon government, circular economy  
20 European Environment Agency, 2016. More for less – material 

resource efficiency in Europe. Belgium, p.9; Agence de stimulation 
économique, 2016 

21 SuMMa, p.1 
22 Flemish government, Vision 2050 
23 European Environment Agency, 2016. More for less – material 

– process, product & profit. 

25 BCR, Programme Régional en Economie Circulaire, March 2016 
26 Programme National de Réformee, April 2016, p.55; p.66-7 
27 European Commission, 2015. Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, 

resource efficiency and green markets" 

28 European Commission, 2015. Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, 

resource efficiency and green markets" 

29 European Commission, 2015. Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, 

resource efficiency in Europe. Belgium Report, p.19  

resource efficiency and green markets" 

24 European Commission,2014. SUSPRO3: Generating growth through 
sustainable production methods; called SUSPRO3 as three elements 

30 The Flash 426 Eurobarometer defines "green job" as a job that 
directly deals with information, technologies, or materials that 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
                                                                                                 
Belgium  7 

Circular  Economy  Regional  Plan  also  contains  different 
measures fostering eco-innovation amongst SME’s. 
Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index 2015 (EU=100)38 

in  the  period  2008-13  the  growth 

in 
In  Flanders 
employment31  for  green  companies  was  2%  (in  contrast 
to decreasing industrial production) and specific for their 
green activities the growth was even more positive, up to 
7%.32  Indeed,  the  transition  to  a  resource  efficient 
economy  would  result  in  new  jobs  related  to  reuse, 
repair or recycling. It is estimated that 27,000 jobs could 
be  created  in  Flanders  alone33.  Flanders  launched  its 
Quick Win Ideas scheme in 201234. 

Belgium has 74 EMAS registered organisations with 37 in 
Wallonia, 28 in Brussels and 9 in Flanders (on 31.08.16). 
Belgium holds 38 EU Ecolabel licenses  

The Brussels Capital Region created in 1999 a label called 
Entreprise  écodynamique.  This  is  an  official  recognition 
for  companies  that  internally  implement  environmental 
management.  This  label  awards  companies  that  have 
made  progress 
in  terms  of  waste  prevention  and 
management,  efficient  use  of  energy,  mobility,  etc.  To 
date,  198  organizations 
labeled  Entreprise 
écodynamique. 

are 

Eco-innovation 

With  a  total  score  of  97  in  the  overall  Eco-Innovation 
Scoreboard 2015, Belgium  ranked 15th  on the  list  of  EU 
countries, just below the EU average (Figure 2).  

innovation  policy 

In  both  Flanders  and  Wallonia 
is 
organised  around  clusters  in  close  cooperation  between 
industry,  knowledge  centres  and  the  government,  and 
whose aim is to improve the marketability of innovations. 
In  Flanders  specific  subsidies  can  be  obtained  for 
innovations  for  SMEs  that  promote  eco-innovation 
feasibility studies and projects35. The SME programme is 
managed  by  the  Flemish  Agency  for  Innovation  and 
Entrepreneurship  (VLAIO).  In  Flanders,  there  is  also  an 
Environmental 
that  makes 
in  new  products,  processes  and 
companies 
services to lower the impact on the environment through 
subsidies36. 
In  the  Walloon  Region  SMEs  can  get 
information  on  subsidies  from  the  Gateway  to  Research 
The  Brussels 
and 
Government  supports  eco-innovation  amongst  SME’s  by 
public-private  partnerships  aiming  at  offering  them 
support  in  the  fields  of  eco-conception,  eco-design  and 
eco-innovative  start-ups.  The  aforementioned  Brussels 

in  Wallonia.37 

Technologies 

Innovation 

Platform 

invest 

preserves or restores environmental quality. This requires specialised 
skills, knowledge, training, or experience (e.g. verifying compliance 
with environmental legislation, monitoring resource efficiency within 
the company, promoting and selling green products and services). 

31 In terms of Full Time Equivalents (FTE) 
32 Cleantech Report 2015 
33 SuMMa, p.1 
34 Quick Win Ideas for SMEs 
35Flemish government, Duurzame ontwikkeling  
36 Milieu-Innovatie Platform (MIP)  
37 Walloon Government, Gateway to Research and Technologies in 

Three  drivers  for  eco-innovation  can  be  identified  in 
Belgium.  Firstly,  the  integration  of  eco-innovation  and 
sustainability  goals  into  industrial  and  economic  policies 
is promoted under the leadership or in coordination with 
the  Federal  Ministries  of  Economy  and  of  Industry  since 
they  are  considered  as  valuable  assets 
the 
competitiveness  of  businesses.  Secondly,  Belgium  has 
well-developed technological capabilities, regulation and 
infrastructures.  Clear  government  focus  on  sciences,  tax 
incentives, strong R&D funding, human capital and other 
factors  have  helped  to  strengthen  the  knowledge  base 
and  bring  the  Belgian  eco-and  other 
industries  to 
international leading positions. Thirdly, there is a growing 
demand for green technology and products coming from 
both private consumers as well as from larger companies 
and governments dedicated to greening strategies.  

for 

Barriers  to  eco-innovation  in  Belgium  are  of  different 
natures.  There  are  those  related  to 
inter-regional 
coordination,  integrated  planning  and  decision  making 
where  little  attention  is  given  to  the  dissemination  of 
regional  good  practice  at  national  level.  Another  barrier 
is  the  lack  of  eco-innovation  and  circular  economy 
related  skills  in  SMEs  (even  though  SMEs  score  better 

Wallonia 

38 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
                                                                                                 
 
                                                            
Belgium  8 

around 460 kg/y/inhabitant43 and in the Brussels-Capital 
Region (2012) around 405 kg/y/inhabitant. 

Figure  3  depicts  the  municipal  waste  by  treatment  in 
Belgium in terms of kg per capita and shows that the split 
between treatment methods remains rather stable. 

Figure  3:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Belgium 
2007-1444 

than  the  EU  average).  As  most  products  entering  the 
Belgian  market  are  designed  abroad  there  is  limited 
control  over  product  design  for  most  products  entering 
the market. Finally, there are limited markets for recycled 
products with competition with primary raw materials.  

Suggested action 

  Facilitate  exchange  of  good  practices  between  all 
Belgian  entities  regarding  circular  economy  and  eco-
innovation matters.  

  Foster the uptake of a secondary raw materials market 
along  with  consumer  oriented  awareness  raising 
campaign. 

  Propose  training  for  SMEs  on  eco-innovation  and 

circular economy. 

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

implementation  of  Union  waste 

Full 
legislation, 
which  includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to 
ensure  separate  collection  of  waste;  the  landfill 
diversion targets etc. 

  Reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 

 

generation in absolute terms. 
Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials 
and  phasing  out 
recyclable  or 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  through  prevention,  reduction,  recycling  and 
reuse, by 2030. 

The EU's approach to waste management is based on the 
"waste  hierarchy"  which  sets  out  an  order  of  priority 
when  shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
operational 
level:  prevention,  (preparing  for)  reuse, 
recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
incineration 
disposal  (which 
without energy recovery). The progress towards reaching 
recycling 
the  adoption  of  adequate 
WMP/WPP39  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance  of  Member  States.  This  section  focuses  on 
management  of  municipal  waste  for  which  EU  law  sets 
mandatory recycling targets. 

landfilling  and 

targets  and 

includes 

Belgium  is  among  the  top  performers  in  the  EU  with 
regard  to  waste  management  with  a  recycling  rate  of 
municipal waste of 55% in 2014 (EU average 44% in 2014) 
as shown in Figure 4, with the Flanders region performing 
markedly higher at 70% in 201445.  

Belgium  is  already  complying  with  the  50%  recycling 
target for 202046 and has already eliminated landfilling of 
biodegradable waste47. Belgium has only one Mechanical 
Biological  Treatment  (MBT)  plant  in  operation  due  to 
efficient separate collection. 

Additional  progress  could  be  made  by  introducing  new 
economic  instruments  to  promote  waste  prevention, 
avoid  incinerating  reusable  or  recyclable  waste,  and 
recycling  of  waste  more 
make 
economically attractive. It should be noted that the three 
regions have a system in place that taxes the incinerated 

reuse  and 

the 

slightly  below 

In  2014,  municipal  waste  generation40 
in  Belgium 
remained 
(435 
kg/y/inhabitant  compared  to  around  475  kg)41.    The 
latest  available  data  for  Flanders  (2014)  was  around 
432kg/y/inhabitant42.  In  Wallonia  (2012)  the  figure  was 

the  EU  average 

39  Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes 
40  Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 

municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector (business or 
private non-profit institutions) not on behalf of municipalities. 
41 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

42 OVAM, 2015, p.9 which cites a figure of 491.46 kg/yr/inhabitant in 

2014. To this for the year 2014, one must subtract 59,62 
kg/inhabitant/year (row ‘bouw en sloopafval’ = construction and 
demolition waste) resulting in 431,84 kg/inhabitant/year. 

43  Wallon government, 2014. Génération de déchets municipaux  
44 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

45 OVAM 2015, p.26 
46  Member States may choose a different method than the one used 

by Eurostat (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling 
rates and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of 
municipal waste. 

47  National sources: Flanders (OVAM 2015) over 70% (2014) of the 
household waste was subject to some form of material recovery 
while in Wallonia separate collection accounted for 60% (2012). 
However, these figures do not fit with ESTAT figures. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
Belgium  9 

waste prevention. 

According to a study52, moving towards the targets of the 
Roadmap on resource efficiency53could create over 3,100 
additional  jobs  and  increase  the  annual  turnover  of  the 
waste sector by over EUR 330 million. 

The ERDF co-financed ‘Closing the Circle’ project 2010-12 
has examined the mining of old landfills and is now being 
taken forward with Horizon 202054. 

To  conclude,  Belgium  has  a  generally  well  performing 
waste  management  system  to  deliver  the  EU  waste 
targets. 

Suggested action 

  Complete  and  update  the  Waste  Management  Plan 
incorporating  a  Waste  Prevention  Programme  for 
Wallonia. 

  Shift  reusable  and  recyclable  waste  away 

from 

incineration including through economic instruments. 

waste  and  it  is  recognized  that  each  region  encourages 
heat recovery from waste incineration. 
Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-1448 

A  recent  study  has  created  scenarios  for  applying 
‘enhanced  waste  management’  (EWM)  practices  at  the 
Flemish  Remo  landfill  site49.    In  the  first  scenario  — 
without  EWM  —  it  was  estimated  to  take  14  years  for 
Flanders’  remaining  landfill  capacity  to  be  exhausted.  In 
the second — when EWM practices were applied — only 
4% of future waste would be landfilled and it would take 
over eight times as long (123 years) for remaining landfill 
capacity to be exhausted. 

The revision of the WMP of the Walloon region (Horizon 
2010,  which  expired  in  2015),  including  elements  of 
waste  prevention,  is  delayed  to  2017.  Brussels  and 
Flanders both have up to date WMPs/WPPs. 

foresees  new  targets 

In  Flanders,  the  new  waste  management  plan  2016  -22 
on  household  waste  and  similar  commercial  and 
further 
industrial  waste 
reducing the amount of residual waste with an additional 
10  -  15  %  (around  140  kg  residual  household  waste  per 
capita).  Food  waste  is  also  an  issue  being  dealt  with  by 
Flanders50. Wallonia has the Plan REGAL 2015-25 for food 
waste. For Brussels see the sustainability of cities section 
on this issue. 

for 

In the light of the on-going review of the recycling targets 
and  landfill restrictions  for  municipal waste51,  additional 
efforts  will  be  needed  to  meet  the  proposed  recycling 
target of 65% for 2030. However, to fully implement the 
waste hierarchy, future efforts should also be invested in 

48 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016 
49  Hoogmartens, R., Eyckmans, J. & Van Passel, S. 2016. Landfill taxes 
and Enhanced Waste Management: Combining valuable practices 
with respect to future waste streams. Waste Management.  

50 Flemish government 
51  European Union, Proposal for a Directive on the landfill of waste, 

52  Bio Intelligence service, 2011. Implementing EU Waste legislation for 
Green Growth, study for European Commission. The breakdown per 
country on job creation was made by the consultant on Commission 
demand but was not included in the published document.   

