Belgium: 2026 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Belgium

International Monetary Fund

No 2026/049, IMF Staff Country Reports from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: The 2026 Article IV Consultation discusses that Belgian economy has been resilient to successive shocks but remains scarred through large structural fiscal deficits, a rising public debt, deteriorated price competitiveness, and a weaker external position. Downside risks could weigh on the outlook, mainly from external demand, geopolitical and trade tensions, and prolonged uncertainty. Further fiscal consolidation is needed to lower deficits and debt vulnerabilities and restore external balances. Fiscal reforms should continue, focusing on reducing current spending, improving public investment and social spending efficiency, reducing tax expenditure, and ensuring that regions and communities contribute to fiscal adjustment. Continued domestic structural reforms and efforts with EU partners to deepen the single market, advancing the savings and investment union, and integrating the energy market are vital to boost employment despite aging, raise productivity and competitiveness, and soften the impact of fiscal consolidation.

Keywords: single market; Imf executive board; General government; headline inflation; transparency policy; Imf staff; government arrangement; Labor markets; Employment; Wages; Global; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 76
Date: 2026-02-23
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=574079 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:imf:imfscr:2026/049

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/pubs/ord_info.htm

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IMF Staff Country Reports from International Monetary Fund International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC USA. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Akshay Modi ().