53  European Commission, Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe, 
COM(2011) 571COM(2011) 571, which outlines how we can 
transform Europe's economy into a sustainable one by 2050. 

54  Flemish government, 2010. Closing the Circle, een demonstratie van 

COM/2015/0594 

Enhanced Landfill Mining    

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Belgium  10 

Nature and Biodiversity  

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats.  

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  the  conservation  of  the  EU's  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and 
implement the Directives' objectives to ensure the long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most  valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
Directive 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation55 both in land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance of Member States. 

In  Belgium,  the  regions  and  the  federal  governments 
have  their  own  biodiversity  strategies  and/or  plans.  The 
National  Biodiversity  Strategy  (2013-20)  is  a  framework 
document  that  mainly  builds  on  these  existing  plans, 
giving  political  orientation  in  order  to  improve  the 
implementation  of  biodiversity  commitments  as  well  as 
create  more  coherence, 
integrate 
biodiversity concerns into the national and international 
levels.  

fill  gaps  and 

The  territory  of  Belgium  includes  areas  in  the  Atlantic 
Region  and  the  Continental  Biogeographic  Region.  Both 
the  National  Biodiversity  Strategy  and  the  most  recent 
reports submitted under Article 17 Habitats Directive and 
Article 12 Birds Directive identify a number of pressures 

55 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are designated pursuant to 

the Habitats Directive whereas Special Areas of Protection (SPAs) are 
designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

on biodiversity varying in intensity between the regions.  

(to  urban, 

industrial,  agricultural, 
Land  conversion 
transport  or  tourism  purposes)  and  intensification  of 
agriculture  are  causes  of  biodiversity  loss,  followed  by 
ecological fragmentation and pollution as well as related 
eutrophication,  acidification,  soil  degradation  and  noise 
perturbation56.  Further  threats  include  the  direct  and 
indirect  overexploitation  of  natural  resources  including 
fish stocks, groundwater extraction and the drying up of 
wetlands.  Disruption  caused  by  invasive  alien  species 
increase  the  effect  of  the  above  drivers.  Marine  species 
and sea-bottom habitats are under heavy pressure from 
fishing  bycatches  and  in  particular  from  beam  trawling, 
the  most  common  fishing  practice  in  Belgian  marine 
waters. Overall fishing activities have resulted in a sharp 
decline in long-living and slowly reproducing species such 
as  sharks  and  many  habitat  structuring  species.  In  the 
invasive  alien  species  also 
Belgian  coastal  waters, 
constitute  a  predominant  proportion  of  the  marine 
fauna.  

The  presence  of  a  number  of  warm-temperate  species 
has  been  increasing  over  the  past  decades,  including  in 
the  North  Sea,  indicating  increasing  climate  change 
impacts.  Furthermore,  there 
is  growing  recreational 
pressure  on  green  areas  (mainly  in  Brussels).  Another 
pressure  is  the  extraction  of  sand  and  gravel  in  marine 
waters and some river systems.  

By late 2016, the Belgian Natura 2000 terrestrial network 
is  considered  to  be  largely  complete:  12.7  %  of  the 
national land area of Belgium is covered by Natura 2000 
sites  (EU  average  18.1  %),  with  Birds  Directive  SPAs 
covering 10.4 % of the national territory (EU average 12.3 
%)  and  Habitats  Directive  SCIs  covering  10.7%  (EU 
average 13.8 %).  

56  Belgian National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological 

Diversity, 2013. Biodiversity 2020 – Update of Belgium’s National 
Biodiversity Strategy. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 
Brussels 

Environmental Implementation Report - Belgium 

 
                                                            
                                                            
latest  assessment57  of  the  Sites  of 
However,  the 
Community  Importance  (SCIs)  part  of  the  Natura  2000 
network  showed  that,  by  early  2014,  there  were  still 
insufficiencies in designation for the marine components 
of the network as shown in Figure 558.  

Figure  5:  Sufficiency  assessment  of  SCI  networks  in 
Belgium based on the situation until December 2013 
(%)59  

Belgium  11 

conservation 

foreseen for each SAC should lead to an improvement of 
the 
regional 
Government  also  adopted  a 
legal  act  defining 
conservation objectives at biogeographic regional level.  

status.  The  Walloon 

All  three  SCIs  of  the  Brussels-Capital  Region  have  now 
also  been  designated  as  SAC,  with  conservation 
objectives set at the level of each individual SCI. 

The  Belgian  authorities  have  informed  the  Commission 
that  a  Federal  decree  will  be  issued  in  early  2017  for 
designating the marine SCI "Vlaamse Banken" as a SACs, 
covering  around  30%  of  the  Belgian  part  of  the  North 
Sea. 

Figure  6:  Conservation  status  of  habitats  and 
species in Belgium in 2007/2013 (%)61 

In  terms  of  SAC  designation,  Flanders  is  outstanding  in 
having  all  38  SCIs  designated  as  SACs,  with  quantified 
conservation  objectives  being  set  both  at  regional  level 
and at the level of each individual SAC.  

The  situation  with  SAC  designation  depicted  in  Figure  5 
has improved considerably elsewhere in Belgium. 

By  the  end  of  2016,  all  240  SCIs  in  Wallonia  have  been 
designated as SACs60. Detailed management prescriptions 

57 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats 
Directive, are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to 
date. This is expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for 
which further areas need to be designated in order to complete the 
network in that country. The current data, which were assessed in 
2014-2015, reflect the situation up until December 2013. 

58 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 
are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

59  European Commission internal assessment. 
60 Libre Belgique, notification 01.12.16, not yet published in the 
Belgian Official Journal. N.B. Wallonia has many more sites 
compared to Flanders as it opted for a more fine-grained 
network of SCIs, including a few larger sites and many smaller 
sites. 

According to the latest report on the conservation status 
of  habitats  and  species  covered  by  the  Habitats 
Directive62,  8.6%  of 
the  habitats'  biogeographic 
assessments were favourable in 2013 in Belgium (EU 27: 
16  %).  Furthermore,  17  %  are  considered  to  be 
unfavourable–inadequate63  (EU27:  47%)  and  73  %  are 
unfavourable  –  bad  (EU27:  30%).  As  for  the  non-bird 

61  These figures show the percentage of biogeographical assessments 
in each category of conservation status for habitats and species (one 
assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a given biographical 
region with the Member State), respectively. The information is 
based on Article 17 of the Habitats Directive reporting - national 
summary of Belgium 

62 The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation 
status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. 

63  Conservation status is assessed using a standard methodology as 

being either ‘favourable’, ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ and 
‘unfavourable-bad’, based on four parameters as defined in Article 1 
of the Habitats Directive. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
 
species,  19.2  %  of  the  assessments  were  favourable  in 
2013  (EU  27:  23%)  26  %  at  unfavourable-inadequate 
(EU27:  42%)  and  42%  unfavourable-bad  status  (EU27: 
18%).  This  is  depicted  in  Figure  664.  Moreover,  27%  and 
29.7 % of the unfavourable assessments respectively for 
species  and  habitats  were  showing  a  positive  trend  in 
2013.  

related  to  the  EU  Nature  Directives  is  rather  low  in  all 
Belgian regions.  

Belgium  has  benefited  from  EU  funding  under  LIFE-
Nature, thanks to a strong network of Nature NGOs and 
public  authorities  pursuing  a  strong  restoration  agenda. 
Conservation strategies in Belgium are strongly based on 
land purchase and habitat restoration.  

Belgium  12 

For the period 2007-13, the Habitats Directive's Article 17 
conservation  status  report  for  the  Region  of  Wallonia65 
indicated  rapid  area  losses  for  two  grassland  habitat 
types, even inside Natura 2000 sites. On the other hand, 
the 
indicated  measurable 
also 
improvements for less widespread but important habitat 
types 
in  terms  of  biodiversity  conservation,  mostly 
attributable to LIFE-funded habitat restoration projects in 
the Ardennes region. 

report 

same 

As  far  as  birds  are  concerned,  66  %  of  the  breeding 
species 
stable 
population  trends  (for  wintering  species  this  figure  was 
only 7 %) as shown in Figure 7.  

increasing  or 

short-term 

showed 

 Figure  7:  Short-term  population  trend  of  breeding 
and wintering bird species in Belgium in 2012 (%)66 

High  emission  levels  of  farm-based  nitrogen  into  Natura 
2000 sites remains an issue of concern, particularly in the 
lowland  parts  of  Belgium67.  A  strategic  nitrogen 
abatement  programme  is  scheduled  to  be  launched  in 
Flanders,  and  is  expected  to  lead  to  a  progressive 
reduction  of  nitrogen  emissions  into  Natura  2000  sites 
over the coming decades. 

Compared to the EU average, the number of complaints 

64 Please note that a direct comparison between 2007 and 2013 data is 
complicated by the fact that Bulgaria and Romania were not covered 
by the 2007 reporting cycle, that the ‘unknown’ assessments have 
strongly diminished particularly for species, and that some reported 
changes are not genuine as they result from improved data / 
monitoring methods. 

65 Walloon government. La biodiversité en Wallonie 
66  Article 12 of the Birds Directive reporting - national summary of 

Belgium 

67 Flemish government, Programmatische Aanpak Stikstof  

In  early  2016,  a  LIFE  Belgian  Nature  Integrated  Project 
(BNIP)  was  granted,  to  support  the  implementation  of 
the  Prioritised  Action  Framework  (PAF)  of  Flanders, 
Wallonia  and  the  Federal  Marine  Division.  This  project 
will be focussing on measures aimed at the management 
of 
improved 
governance, capacity building and collaboration between 
the Flemish, Walloon and Federal authorities. It also aims 
to  improve  stakeholder  involvement,  and  to  implement 
specific  objectives  such  as  developing  integrated  site 
management plans, monitoring68 and database systems. 

the  Natura  2000  network, 

through 

Due  to  the  extensive  range  of  Natura  2000  sites 
restoration measures carried out since 2003 in the frame 
of  six  coordinated  LIFE  projects  covering  several 
thousands  of hectares  of  peat  bogs  and  wetlands  in  the 
Belgian Ardennes69, the Belgian authorities were able to 
in  the 
in  2013,  significant  positive  trends 
report, 
conservation  status  of  a  dozen  different  habitat  types 
and  associated  species  protected  by  the  EU  Habitats 
Directive70. 

Suggested action 

  Make  further  efforts  to  ensure  that  the  Natura  2000 
network is managed towards favourable conservation 
status of protected habitats and species, especially by 
reducing the pressures from agriculture. 

Estimating Natural Capital  

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  asses  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their  services  in  their  national  territory  by  2014,  assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. 

(Mapping  and  Assessment  of 
The  Belgian  MAES 
their  Services)  Working  Group71 
Ecosystems  and 
contributes  to  the  work  on  an  integrated  system  for 
Natural  Capital  Accounting, 
in  the  framework  of  a 
Knowledge 
Innovation  Project  on  Natural  Capital 
Accounting  (MAES  KIP-INCA).  Belgium  is  networking  and 
collaborating  within  a  BENELUX  MAES  initiative.  At  the 
end  of  2014  the  first  BEES  (Belgium  Ecosystem  Services 

68 European Commission, BNIP - Belgian Nature Integrated Project 
69 Walloon government, Haut Ardennne restoration  
70 Walloon government, Habitats Directive Article 17 reporting 
71 Belgian Biodiversity Platform, 2013-14. Belgian MAES Working Group 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Network)  Christmas  market  was  organized  with  great 
success  and  repeated  in  2015  in  collaboration  with  the 
EU  MAES  Working  Group72.  The  BEES  network  is  now 
merging with other related processes and networks into 
the BEES International Working Group. 

The  Flanders'  Nature  Report,  a  regional  ecosystem 
assessment 
(REA),  was  presented  to  the  Flemish 
government  in  February  201573,  including  an  interactive 
mapping tool with GIS data. Flanders REA stage II should 
have  been  completed  by  the  end  of  2016  under  the 
theme  ‘Co-operating  with  Landscapes'.  Stage  III  will 
develop  a  map  and  evaluate  alternative  scenarios  for 
Green  Infrastructure  by  2018.  On  a  smaller  scale  in 
Flanders,  the  Nature  Value  Explorer  has  been  set  up  to 
help  estimate  change  in  ecosystem  service  delivery 
caused  by  land  use  change  in  rural  and  recently  also  in 
is  being  updated  and 
urban  areas.  This  web  tool 
expanded regularly74. 

The Walloon ecosystem services platform has developed 
an  integrated  assessment  framework,  typologies  for 
ecosystems  and  ecosystem  services75  and  a  common 
shared  information  system  including  a  database  for 
ecosystem  mapping  and  biophysical  valuation.  The 
Brussels Nature Plan 2016-20 foresees that the Brussels-
Capital Region will continue to sustain research on urban 
nature  and  more  particularly  work  on  the  mapping  and 
assessment of urban ecosystem services. 

Work on natural capital accounting is at an initial stage of 
development  with  efforts  focused  on  improving  the 
knowledge base. The 4 year research project ECOPLAN is 
developing spatially explicit information and tools for the 
assessment of ecosystem services76. 

Suggested action 

  Engage all Belgian entities and relevant institutions and 
continue  support  for  the  mapping  and  assessment  of 
ecosystems  and  their services  and  valuation  work  and 
develop natural capital accounting systems. 

72 Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech - Université de Liège, 2014.  Le BEES 

Christmas Market en vidéo  

73 Flemish government, Flanders Regional Ecosystem Assessment - 

State and Trends Synthesis Report. (See in Dutch)  

74  Nature Value Explorer  
75 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 

76 University of Antwerp, ECOPLAN  

Belgium  13 

Green Infrastructure  
The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure77  promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and  programmes  to  help  overcome  fragmentation  of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  through  natural  solutions.  It  helps  to 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 
to human society and to mobilise investments to sustain 
and enhance them. 

Many  actions  to  promote  green  infrastructure  are  on-
going  in  the  Belgian  regions  both  inside  and  outside 
Natura  2000  sites78.  For  example,  the  "Nature  in  your 
in  Flanders  promotes 
neighbourhood"  programme 
greening  elements 
in  urban  and  residential  areas, 
research  on  improvement  of  local  life  through  public  & 
private  green  areas,  cooperation  projects  with  private 
sector  and  business  to  promote  greening  of  industrial 
zones (e.g. the Port of Antwerp, quarries in Flanders and 
Wallonia), campaigns and subsidies from local authorities 
promoting  the  greening  of  the  urban  environment,  e.g. 
for green roofs, and NGO activities for nature areas. Since 
2000,  the  regional  programme  Green  Neighbourhoods 
(Quartiers  Verts  –  Groene  Wijken)  has  supported  more 
than 200 local greening initiatives in the Brussels-Capital 
Region. It concerns the greening of public space through 
small scale citizens’ initiatives.  

The  Hoge  Kempen  National  Park 
is  Belgium’s  only 
national  park.  Innovative  approaches  to  developing  the 
park’s  infrastructure  have  helped  balance  economic  and 
biodiversity  objectives,  providing  400  jobs  within  and 
around  the  park  area,  and  direct  annual  economic 
benefits of EUR 20 million79. The park thus contributes to 
social  cohesion  and  the  regeneration  of  a  former  coal 
mining region that was at risk of economic decline. 

The  Walloon  Region  has  launched  the  Réseau  Wallonie 
Nature  (Wallonia  Nature  Network)80  to  foster  voluntary 
nature conservation measures across the region, and the 
BIODIBAP81 initiative has promoted numerous actions to 
enhance  biodiversity  around  public  buildings  such  as 
municipalities  and  schools.  The  Plans  Communaux  de 
(Municipal  Nature 
la  Nature 
Développement  de 

77 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

Capital, COM/2013/0249 

78 Belgium, 2014. Fifth National Report to the CBD 
79 Schweitzer J-P., Mutafoglu K., ten Brink P., Paquel K., Illes A., Gitti G., 

Kettunen M., Twigger-Ross C., Baker J., Kuipers Y., Emonts M., 
Tyrväinen L., Hujala T., and Ojala A., 2016. The Health and Social 
Benefits of Nature and Biodiversity Protection: Annex 1: 20 Cases.. 
Report for the European Commission, Institute for European 
Environmental Policy, London/Brussels 

80 Walloon government, Réseau Wallonie Nature  
81BIODIBAP  

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Belgium  14 

include  actions 

to  protect 
Development  Plans) 
biodiversity, such as delayed mowing and river contracts. 
The  Region  has  also  made  agreements  with  the  private 
sector  (e.g.  quarries,  electricity  companies,  railroad 
companies) to promote green infrastructure. 

The  Brussels  Capital  Regional  Nature  Plan  2016-20, 
adopted  in  April  201682  foresees  the  development  and 
implementation  of  plans 
the  multifunctional 
management  of  green  spaces,  for  ensuring  access  to 
nature  for  all  citizens,  due  consideration  of  nature  and 
ecological connectivity in plans and projects, as well as a 
Blue  Network  Programme  for  the  management  of  open 
waterways in Brussels.  

for 

In this context, an action plan for the implementation of 
the  Brussels  ecological  network  is  under  development. 
Regional and local authorities will cooperate to draw up 
general  guidelines  and  concrete  conditions  in  order  to 
consolidate the green and blue network, to reinforce the 
protection status of green spaces, to ecologically manage 
green  spaces  under  their 
increase 
biodiversity. 

jurisdiction  and 

Green  infrastructure  and  actions  to  protect  and  restore 
habitats  at  the  regional  and  federal  level  also  help  with 
the  protection  of  pollinators  such  as  domestic  and  wild 
bees.  Schools  and  cities  are  encouraged  to  implement 
small scale initiatives on wild bees; efforts are increased 
to address the causes of domestic bee mortality, and the 
in  terms  of  high  value 
importance  of  pollinators 
ecosystems services is being addressed at all levels.  

Soil protection  

further  soil  degradation  and 

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
prevention  of 
the 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 
and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  key  ecosystem  services  including  the  provision 
of food, fibre and biomass for renewable energy, carbon 
sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood  regulation, 
the provision of raw and building material. Soil is a finite 

82 BCR, Plan régional nature 2016-2020 en Région de Bruxelles-

Capitale.  

fragile 

resource  and 

increasingly 
and  extremely 
degrading  in  the  EU.  Land  taken  by  urban  development 
and infrastructure is highly unlikely to be reverted to its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases  fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is 
indirectly  addressed  in  existing EU policies  in  areas  such 
as  agriculture,  water,  waste,  chemicals,  and  prevention 
of industrial pollution.   

Figure 8 shows the different land cover types in Belgium 
in 2012, showing sharp contrasts in land use between the 
three regions. 

Figure 8: Land Cover types in Belgium in 201283 

Artificial  land  cover  is  used  for  settlements,  production 
systems and infrastructure. It may itself be split between 
built-up areas (buildings) and non-built-up areas (such as 
linear transport networks and associated areas). 

The  annual  land  take  rate  (growth  of  artificial  areas)  as 
provided  by  CORINE  Land  Cover  was  0.10%  in  Belgium 
over  the  period  2006-12,  well  below  the  EU  average 
(0.41%), Flanders showing a slightly higher land take rate 
than Wallonia. It represented 614 hectares per year and 
was  mainly  driven  by  industrial  and  commercial  sites  as 
well  as  housing,  services  and  recreation84.  However,  the 
Belgian authorities suggest that the figure may be largely 

83  European Environment Agency. Land cover 2012 and changes 

country analysis [publication forthcoming] 

84 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

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underestimated85.  

In 
line  with  the  higher  population  density  (370.3 
persons/km in 201486), the percentage of built up land in 
2009 for Belgium was 7.39%, well above the EU average 
(3.23%)87  ,  with  a  strong  discrepancy  between  Flanders 
and the Walloon region – as clearly depicted in Figure 8.   

To stimulate the reconversion of brownfields, to prevent 
urban  sprawl  and  the  further  artificialization  of  scarce 
green  fields  (Brussels-Capital  Region  and  Wallonia),  and 
to  (re)connect  and  indirectly  enhancing  green  corridors 
(Brussels-Capital  Region),  each  region88  has  worked  out 
its  own  Neighbourhood 
(or 
Sustainability Assessment Tool. These regional tools help 
public  and  private  neighbourhood  planners  in  localizing 
the  construction  sites  with  less  environmental  impact 
in  the  design  and  build  of  future  sustainable 
and 
neighbourhoods.  

is  currently  updating) 

The soil erosion rate in 2010 was 1.22 tonnes per ha per 
year,  below  EU-28  average  (2.46  tonnes  per  ha  per 
year)89. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  in  Brussels  21%  of  soils  are 
contaminated90  leading  to  a  clean-up  programme  since 
2009; 80% of this amount has an unknown owner or an 
owner  that  does  not  possess  the  economic  means  to 
clean-up.  A  soil  inventory91  and  a  soil  map92  were 
finalized  end  of  2015.  Approximately  14,700  plots  are 
listed in this inventory which corresponds to about 3000 
ha (18.6% of the area of the Region). 14% of these plots 
are  potentially  contaminated,  the  rest  is  either  clean  or 
polluted with no risks or polluted under treatment. Since 
2004,  about  1,580  ha  were  examined  of  which  47293  ha 
were treated and reassigned to residential, economic and 
recreational activities. According to the current data and 
if  policy  remains  unchanged,  the  remaining plots will  be 
examined by 2029 (and about 400 ha will still be treated 
and reassigned). 

Wallonia  is  dealing  with  post-industrial  conversion  of 
contaminated soils including in urban areas with ERDF co-
financing. 

The  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI)  has 

85 The Belgian authorities have informed the Commission that for 
Wallonia in the Tableau de Bord de l’Environnement 2014 for 
Wallonia the figure is 17 km2/an (1700 ha) with an increase in built-
up land of 37,6% over 28 years. 
86 Eurostat, Population Density 
87 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change  

88 Duurzaamheidsmeter Wijken Vlaanderen, 2016 / Appel à projet 
Quartiers Nouveaux Wallonie 2016 / Mémento des quartiers 
durables Bruxelles 2009, update ongoing 

89 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 
90 European Commission, ERDF OP Brussels 2014-20, p.8 
91 BCR, Soil inventory 
92 BCR, Soil map 
93 BCR 2016, Etat de l'environnement rapport  

financed  an  equity  fund  called  Ginkgo  Fund  II  for 
decontaminating  industrial  land  (e.g.  in  Ottignies  and 
Tournai) with a contribution of EUR 30 million94. 

There  are  still  not  EU-wide  datasets  enabling  the 
provision of benchmark indicators for soil organic matter 
decline, contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and 
diffuse pollution. 

An  updated  inventory  and  assessment  of  soil  protection 
policy  instruments  in  Belgium  and  other  EU  Member 
States is being performed by the EU Expert Group on Soil 
Protection. 

Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
for 
the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
use 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)95 aims 
to  achieve  Good  Environmental  Status  (GES)  of  the  EU's 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach  to  the  management  of  human  activities  with 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
subregion. 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES96  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July  2012.  They  also  had  to  establish  monitoring 
programmes for the on-going assessment of their marine 
waters  by  July  2014.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 
strategy is to establish a Programme of Measures (2016). 
The  Commission  assesses  whether  these  elements 
constitute  an  appropriate  framework  to  meet  the 
requirements of the MSFD. 

Belgian waters are part of the North-East Atlantic Ocean 
marine region, but cover a small part (0.5%) of the North 
Sea. Belgium is part of the Convention for the protection 
of  the  marine  environment  of  the  North-East  Atlantic 
(OSPAR Convention). The North Sea is one of the busiest 
maritime areas, with exploitation of oil and gas reserves 
also  occurring  in  parallel  to  the  important  maritime 

94  European Commission, 2016. The Investment Plan for Europe – state 

of play Belgium ; Ginkgo Advisor 

95  European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC  
96 The MSFD defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in Article 3 as: 
“The environmental status of marine waters where these provide 
ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, 
healthy and productive”  

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at 
joint  monitoring 
(sub)regional  level,  for  instance  by  the  Regional  Sea 
Convention (OSPAR). 

programmes 

developed 

  Enhance  comparability  and  consistency  of  monitoring 

methods within the Belgian marine region. 

  Further 

develop 

(and 
approaches 
quantifying) impacts from the main pressures in order 
to  lead  to  improved  and  more  conclusive  assessment 
results for 2018 reporting. 

assessing 

In  addition,  overfishing  and  bottom-trawling 
traffic. 
constitute  potential  threats  to  the  biodiversity.  Indeed, 
the  indicator  for  sustainable  fishing  in  Belgian  waters  is 
showing an unfavourable trend97. 

Belgium's  determination  of  GES  under  the  MSFD  was 
done at a fairly high-level. In particular, the definition of 
GES  proposed  by  Belgium  for  "marine 
litter"  was 
considered inadequate98. 

It is therefore too early to say whether Belgian waters are 
in  a  good  state  as  there  were  weaknesses  in  identifying 
what ''a good environmental status" is in the first place. 

Belgium  also  established  a  monitoring  programme  of  its 
marine  waters  in  2014.  However  it  seems  that  its 
monitoring  programmes  for  descriptors  apart  from 
contaminants, contaminants in seafood and marine litter 
further  refinement  and  development  to  be 
need 
considered  appropriate. 
the 
monitoring  programme  will  not  be  fully  operational 
before  2018  for  a  few  of  the  descriptors  (marine  litter, 
underwater noise, seabed and mammals)99. 

In  addition,  part  of 

Belgian  marine  protected  areas  covered  1272.9  square 
kilometres of its marine waters in the Greater North Sea 
including the Kattegat and the English Channel100. 
In its reports on the implementation of the MSFD101, the 
Commission provided guidance to assist Belgium.  

Suggested action 

  Continue  to  improve  the  definitions  of  GES,  including 
through regional cooperation by using the work of the 
relevant Regional Sea Convention. 
  Identify and address knowledge gaps;  
  Ensure  that  all  of 

is 
implemented  without  delay  and  is  appropriate  to 
monitor progress towards its GES;  

its  monitoring  programme 

  Continue to integrate existing monitoring programmes 
required  under  other  EU  legislation  and  to  implement 

97 FBP, 2016. Progrès vers les objectifs de développement durable de 

l'ONU 

98  Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the 

Commission Report on "The first phase of implementation of the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) - The European 
Commission's assessment and guidance" (SWD(2014) 049 final and 
COM(2014)097 final)SWD(2014) 049 final and COM(2014)097 final) 

99 . Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the 
Commission Report assessing Member States' monitoring 
programmes under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 
(COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 final) 

100 2012 Data provided by the European Environmental Agency to the 

European Commission – Not published 

101 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the 

Commission Report on "The first phase of implementation of the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) - The European 
Commission's assessment and guidance" (SWD(2014) 049 
finalSWD(2014) 049 final &. Commission Staff Working Document 
Accompanying the Commission Report assessing Member States' 
monitoring programmes under the Marine Strategy Framework 
Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 final) 

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Belgium  17 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  require  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
legislation102,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 

nitrogen  oxides,  even  if  significant  emission  reductions 
have  been  recorded  (-52%),  emissions  for  this  pollutant 
are still 7% above current ceilings. It should be noted that 
the exceedance of the current ceilings for nitrogen oxides 
is  partly  due  to  the  actual  driving  emissions  of  these 
pollutants from diesel vehicles. 

At the same time, air quality in Belgium continues to give 
rise  to  human  health  concerns.  For  the  year  2013,  the 
European  Environment  Agency  estimated  that  about 
10,050  premature  deaths  were  attributable  to  fine 
particulate  matter  concentrations105,  210  to  ozone 
concentration106  and  2,320 
to  nitrogen  dioxide107 
concentrations.108 This is due also to exceedances above 

Figure 9: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 

that  up-to-date 

As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  also  required  to 
ensure 
information  on  ambient 
concentrations  of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely 
made  available  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  National 
Emission  Ceilings  Directive  provides 
for  emission 
reductions  at  national  level  that  should  be  achieved  for 
main pollutants. 

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly in Belgium103. Reductions between 1990 and 
2014 for sulphur oxides (-88%), ammonia (-44%), as well 
(-63%)  ensure  air 
as  volatile  organic  compounds 
emissions  for  these  pollutants  are  within  the  currently 
applicable  national  emission  ceilings104.  Regarding 

102 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
103 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions 

data viewer (NEC Directive) 

104 The current national emission ceilings apply since 2010 (Directive 

2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have been set by 
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

105 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10 (PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) 
micrometres or less. PM is emitted from many human sources, 
including combustion. 

106 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution 

and it is also a greenhouse gas. 

107 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

108 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe – 2016 
Report. (Table 10.2, p.60, please see details in this report as regards 
the underpinning methodology). The newspaper Le Soir noted 
(30.04-01.05.2016) that the deaths from NO2 of 2300 per year were 
almost four times the number from fatal road accidents. 

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Belgium  18 

the EU air quality standards such as shown in Figure 9109.  

For  the  year  2015,  exceedances  of  binding  limit  values 
were  reported  for  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  in  two  air 
quality  zones  (Antwerp  and  Brussels).  Furthermore,  in 
long-term 
2015  for  several  air  quality  zones  the 
objectives  regarding  ozone  concentration  are  not  being 
met. 

The  persistent  breaches  of  these  limit  values  (for  NO2), 
which  have  severe  negative  effects  on  health  and 
environment,  are  being  followed  up  by  the  European 
Commission  through  infringement  procedures  covering 
all  the  Member  States  concerned,  including  Belgium 
since  these  breaches  have  severe  negative  effects  on 
health  and  environment.  The  aim  is  that  adequate 
measures  are  put  in  place  to  bring  all  zones  into 
compliance as soon as possible.  

In  the  air  quality  zone  of  Engis,  where  PM10  limit  values 
were  not  complied  with  up  to  2014  included,  a  working 
group  has  been  set  up  in  2015  (bringing  together 
authorities,  main  emitting  plants  and  citizens)  with  the 
objective  to  reduce  the  impact  of  the  main  industrial 
activities  on  the  ambient  air  quality,  especially  on  the 
particulate matter concentration (PM10).  

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  health-related  external 
costs  from  air  pollution  in  Belgium  are  above  EUR  8 
billion/year  (income  adjusted,  2010),  which  include  not 
only the intrinsic value of living a full health life but also 
direct costs to the economy. These direct economic costs 
relate  to  2.5  million  workdays  lost  each  year  due  to 
sickness related to air pollution, with associated costs for 
employers  of  EUR  401  million/year  (income  adjusted, 
2010),  for  healthcare  of  above  EUR  32  million/year 
(income adjusted, 2010), and for agriculture (crop losses) 
of EUR 37 million/year (2010)110. 

Suggested action 

  Maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air  pollutants 
in  order  to  achieve  full  compliance  with  currently 
applicable  national  emission  ceilings  and  air  quality 
limit values - and reduce adverse air pollution impacts 
on health, environment and economy.  

  Reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to comply with 
currently  applicable  national  emission  ceilings111 
and/or  to  reduce  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  (and  ozone 
concentrations), 
inter  alia,  by  reducing  transport 
related emissions - in particular in urban areas. 

  Reduce PM10 emission and concentration, inter alia, by 
reducing  emissions  related  to  energy  and  heat 
generation  using  solid  fuels,  to  transport  and  to 
agriculture. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues112. To alleviate this, the EU acquis sets out several 
requirements, 
including  assessing  the  exposure  to 
environmental  noise  through  noise  mapping,  ensuring 
that information on environmental noise and its effects is 
made  available  to  the  public,  and  adopting  action  plans 
with  a  view  to  preventing  and  reducing  environmental 
noise  where  necessary  and  to  preserving  the  acoustic 
environment quality where it is good. 

Belgium's  implementation  of  the  Environmental  Noise 
Directive113  is  significantly  delayed.  The  noise  mapping 
for  the  most  recent  reporting  round,  for  the  reference 
year  2011,  has  only  been  completed  for  Flanders.  The 
noise  mapping  for  Brussels  and  the  Walloon  region  has 
not been fully completed yet. With regard to action plans 
for noise management for the current period, these have 
been  adopted  for  some  agglomerations  and  part  of 
Brussels Airport but many are still missing.  

Suggested action 

  Complete missing noise action plans and maps 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
waters 
is 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

109 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in 

Europe – 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1) 

112 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

110 All figures in this paragraph are based on the Impact Assessment 
for the European Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013) 

111  Under the provisions of the revised National Emission Ceilings 
Directive, Member States now may apply for emission inventory 
adjustments. Pending evaluation of any adjustment application, 
Member States should keep emissions under close control with a 
view to further reductions. 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark 

113 The Noise Directive requires Member States to prepare and 
publish, every 5 years, noise maps and noise action plans for 
agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and for major 
roads, railways and airports.  

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Belgium  19 

diffuse  pollution  that  affects  72%  of  water  bodies119. 
Flow regulation and morphological alterations affect 47% 
followed by point sources of pollution that affect 44% of 
water  bodies.  There  are  some  regional  differences,  e.g. 
diffuse sources of pollution affect all water bodies in the 
Flemish  Scheldt  river  basin  district  but  only  43%  in  the 
Walloon Meuse river basin district.  

The Belgian RBMPs have certain deficiencies, such as on 
coordination  between  the  regions.  The  Belgian  RBMPs 
have certain deficiencies as in particular the methods for 
status  assessment  are  not  fully  developed120.  A  number 
of  exemptions  were  applied.  The  planned  measures  are 
expected  to  result  in  improvement  of  ecological  and 
chemical status of surface water bodies by 15% and 21%, 
respectively. 
bring 
improvement  of  ecological  potential  of  artificial  and 
heavily modified water bodies by 8% and chemical status 
by 3%. The chemical status of groundwater is expected to 
improve by 3% and quantitative status by 1%. 

The  measures 

should 

also 

Belgium  makes  intensive  use  of  its  available  resources, 
which is partly due to the high input of cooling water for 
electricity  production;  this  water  is  returned  afterwards 
to the rivers. 

As  regards  drinking  water,  Belgium  reaches  very  high 
compliance  rates  of  99-100  %  for  the  microbiological, 
chemical  and  indicator  parameters  laid  down  in  the 
Drinking Water Directive121. 

As  shown  in  Figure  10,  in  2015,  in  Belgium  out  of  113 
bathing waters, 79.6% were of excellent quality, 14.2% of 
good  quality  and  3.5%  of  sufficient  quality.  One  bathing 
water was of poor quality or non-compliant while it was 
not  possible  to  assess  the  remaining  two  bathing 
waters122. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis114 seeks to ensure good status of all water bodies 
across Europe by addressing pollution sources (from e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological modifications  to  water  bodies)  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

(RBMPs)  are  a 
River  Basin  Management  Plans 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 

Belgium  has  provided  information  to  the  Commission 
from  its  second  generation  of  RBMPs.  The  2nd  RBMP's 
have  been  approved  by  Flanders  on  18.12.15  and  by 
Wallonia  on  28.04.16.  However,  as  the  Commission  has 
not  yet  been  able  to  validate  this  information  for  all 
Member  States  it  is  not  reported  here.  Plans  are  still 
missing  for  the  Brussels  Region  and  Belgian  coastal 
waters. 

its  first  generation  of  RBMPs  under  the  Water 
In 
Framework Directive Belgium reported the status of 534 
rivers,  18 
lakes,  6  transitional,  2  coastal  and  80 
groundwater  bodies.  Only  38%  of  natural  surface  water 
bodies  achieve  a  good  or  better ecological status115  and 
none  of  the  heavily  modified  or  artificial  water  bodies 
achieved  a  good  or  high  ecological  potential. 
Furthermore,  50%  of  surface  water  bodies  (while  the 
status of 29% is unknown), 14% of heavily modified and 
artificial  water  bodies116  (45%  unknown)  and  45.0%  of 
groundwater bodies achieved good chemical status117. It 
is estimated that 81% of groundwater bodies are in good 
quantitative status118. 

The  main  pressure  on  the  Belgian  surface  waters  is 

114 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

115 Good ecological status is defined in the Water Framework 

119 Diffuse pollution comes from widespread activities with no one 

Directive, referring to the quality of the biological community, the 
hydrological characteristics and the chemical characteristics. 
116 Many European river basins and waters have been altered by 
human activities, such as land drainage, flood protection and 
building of dams to create reservoirs. 

117 Good chemical status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to compliance with all the quality standards established for 
chemical substances at European level. 

118 For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that 

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and a 
requirement to monitor groundwater bodies.  

discrete source, e.g. acid rain, pesticides, urban run-off, agricultural 
nutrients, etc.  

120 More information on the implementation status and more specific 
recommendations can be found at European Commission, Water 
Framework Directive Implementation Reports  

121 Commission's Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States' reports for the 2011-2013 
period, foreseen under Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; 
COM(2016)666 

122 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water 

quality in 2015, p. 26 

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Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012 – 2015123 

maximum  amount  of  nitrogen  from  livestock  manure 
that can be applied on land.  

Belgium  20 

Belgium  has  encountered  difficulties  with  the  timely 
implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment 
Directive. Although the large cities now comply, concerns 
continue for small agglomerations in the Walloon region.  
Overall  in  Belgium,  98%  of  the  waste  water  is  collected, 
and  97.3%  of  the  load  collected  is  subject  to  secondary 
treatment. Finally, 82% of the waste water load collected 
is  subject  to  more  stringent  treatment.  The  estimated 
investment needed to ensure adequate treatment of the 
remaining agglomerations is EUR 73 million124. 

The  implementation  of  the  Nitrates  Directive  is  done  at 
regional level. The challenges relating to the agricultural 
use  of  nutrients  are  present  on  the  whole  Belgian 
territory,  except  in  the  Brussels-Capital  Region  where 
conventional agricultural activities are rather marginal.  

improvement  has  been  made,  agricultural 
Although 
in  Flanders  remains  high  with 
pressures  on  water 
eutrophication  affecting  most  surface  waters. 
In 
Flanders,  intensive  animal  rearing  (poultry,  pigs  and 
cows) has resulted in increasing agricultural pressures on 
water.    Therefore,  Flanders  has  decided  to  apply  the 
measures  of  its  Action  Programme  to  all  the  territory, 
extended with additional measures in focus areas where 
water  quality  monitoring  shows  a  lack  of  sufficient 
improvement.  Flanders  benefits  from  derogation  in  the 
context  of  the  Nitrates  Directive125,  relating  to  the 

123 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water country 

reports -Belgium, 2016 

124 European Commission, Eighth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Directive (COM (2016)105 final)(COM (2016)105 final) and 
Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the report 
(SWD(2016)45 final(SWD(2016)45 final). 

125 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1499 of 3 

September 2015 granting a derogation requested by Belgium with 
regard to the region of Flanders pursuant to Council Directive 
91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution 
caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (notified under 
document C(2015) 6058) 

In Wallonia, the agricultural pressures slightly decreased 
in  the  recent  years,  as  both  manure  use  and  mineral 
fertilizers use decreased. However water quality is still a 
challenge in some areas of the region. Around 76% of the 
total land area has been designated a Nitrate Vulnerable 
Zone (NVZ). Concerns subsist as to the sufficiency of the 
Nitrates  Action  Programme  in  further  lowering  harmful 
concentrations in water.  
Between  2002  and  2013  10  floods  were  recorded126; 
Flood  protection  is  well  established  with  most  notably 
the  SIGMA  Plan  II  (includes  a  list  of  over  50  projects  to 
manage  flood  protection  and  nature  restoration  of  the 
Scheldt  Estuary).  In  Flanders  the  LATIS  tool  has  been 
developed  with  damages  in  an  average  year  being  an 
average  of  EUR  50-60  million.    Detailed  statistics  on 
flooding in Belgium are available127. 

Suggested action 

  Improve  methods  for  status  assessment  and 

in 
particular  the  ecological  status  of  surface  waters. 
Exemptions should be better explained and justified in 

126 RPA 2013  
127 Service Public Federal Intérieure, 2013 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
the  RBMP128.  Improve  coordination  between  water 
management  authorities  of  the  three  administrative 
regions. 

  Ensure  that  the  smaller  agglomerations  in  Wallonia 
have adequate collection and wastewater treatment. 
  Ensure that water pollution, inter alia by agriculture, is 
effectively  addressed  both  under  the  Nitrates  and  the 
Water Framework Directive. 

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
cities  to 
planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of the 
EU  population  are  living  in  urban  areas.129  The  urban 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  whilst  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 
including air quality and housing130.  

The  European  Commission  will 
benchmark system in 2017.131 

launch  a  new  EU 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants.  

Indeed,  the  Brussels-Capital  Region  was  among  the  four 
cities shortlisted as finalists in the 2015 competition and 
is a member of the Green Capital Network. The URBACT 
integrated 
programme  aims  to  promote  sustainable 
urban development and contribute to the delivery of the 
Europe  2020  strategy. 
framework  of  the 
programme  URBACT  II,  the  Brussels-Capital  Region  has 

In  the 

128 The full set of recommendations in relation to the WFD are here.  
129 European Environment Agency, Urban environment 
130 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
131 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

Belgium  21 

been  lead  partner  of  an  URBACT  Thematic  Network 
Sustainable  Food  in  Urban  Communities132,  in  which  9 
other European cities were involved. 

Belgium  has  allocated  EUR  141.9  million  or  15%  of  its 
to 
ERDF  allocation  excluding 
sustainable  urban  development.  The  Operational 
Programme  (OP)  for  Brussels  is  entirely  included  in  this 
amount, while the OPs for Flanders and Wallonia contain 
urban axes. 

technical  assistance 

Belgium  is  Europe's  most  congested  country  in  terms  of 
hours  wasted  or  delays  especially  around  Antwerp  and 
Brussels133,134.  Road  congestion  generates  higher  fuel 
consumption  and  contributes  to  air  pollution.  In  2013, 
78.5%  of  transport  in  Belgium  was  by  private  car135  In 
Flanders  75%  of  commuters  still  use  private  car136.  This 
has led to some mobility sharing mostly in Antwerp, Gent 
and  Leuven137.  Indeed,  in  Flanders  several  initiatives  are 
taken to support cities become more sustainable138. Gent 
is proposing to extend further its pedestrianized zone in 
2017.  

In  several  cases,  the  intention  to  tackle  congestion 
announced  in  the  Federal  and  Regional  government 
into  tangible 
agreements  still  needs  to  be  turned 
improve  the 
if  some  measures  to 
measures,  even 
situation  were  taken,  such  as  the  kilometre-charge  for 
lorries on all Belgian roads, and the extension of the car-
free zone in central Brussels, and the green COBRACE139 
tax regarding excessive parking lots in office buildings. 

Brussels  has  seen  a  modal  shift  in  favour  of  public 
transport and bicycling with a reduction in use of private 
cars.  Since  2000,  car  possession  per  household  slightly 
decreased and is estimated at 0.7 per household. 35% of 
Brussels  households  have  no  car.  Use  of  the  metro 
increased  by  69%  between  2000-12140.  However,  much 
passenger  movement  in  Brussels  is  due  to  commuter 
traffic (56 % of the 650,000 jobs in Brussels), and 55% of 
this movement is by car (154, 000 cars)141.  This problem 
is being mainly addressed by investments in the RER and 
cycle-RER  projects  around  the  capital,  park  and  ride 
schemes, and compulsory company mobility plans.  

With  a  strategic  plan,  Brussels  develops  a  specific 
reduce 
approach 

to  optimize 

traffic  and 

freight 

132 BCR, URBACT network, September 2015  
133 INRIX, 2015. Key Findings: INRIX 2015 Traffic Scoreboard 
134 Christidis, P., Ibáñez Rivas, J.N., 2012. Measuring road congestion, 

JRC technical notes, EC JRC-IPTS,  

135 FBP, 2016. Progrès vers les objectifs de développement durable de                   

l'ONU 

136 European Commission, OP Flanders ERDF 2014-20, p.5-6 
137Flemish government, Autodelen  
138 Stadsontwikkelingsprojecten; duurzammheidsmeter; natuur in je 

buurt 

139 Code Bruxellois de l'Air, du Climat et de la Maîtrise de 
l'Energie 
140 BCR, Mobilite et transports  
141 European Commission, ERDF OP Brussels 2014-20, p.13 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
                                                            
emissions.  Bel  RTL  mentioned  that  according  to  the 
Belgian  Interregional  Environment  Agency  (IRCEL),  the 
number  of  soot  particles  in  the  air  emitted  by  diesel 
engines  had  halved  after the  car-free  day  in  Brussels  on 
18.09.16142. The Trilogiport in Liege linked with the Albert 
Canal to Antwerp has brought environmental benefits. 

Belgium  22 

implementation  of  a  low  emission  zone  on  the  territory 
of  Brussels-Capital  Region  as  from  2018.  It  will  help  the 
Region  to  reach  the  EU  NOx  standards.  Flanders  has 
three plans, one for the whole territory, as well as more 
specific  plans  for  the  harbour  and  city  of  Antwerp  and 
the  Ghent  region.  The  Walloon  Region  has  its  Plan  Air-
Climat-Energie  2016-22.  In  both  Flanders  and  Wallonia 
steps are being  taken  in  certain  cities  (e.g. Antwerp)  for 
introducing low emission zones.  

In  the  Brussels  region,  more  than  137,000  tonnes  of 
municipal  waste  were  collected  in  view  of  reuse  or 
recycling  in  2014  at  a  rate  of  40%148.The  EUR  5  million 
ERDF supported Ecopôle project in Brussels has targeted 
the  creation  of  a  social  economy  centre  in  the  area  of 
waste recovery149.  

Regarding  urban  green  space,  the  Flemish  ERDF  OP 
foresees  development  of  green  urban  infrastructure143.  
Antwerp  has  the  least  urban  green  areas  in  Flanders144. 
Actions are being taken to remedy this situation with, for 
example,  the  development  of  Park  Spoor  Noord  in 
Antwerp  co-financed  by  the  ERDF145.    The  Antwerp  Port 
further  economic 
Authority  has  an  objective 
development,  achieving  conservation  objectives 
for 
species  and  habitats  at  the  same  time.  Brussels  itself 
possess large areas of green space, albeit concentrated in 
the  south-east  of  the  city,  with  little  in  the  city  centre. 
However,  in  application  of  the  Brussels  Nature  Plan  
2016-20, several projects that are using natural solutions 
for  enhancing 
the  urban  environment  are  being 
implemented  or  under  preparation,  especially  in  the 
most dense areas of the city. 

for 

A  consequence  of  energy  use  and  traffic  is  on  airborne 
particulate  matter  and  nitrogen  oxides.  In  Brussels 
between  November  2009  and  the  end  of  March  2013, 
the  annual  limit  values  for  PM10  have  been  exceeded 
every  year146.  Whilst  there  have  been  improvements  in 
PM  levels  in  Brussels  (compliance  since  2014),  NO2 
however  is  a  cause  for  concern.  Since  June  2016,  the 
Brussels  Region  has  had  an  Air-Climate-Energy  Plan147 
which  addresses  NO2  and  PM,  and  greenhouse  gases 
emissions (but also climate change adaptation). This plan 
defines  64  measures  in  all  related  sectors  (building, 
transport,  economy,  etc.).  One  of  the  most  important 
is  the 
measures  of  the  plan,  regarding  air  quality 

its  supplier's  configuration  and 

There  have  been  several  innovative  projects  to  improve 
Inter-Municipal 
sustainability  of  cities.  The  Flemish 
Company  for  Water  Supply  (TMVW)  on  behalf  of  Gent 
reoriented 
intake 
patterns. Furthermore, the climate adaptation plan 2011-
13  includes  actions  to  reduce  water  supply  such  as  the 
application of the water hierarchy in public areas, use of 
alternative 
collecting 
rainwater150.  Antwerp  is  preventing  flooding  due  to 
heavy  rain  by  measures  to  construct  buffer  basins  and 
clearing  water  courses,  such  as  the  Strategic  Plan  for 
Water  Balance 
  The  city  also 
in  the  port  area. 
implemented  a  Green  Building  Code  with  green  roofs, 
rain wells and segregated systems151.  

grey  water 

systems, 

and 

Regarding  wastewater  treatment,  Brussels  for  many 
years  did  not  have  adequate  wastewater  treatment 
is  now  financed  with  an  European 
facilities.  This 
Investment Bank (EIB) loan152. 

The  ERDF  co-financed  Brussels  Greenbizz  project,  an 
"eco-friendly  business  incubator"  aiming  to  support  the 
circular  economy,  the  renovated  Brussels  abattoir 
including  a  pilot  project  on  urban  agriculture  with  a 
rooftop  vegetable  garden  and  the  Charleroi  Urban 
Distribution  Centre  where  goods  can  be  dropped  off  by 
heavy vehicles before being redistributed by light electric 
or  less  polluting  vehicles,  have  all  been  shortlisted  as  a 
REGIOSTAR 2016 finalists153. 

Regarding  sustainable  food,  the  government  of  the 
Brussels-Capital  Regional  adopted  a  strategy  entitled 
"Good  food,  towards  a  more  sustainable food  system  in 

142 Bel RTL: "La présence dans l'air de particules de suie a diminué ..." 

148 BCR 2016, Etat de l'environnement rapport 
149 European Commission, European Green Capital Good practice 

info: Journal parlé 13h, 19.09.16 

report 2014, p.23 

143 European Commission, OP Flanders ERDF 2014-20, p.94 
144 Flemish government, Bodembezetting naar functie  
145 Vlaamse overheid, Bodembezetting naar functie  
146 BCR, Occurrence des pics de pollution hivernaux en Région 

bruxelloise 

147 BCR, Plan régional Air, Climat, Energie, June 2016.  

150 European Commission, European Green Capital Good practice 

report 2014, p.24 

151 European Commission, European Green Capital Good practice 

report 2014, p.24 

152 EIB, 2014. SBGE – Brussels South waste water treatment plant 
153 European Commission, 2016 REGIOSTARS finalists 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Belgium  23 

Brussels  Capital Region"154  in December 2015.  The  main 
priorities  consist  in  developing  local  food  production 
while  respecting  the  environment  and  encouraging  the 
innovation;  raising  awareness  of  citizens;  reducing  food 
waste, and; developing actions while taking into account 
social  and  multicultural  specificities  of  the  Brussels-
Capital Region.  

The project Boeren Bruxsel Paysans155, supported by the 
ERDF, aims at encouraging the transition of the Brussels-
Capital  Region  towards  a  more  sustainable  food  system 
by providing production, transformation and distribution 
spaces and infrastructure for fruit and vegetables grown 
on-site. 

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment  promotes  measures  at  the  international 
level  to  deal  with  regional  or  worldwide  environmental 
problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States. This  requires  the  EU and the 
Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the  Union’s  credibility 
international  meetings  where 
the 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 
votes to be cast by the EU. 

supporting 

Currently,  Belgium  has  signed  but  not  yet  ratified  the 
Protocol  on  Strategic  Environmental  Assessment  to  the 
Espoo Convention. 

154 BCR, Stratégie Good Food « Vers un système alimentaire plus 

durable en Région de Bruxelles-Capitale  

155 Boeren Bruxsel Paysans  

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools 

4. Market based instruments and investment 

Belgium  24 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  brings  important  social  and  environmental 
benefits. 

Belgium's  revenues  from  environmentally  related  taxes 
are  among  the  lowest  in  the  EU.  Environmental  taxes 
amounted  to  2.05%  of  GDP  in  2014  against  an  EU 
average  of  2.46%  and  energy  taxes  to  1.23%  of  GDP 
against  an  EU  average  of  1.88%.156  In  the  same  year 
environmental tax revenues accounted for 4.53% of total 
revenues from taxes and social-security contributions (EU 
28 average: 6.35%) as shown in Figure 11. 

A  2016  study  suggests  that  there 
is  considerable 
potential for shifting taxes from labour to environmental 
taxes157.  Under  a  good  practice  scenario158  these  could 
generate an additional EUR 3.45 billion by 2018, rising to 
EUR 6.96 billion by 2030 (both in real 2015 terms). This is 
equivalent  to  an  increase  by  0.8%  and  1.35%  of  GDP  in 
2018 and 2030, respectively. The largest potential  source 
of  revenue  would  come  from 
in  vehicle 
taxation. The suggested increase of vehicle taxation could 
account  for  EUR  3.25  billion  of  additional  revenue  by 
2030 (real 2015 terms), equivalent to 0.63% of GDP. The 
next  largest  contribution  could  come  from  proposed 
amendments  to  the  taxes  on  transport  fuels.  This  could 
account for EUR 1.36 billion of additional revenue in 2030 
(real  2015  terms),  equivalent  to  0.27%  of  GDP.  In  2015 
the Flemish government conducted a study showing a so 

increases 

156 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed June 2016  
157  Eunomia  Research  and  Consulting,  IEEP,  Aarhus  University,  ENT, 
2016. Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential 
for the EU28. N.B. National governments are responsible for setting 
tax  rates  within  the  EU  Single  Market  rules  and  this  report  is  not 
suggesting  concrete  changes  as  to  the  level  of  environmental 
taxation.  It  merely  presents  the  findings  of  the  2016  study  by 
Eunomia et al on the potential benefits various environmental taxes 
could bring. It is then for the national authorities to assess this study 
and their concrete impacts in the national context. A first step in this 
respect,  already  done  by  a  number  of  Member  States,  is  to  set  up 
expert groups to assess these and make specific proposals. 

158 The good practice scenario means benchmarking to a successful 

taxation practice in another Member State.  

called  ‘double  dividend’  as  a  result  of  greening  of  taxes 
and  shifting 
labour: 
environmental  gains  were  made  in  combination  with 
economic gains159. 

tax  burden  away 

from 

the 

The  Brussels-Capital  Region  took  some  measures  to 
adapt  its  fiscal  policy  as  a  tool  for  regional  sustainable 
development  of  circular  economy  (e.g.  fund  to  promote 
business  model  of  circular  economy  for  enterprises 
target). It plans to move further in that direction.  

Figure  11:  Environmental  tax  revenues  percentage  of 
total  revenues  from  taxes  and  social  contributions 
(excluding imputed social contributions) in 2014160 

Shifting  taxation  away  from  labour  towards  taxes  less 
harmful  to  growth  remains  a  key  challenge  in  Belgium, 
and  has  been  recommended  as  a  country  specific 
recommendation  (CSR)  in  2012,  2013, 2014  and  2015  in 
the  context  of  the  European  Semester.  The  tax-shift 

159 Flemish Government, study 
160 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed June 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
 
 
                                                            
Belgium  25 

enacted  by  Belgium  in  2015  has  only  partially  exploited 
the  opportunities  for  environmental  tax  reform  and 
removal of environmentally-harmful subsidies (EHS).  The 
most 
the 
important  positive  changes  have  been 
introduction  of  a  kilometre-charge  for  lorries  in  all 
Belgian  regions  and  changes  to  vehicle  circulation  and 
road taxes in Flanders.  All three regions have measures 
in place or planned to dissuade the purchase of the most 
polluting  cars.  Flanders  has  ordered  a  study  to  examine 
the  possibility  of  introducing  a  kilometre-charge  for 
passenger cars. 

Two EHS stand out as being substantial in terms of their 
level  and  significance  in  their  environmental  impacts. 
They are the "diesel differential" (difference in the price 
of diesel versus petrol) and subsidies through the income 
or corporation tax treatment of company cars. The diesel 
differential in Belgium is around 70% (as a benchmark the 
UK  has  a  figure  of  100%  meaning  the  same  level  of 
taxation  for  petrol  and  diesel  cars, 
i.e.  no  diesel 
differential)161. Excise duty on diesel was increased from 
November 2015162. The intention of the government is to 
increase  excises  on  diesel  and  reduce  those  on  petrol 
between 2016 and 2018 achieving parity163. 

Despite  past  measures  to  further  align  the  tax  base  for 
company cars to CO2 emissions, the private use of these 
vehicles  continues  to  be  heavily  subsidized.  Based  on 
country tax systems and different benchmark estimates, 
the favourable tax treatment represents almost EUR 3.75 
in  terms  of  revenue  foregone.  Of  all  OECD 
billion 
countries  the  total  annual  subsidy  per  car  is  highest  in 
Belgium, at EUR 2,763 per year per car164. The OECD has 
picked  up  on  this  weakness  in  its  November  2015 
economic  forecast  for  Belgium165  as  impeding  further 
progress 
tackle  congestion,  air  pollution  and 
greenhouse gas emissions. A recent report indicates that 
in Belgium company cars are driven an extra 6,000 km a 
year  and  that  the  loss  of  welfare  is  EUR  905  million, 
representing  0.23%  of  GNP166.  Recently,  the  Federal 
Government has decided on a number of changes to the 
company  car  system,  which  should  enter  into  force  by 
April  2017.  The  new  framework  will  allow  employees 
whose pay package includes a company car to opt (after 

to 

161 Update by European Commission, 2015 based on Harding M., 

2014.The Diesel Differential: Differences in the Tax Treatment of 
Gasoline and Diesel for Road Use. OECD Taxation Working Papers, 
No. 21; European Environment Agency 2016, Environmental 
taxation and EU environmental policies, Table 4.3 on p.24 

162 Programme National de Réforme, April 2016, p.7 
163 European Environment Agency 2016, Environmental taxation and 

EU environmental policies, p.27 

164 Harding M. 2014..Personal Tax Treatment of Company Cars and 
Commuting Expenses – Estimating the Fiscal and Environmental 
Costs. OECD Taxation Working Papers, No. 20, p.28 

165 OECD, 2016. Belgium –Economic forecast summary (June 2016)  
166 Bureau fédéral du Plan, 2016.  L’avantage fiscal sur les voitures de 
société influence significativement les comportements de mobilité, 
avec des coûts sociétaux considérables  

agreement of their employer) for a mobility budget or an 
additional net pay instead.  The environmental gains are 
also  uncertain,  but  the  government  has  expressed  the 
will to see a substantial reduction in the number of salary 
cars.    Related  to  this,  the  government  has  also  decided 
for less favourable tax deductions for employers of tank 
cards (up to 250 euros per card). 
In  March  2016,  the  Federal  Minister  for  Energy,  the 
Environment  and  Sustainable  development  announced 
the  launch  of  a  national  debate  on  the  role  carbon 
taxation  can  play  in  promoting  emission  reductions  and 
redirecting financial flows towards a low-carbon climate-
resilient society, as well as on the flanking measures that 
could  be  implemented  to  accompany  a  carbon  tax.  This 
initiative should run through 2016 and 2017 and aims at 
delivering concrete policy recommendations. 

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50% of 
public tenders. 
Green  Public  Procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  with  a  reduced  environmental  impact  throughout 
their  life-cycle  when  compared  to  goods,  services  and 
works  with  the  same  primary  function  that  would 
otherwise be procured.  

The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement  equals  to 
about  EUR  1.8  trillion  in  the  EU  (approximately  14%  of 
GDP). A substantial part of this money is spent on sectors 
with  high  environmental  impact  such  as  construction  or 
transport,  so  GPP  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the 
impact  of  public  spending  and 
foster  sustainable 
innovative businesses. The Commission has proposed EU 
GPP criteria167. 

In Belgium, since 2014 a detailed worked out strategy on 
sustainable  public  procurement  (SPP)  for  the  federal 
departments has been established, combining green and 
social aspects. Further specific regulations in the context 
of SPP exist for wood (2005), vehicles (2009 & 2010) and 
energy  efficiency  (2013).  Specific  policy  documents  exist 
in the three Belgian regions168 and at federal level. 

GPP  criteria  are  developed  at  the  Federal  and  Flemish 
level through initiatives by several departments. In most 
of  the  cases  the  EU  GPP  criteria169  are  the  start  of  the 

167 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better 

environment” (COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the 
creation of a process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic 
concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and 
ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based 
on a life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 

168 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP 

Action Plans 

169 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Belgium  26 

Belgium receives just over EUR 2 billion in total Cohesion 
Policy175  funding  over  2014-20  period  (current  prices, 
including  European  Territorial  Cooperation  funding  and 
the  allocation  for  the  Youth  Employment  Initiative,  see 
Figure  12).  Belgium  also  receives  EUR  648  million  for 
rural  development  and  EUR  42  million  for  fisheries  and 
the maritime sector. Cohesion policy is fully devolved to 
the  Belgian  regions.  Part  of  Wallonia  has  transitional 
status and therefore receives a higher intensity of EU co-
financing  compared  to  the  rest  of  the  country. 
Environmental  infrastructure  cannot  be  financed  from 
the  ERDF  in  Belgium  as  it  is  a  relatively  rich  country; 
however, EIB loans can be used for this purpose. National 
public  funds  in  Belgium  for  economic  development  are 
EUR 3.3 billion.  

Figure  12:  EU  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  2014-
2020: Budget Belgium by theme, EUR billion176 

discussion at national level with the stakeholders. Federal 
GPP/sustainable  criteria  have  been  developed  for  about 
70 product- and service groups.170  

In Flanders there is a target of reaching 100% SPP at the 
level  of  the  Flemish  Region  by  2020.  The  region  has 
furthermore established a target to have procurement of 
100% green electricity for the regions' buildings and also 
targets  for  the  environmental  performance  of  vehicles 
including electric/low emission cars. 

In  the  Brussels  Capital  Region  targets  are  defined  every 
third year. Targets by 2017 are: 20% of financial volume 
of  public  procurements,  and  20%  of  the  (number  of) 
public  procurement  with  environmental  clauses.171  For 
vehicles, Brussels has had a ban on diesel (cars and MPV), 
and  targets  for  procurement  of  electric  cars  (minimum 
15%    for  the  local  and  25%  for  the  regional  authorities) 
since 2015). 

According to a 2011 survey, Belgian authorities included 
at  least  one  of  the  EU  core  green  criteria  in  81%  of  the 
GPP-relevant  contracts,  and  55%  of  the  contracts 
included  all the  relevant EU core  green  criteria.  Belgium 
was the best performer for both indicators172. 

Investments: the contribution of EU funds  

in  their 
for  economic, 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  promote  environment  and 
funding  strategies  and 
climate  objectives 
programmes 
territorial 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective  and  sustainable  investments    in  these 
areas. 

social  and 

Making  good  use  of  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF)173  is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  instruments  such  as  the  Horizon  2020,  the 
LIFE  programme  and  the  EFSI174  may  also  support 
implementation and spread of best practice. 

environment” (COM (2008)400) the Commission recommended the 
creation of a process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic 
concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and 
ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based 
on a life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 

170 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP 

Action Plans 

171 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP 

Action Plans 

172 CEPS, 2012. Monitoring the Uptake of GPP in the EU27 
173 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). 
The ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy 
funds. 

174 European Investment Bank, 2016 European Fund for Strategic 

Investments 

As  mentioned  earlier  in  this  Country  Report,  Belgium 
faces environmental pressures in rural areas from on air, 
biodiversity  and  soil.  The  contribution  of  the  two  rural 
programmes  is  very  diverse  to  cover  environmental 
pressures. There is a high ambition level for Natura 2000 
in the agri-environment and climate measures. However 
in  Belgium,  measures  to  reduce  nitrates  and  phosphate 
need  to  be  reinforced  to  tackle  Water  Framework 
Directive issues. 

Belgium  has  three  ERDF  OPs  and  four  European  Social 
Fund (ESF) OPs. There are also two European Agricultural 
Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  and one  European 
Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) OPs, making a total 
of 10 OPs for the ESIF.  

With  regard  to  estimation  for  specific  environmental 

175 European Regional Development Fund & European Social Fund 
176 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 
Data By Country European Commission, European Structural and 
Investment Funds Data By Country: 
https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/countries/BE# 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                                                                 
 
                                                            
Belgium  27 

related categories of expenditure, the ERDF allocation is 
EUR  169  million  which  is  over  17.7%  of  the  total  ERDF 
allocation.  

transition 

For  Wallonia,  the  ERDF  will  be  used  to  encourage  an 
towards  green  growth,  eco-
industrial 
innovation, management of environmental performance, 
urban  environmental  improvement,  reducing  air  and 
noise  pollution,  rehabilitation  of  contaminated  land  and 
reduction in soil sealing.  

For  Flanders,  the  ERDF  will  be  used for  reducing  air  and 
noise  pollution,  rehabilitation  of  contaminated  land  and 
the  re-use  of  old  landfills  (so  called  'urban  mining').  In 
addition  there  is  horizontal  objection  for  the  better  use 
of  space  by  stimulating  multi-functional  use  and 
rehabilitation  of  underused 
is 
covered including circular economy. 

land.  Eco-innovation 

For  the  Brussels  Region,  the  ERDF  is  to  be  used  for 
supporting the development of a circular economy and a 
rational  use  of  resources,  encouraging  the  development 
of  renewable  energy,  rehabilitating  contaminated  land, 
and improving the energy performance of buildings.  

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
5. Effective governance and knowledge 

Belgium  28 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
science, 
innovation,  establishing 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology  and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills177.  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
implementing 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
intervene  to  ensure  day-to-day 
government  must 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

sound 

implemented  when 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments  into  effect.  The  Make  it  Work  initiative,  a 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
in  2014, 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
legislation  can  be 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
improved,  without 
protection 
existing 
standards. 

lowering 

it  takes 

Effective  governance  within  federal,  regional 
and local government 

Those  involved  in  implementing  environment  legislation 
at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels  need  to  be 
equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and  capacity  to 
improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that  legislation, 
and the governance of the enforcement process. 

Capacity to implement rules 

177 The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific 
knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative 
systems of Member States. 

is 

that 

crucial 

regional  and 

It 
local 
federal, 
administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities  and  skills 
and training to carry out their own tasks and co-operate 
and  co-ordinate  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 

federal  state 

Being a federal country, environment to a large extent is 
the responsibility of the three regions (Flemish, Walloon 
and  Brussels-Capital).  The  federal  government  only  has 
specific  powers  for  environmental  matters  in  marine 
areas  under  Belgian  jurisdiction,  military  domains  and 
railway  embankments.  The 
remains 
responsible  for  all  competences  which  have  not  been 
explicitly devolved to the Regions (the so-called “residual 
It  also  has  specific  environmental 
competences”). 
competences in the field of product standards, radiation 
protection,  CITES178  (trade  in  non-indigenous  species); 
other  competences 
the  environment 
related 
(development  cooperation,  finance,  economy,  etc.),  as 
well  as  action  levers  (public  procurements,  taxation, 
energy production and transmission, railways, etc.) 179.  

to 

In order to prepare the coherent participation of Belgium 
in  processes  at  EU  and  international  level  the  federal 
authority  and  the  Regions  work  intensively  together 
within  the  Coordination  Committee  for  International 
Environment  Policy 
is 
managed by the federal administration.  

(CCIEP-CCPIE-CCIM)180,  which 

The  federal  state  being  liable  for  Belgium  respecting  its 
obligations  under  European  and  international  law,  has 
the power to substitute itself for the regions if those fail 
to  comply  with  these  obligations  under  international  or 
law181.  However 
European 
that  possibility  has 
exceptionally been used so far.   

Federal  and  regional  powers  being  exclusive  by  nature, 
and  not  subject  to  any  mutual  hierarchy,  matters  of 
mixed  competence,  i.e.  relating  to  the  competences  of 
multiple  authorities  (federal  and/or  regional)  (which  is 
often the case in policy areas such as climate change) and 
for policy tools (public participation, indicators, SEA) are 
to  a  large  extent  also  dealt  with  through  ‘Cooperation 
Agreements’,  agreed  between  the  Federal  and/or 
Regional  Governments  and  subsequently  enacted  by 
federal  and  regional  parliamentary  assemblies.  All  four 
levels  have  an  environment  minister.  Implementation 

178 CITES, 1975. Convention on International Trade in Endangered 

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 

179 Belgian National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological 

Diversity, 2013. Biodiversity 2020 – Update of Belgium’s National 
Biodiversity Strategy. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 
Brussels 

180 Service public fédéral, 2016 Coordination Committee for 

International Environmental Policy 

181 Belgian Constitution, art. 169; Loi spéciale relative à la Sixième 

Réforme de l’Etat, art. 39.  

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
                                                            
measures which need a common approach or distinct but 
coherent  actions  on  the  different  levels  are  discussed 
within and decided by the Interministerial Conference for 
the Environment, which meets regularly.  

The  environmental  agenda  of  the  three  regions  and  the 
federal  government  is  dominated  by  the  transposition 
and implementation of various recent EU Directives. One 
reason  for  some  implementation  delays  is  the  evolving 
institutional framework and the coordination burden that 
this brings with the regions and the federal level. 

Experience  with  enforcing  the  EU  acquis  shows  that 
Walloon  and  Brussels  regions  are  relatively  often  asked 
to  speed  up  their  implementation  efforts.  This  is  maybe 
due  to  lacking  administrative  capacity.  However,  it  does 
not  mean  that  the  environmental  ambition  of  these 
regions is any less as seen in their policy statements. The 
European  Commission  noted  in  the  2014  European 
Semester 
cooperation  and 
coordination between different levels is key for efficient 
public administration and that implementing the 6th state 
reform is an opportunity and a challenge182. 

country 

report 

that 

Several  measures  have  been  presented  at  the  different 
levels  to  simplify  administrative  procedures  and  reduce 
the  reporting  burden  on  businesses,  particularly  small 
ones. A regulatory impact assessment (RIA), including an 
‘SME test’, has been made mandatory for all federal draft 
regulations183.  The  RIA  also  tests  for  regulatory  impacts 
on  sustainable  development,  including  on  air  quality, 
biodiversity, climate change (mitigation and adaptation), 
mobility, energy, and natural resources184. 

In some of the environmental cases where individuals or 
NGOs have gained access before the national courts over 
the  past  years,  the  Belgian  judges  referred  several 
requests  for  preliminary  rulings  to  the  EU  Court  of 
Justice.  This  represented  a  valuable  contribution  to  the 
development  of  EU  environment  law,  since  preliminary 
rulings  enable  the  Court  of  Justice  to  give  a  coherent 

Belgium  29 

interpretation of the EU law. 

The  2013  European  Quality  of  Government  Index  gives 
Belgium a ranking 8th out of the 28 Member States with 
Flanders higher placed than Brussels and Wallonia185. 

Coordination and integration 

the  auspices  of 

In  certain  areas  the  regions  and  the  federal  level  must 
conclude cooperation arrangements for implementing EU 
(Seveso,  REACH,  EMAS,  etc.).  These 
Directives 
agreements  are  effective  cooperation 
tools.  The 
aforementioned  CCIEP  provides  co-ordination  between 
the  four  Belgian  entities  competent  for  environment 
since  1995  under 
the  Federal 
Environment  ministry  and  organises  also  meetings  with 
civil society and stakeholders. Coordination between the 
three  regions  is  not  always  simple  but  there  are  also 
specific  arrangements/structures 
the  Belgian 
Interregional  Environment  Agency  (CELINE  –  IRCEL)  and 
the Interregional Packaging Commission.  
The  Interministerial  Conference  for  the  Environment186, 
composed  of  regional  and  federal  ministers  whose 
portfolios 
takes 
decisions  in  cases  that  require  a  joint  decision.  The 
special  act  of  08.08.1980  on  Institutional  Reform  lists 
specific topics in its remit. 

include  environment  and  nature, 

like 

There are sustainable development strategies for each of 
level.  The  national 
the  regions  and  at  the  federal 
sustainable  development  strategy  is  also  being  updated 
by  the 
inter-ministerial  conference  on  sustainable 
development  (IMCSD).  This  inter-ministerial  conference 
was established in 2012 and is now revitalized due to the 
need  of  a  coherent  approach  when  implementing  the 
2030  Agenda  on  Sustainable  Development.  It  gathers 
relevant  ministers 
federal,  regional  and 
community  levels  and  was  mandated  to  follow-up  the 
implementation  of  the  sustainable  development  agenda 
in  Belgium.  Technical  working  groups  on 
‘public 
procurements’,  ‘international  policy’,  and  of  course  the 
‘national sustainable development strategy’ are set-up to 
prepare its decisions. The IMCSD ensures coherence and 
integration at vertical and horizontal levels. 

from  the 

With  regard  to  the  federal  level,  there  is  also  an 
administrative structure aimed at promoting sustainable 
development  (the  Interdepartmental  Commission  for 
Sustainable Development (ICSD) grouping the sustainable 
development  units  of  each  administration).  As  regards 
the civil society, their representatives are grouped in the 
Federal Council for Sustainable Development.  

The  Federal  Planning  Bureau  (FPB)  publishes  regularly 

182 European Commission. Belgium Country Report 2014, p.27 
183 European Commission, 2016. Belgium Country Report 2016, p.31 
184 Wet van 15 december 2013 houdende diverse bepalingen 
inzake administratieve vereenvoudiging 

185 Charron N., 2013. European Quality of Government Index (EQI)  
186 Federal government, Interministerial Conference for the 

Environment  

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
                                                            
reports  to  evaluate  the  progress  towards  sustainable 
development  and  to  examine  scenarios  for  the  future. 
There  is  also  a  Federal  Long-term  Vision  on  Sustainable 
Development187,  with  55  objectives,  adopted  by  the 
federal  government  in  2013.188  The  2016  assessment189 
focused  on  measuring  progress  towards  the  set  of  17 
SDG goals 2000-15 on the basis of 31 indicators, some of 
which are mentioned earlier in this Country Report. 

Furthermore,  there  are  various  environment  plans:  in 
Flanders  an  Environmental  Policy  Plan  (MINA  4),  in 
Wallonia  and  Brussels  there  are  distinct  Plans  on  Air-
Climate-Energy, Waste etc. At the federal level there are 
plans on Biodiversity, Pesticide Reduction etc. 
The transposition of the revised EIA Directive190 will be an 
opportunity  to  streamline  the  regulatory  framework  on 
environmental assessments. The Commission encourages 
the  streamlining  of  the  environmental  assessments 
because  this  approach  reduces  duplication  and  avoids 
unnecessary  overlaps 
in  environmental  assessments 
applicable 
a  particular  project.  Moreover, 
streamlining  helps  reducing  unnecessary  administrative 
burden  and  accelerates  decision-making,  without 
compromising 
the  environmental 
assessment  procedure.  The  Commission  has  issued  a 
guidance document in 2016191 regarding the setting up of 
coordinated 
are 
simultaneously  subject  to  assessments  under  the  EIA 
Directive, Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, 
and the Industrial Emissions Directive. 

joint  procedures 

the  quality  of 

and/or 

that 

for 

Belgium  30 

including 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 
audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising campaigns, use of guidance documents and online 
information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and  liabilities 
can  include  administrative  action  (e.g.  withdrawal  of  a 
permit),  use  of  criminal  law192  and  action  under  liability 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after  damage  from  an 
accident  using  liability  rules)  and  contractual  law  (e.g. 
measures 
nature 
conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all  of  these 
interventions  represent  "compliance  assurance"  as 
shown in Figure 13.  

compliance  with 

require 

to 

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 
directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 
avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established pan-European 
networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such  as  IMPEL193,  EUFJE194,  ENPE195  and  EnviCrimeNet196 
is  a  valuable  tool  for  sharing  experience  and  good 
practices. 

Figure 13: Environmental compliance assurance 

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
have 
secure  compliance  with  EU 
to 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-
holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
initiative  of  authorities 
themselves and in response to citizen complaints. It can 

187 Loi du 5 mai 1997 relative à la coordination de la politique fédérale 

de développement durable 

188 Arrêté royal du 18 juillet 2013 portant fixation de la vision 

stratégique fédérale à long terme de développement durable 

189 FBP, 2016. Progrès vers les objectifs de developpement durable de 

l'ONU 

190 The transposition of Directive 2014/52/EU is due in May 2017 
191 European Commission, 2016. Commission notice — Commission 
guidance document on streamlining environmental assessments 
conducted under Article 2(3) of the Environmental Impact 
Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 
2014/52/EU). 

Currently, there exist a number of sectoral obligations on 
inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on  environmental 
liability  (ELD)  197  provides  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the 
"polluter-pays  principle" 
is  applied  when  there  are 
accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the  environment. 
There 
information  giving 
insights  into  existing  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  each 

is  also  publically  available 

192 European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 
193 European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement 

of Environmental Law 

194 European Union Forum of judges for the environment  
195 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment  
196 EnviCrimeNet  
197 European Union, Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Member State.  

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 
of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation198.  

In  Belgium,  several  important  evidence-gathering  and 
other  measures  have  been  taken  to  underpin  a  risk-
based approach to compliance assurance:  

  Publication  of  detailed  annual  activities  reports  by 
the  regional  inspection  bodies  as  well  as  annual 
environmental  enforcement  reports  and  priority 
notes  on  prosecution  policy  by  the  Flemish  High 
Council  of  Environmental  Enforcement,  including  a 
general  evaluation  of  the  regional  environmental 
enforcement 
its 
improvement  based  on 
statistical  data  on 
inspections and prosecutions as well as on available 
resources199; 

recommendations 

and 

for 

  Adoption  of  an  annual  “program  of  inspection”,  in 
accordance  with 
  the  Recommendation  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  Council  no.  2001/331/EC 
of 04/04/2001200. 

  Use of protocols, model letters, electronic databases 
and  agreements  between  different  authorities  to 
ensure uniform approach and coordination201; 
  Establishment  of  central  unit  within  the  federal 
judicial  police  specialised  on  combating  serious 
environmental crime202. 

  Adoption of a 2016-19 National Security Plan with a 

specific chapter on Environment203. 

  Adoption  of  a  new  legislation  about  the  liability, 
inspection, 
and 
punishment  of  environmental  offences  by  the 
Government  of  the  Brussels-Capital  Region  in  2014, 
and related work to support its application including 

identification 

prevention, 

Belgium  31 

preparation of a vade mecum for inspection officials, 
economic operators and other professionals and the 
general public. 

Up-to-date  information  is  lacking  in  relation  to  the 
following: 

  The extent to which risk-based methods are used to 
direct  compliance  assurance  in  relation  to  specific 
problem-areas highlighted elsewhere in this Country 
Report,  i.e.  the  threats  to  protected  habitat  types 
and  species,  air  quality  breaches,  the  pressures  on 
water quality from diffuse pollution204 and the deficit 
in  urban  waste-water  treatment  infrastructure  in 
Wallonia.  

Belgium  very  actively  contributes  to  the  work  of  IMPEL, 
EUFJE and ENPE.  

Although the Belgian authorities have carried out training 
on the ELD, little use has been made of it, with only one 
notification of environmental damage between 2007 and 
for 
2013.  As 
remediation 
if  an  operator  cannot),  the  available 
information indicates that there is little or no take-up of 
insurance.  

financial  security 

(to  pay 

regards 

Suggested action 

  Improve transparency on organisation and functioning 
of compliance assurance system and on how significant 
risks  are  addressed  in  particular  in  Wallonia  and 
Brussels.  

  Step  up  efforts 

in  the 

implementation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  with  proactive 
initiatives, in particular by setting up a national register 
of ELD incidents. It should moreover take further steps 
to  ensure  an  effective  system  of  financial  security  for 
environmental  liabilities  (so  that  operators  not  only 
have  insurance  cover  available  to  them  but  actually 
take it up).  

198 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 
highlighted the need for better evidence on how the directive is 
used in practice; for tools to support its implementation, such as 
guidance, training and ELD registers; and for financial security to be 
available in case events or incidents generate remediation costs. 

199 The reports and the priority notes are available at the VHRM 

website and translated into English.  
200 Article 5 & 6 of the Brussels ordinance  
201 See for details VHRM Priority Note on prosecution policy for 

environmental law 2012; Faure M., and Stas A., 'The Flemish High 
Council of Environmental Enforcement: the role of an environmental 
enforcement network in a new coordinated environmental 
enforcement landscape within the Flemish region, 2009-2014', in 
Faure M., De Smedt P., & Stas A. (eds.), 2015. Environmental 
Enforcement Networks', EE Elgar 2015, p.490  

202 Geysels F., 'Enforcement of environmental legislation by the Belgian 

police', Environmental Enforcement Networks, in Faure M., De 
Smedt P., & Stas A. (eds.), 2015. Environmental Enforcement 
Networks', EE Elgar 2015, p. 482f.  

203 Belgian Police, National Security Plan Synthesis (en) 

Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 

204 The Belgian Court of Auditors observed that the Walloon 

administration had not used to the full extent its power to change 
farmers’ behaviour in relation to nitrogen management and pointed 
out some effectiveness issues of the environmental compliance 
system, including the lack of proper follow-up to detected non-
compliance. Source: EUROSAI WGEA. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Belgium  32 

Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage. 

Access 
evidence 

to 

information,  knowledge  and 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their associations  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
before  a  court. 
for  decentralised 
It 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

Committee 

Compliance 

The  Belgian  law  provides  for  a  number  of  judicial 
procedures  which  are  available  to  individuals  and  NGOs 
to  challenge  acts  and  omissions  of  public  authorities 
which  contravene  provisions  of  national  and  EU  law 
relating  to  the  environment.  The  interpretation  of  legal 
standing  conditions  by  the  courts  for  NGOs  was  now 
widened  in  accordance  with  the  findings  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention 
(Belgium 
ACCC/2005/11).  Henceforth,  the  Council  of  State  would 
no longer require the organisation to have a well-defined 
geographical  area  and  an  objective  more  specific  than 
the  general  interest  of  environmental  protection  to 
admit  appeals  of  administrative  acts  with corresponding 
scopes. Under civil procedures the courts have reflected 
this  development,  which  may  matter  for  possible 
applications 
reliefs  against  decisions 
contravening  the  law.  This  jurisprudence  might  reduce 
the serious obstacles NGOs faced in the past when they 
wished  to  challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  public 
authorities  which  contravene  environmental 
in 
Belgium205.  

interim 

law 

for 

Suggested action 

  Consolidate  the  standing  of  environmental  NGOs  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  a  public  authority  in  all 
sectoral EU environmental laws, in full compliance with 
EU  law  as  well  as  the  Aarhus  Convention,  along  the 
path opened by the Council of State. 

205 European Commission, 2012/2013 access to justice in 

environmental matters 2012/2013 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 
active 
and 
businesses 
through 
to 
dissemination 
electronic means. 

and 
increasingly 

public 
the  public, 

authorities 

and 

environmental 

The  three  regions  and  the  federal  level  publish  on  a 
regular 
sustainable 
basis 
development reports206.  
The  Aarhus  Convention207,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive208  and  the  INSPIRE  Directive209 
together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan210.  The  first 
to  provide 
two 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 
geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
other benefits this data-sharing instrument can facilitate 
the public authorities' reporting obligations.  

create  obligations 

instruments 

For  each  Member 
accessibility  of 
State, 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 
have been systematically reviewed.  

the 

Belgium's  performance  on  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 
disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public 
leaves  room  for  improvement.  Belgium  has  indicated  in 
the  3-yearly  INSPIRE  implementation  report211  that  the 
necessary  data-sharing  policies  allowing  access  and  use 

206 MIRA, RFE, Tableau de bord de l’environnement wallon, Etat de 

l’environnement Bruxellois 

207 UNECE, 1998. Convention on Access to Information, Public 
Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in 
Environmental Matters 

208 European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information 

209 European Union, INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC  
210 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final 

211 European Commission, INSPIRE reports  

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Belgium  33 

of  spatial  data  by  national  administrations,  other 
Member  States'  administrations  and  EU 
institutions 
without  procedural  obstacles  are  not  fully  available  or 
implemented.  Belgium  has  no  common  model  for  data 
sharing for the different administrative levels. Efforts and 
progress  have  been  made  on  the  different  levels.  Most 
regional  data  has  been  made  accessible  under  regional 
open  data  licenses,  but  the national  coordination  of  the 
different  data-sharing  policies  still  remains  an  obstacle. 
Assessments  of  monitoring  reports212  issued  by  Belgium 
and  the  spatial  information  that  Belgium  has  published 
on  the  INSPIRE  geoportal213  indicate  that  not  all  spatial 
and 
for 
information 
implementation of EU environmental law has been made 
available or is accessible. The identification of the missing 
spatial information and the links with environmental data 
required  to  be  made  available  under  the  existing 
EU 
reporting 
environmental law is under way. 

and  monitoring 

regulations 

evaluation 

needed 

the 

of 

Suggested action 

  Critically  review  the  effectiveness  of  Belgium's  data 
policies  and  amend  them,  taking  'best  practices'  into 
consideration.  

  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities and  the  public through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive. 

212 Inspire indicator trends  
213 INSPIRE Resources Summary Report 

Environmental Implementation Report – Belgium