Economy: Urban Free Zone (Port + Audi Forest), AI capital

Economic context (February 2026)

First Council of Ministers (19 February)

The Dilliès government held its first Council of Ministers on 19 February 2026. The regional budget, absent for over 600 days, was approved on 5 March and filed to Parliament on 6 March 2026 (deficit reduced to EUR 957 million).

Construction: leading indicator of the regional economy

The construction sector, a barometer of economic activity, is experiencing a pronounced crisis:

• −1,402 construction companies in 2024 — first net loss in 10 years (Embuild)
• 1,443 bankruptcies in construction in H1 2025 — all-time record, +10% year-on-year
• 9,467 housing units authorised in Q1 2025 — the lowest level since the start of Statbel statistics (2012)
• In Brussels: 405 construction bankruptcies in 2024, second most affected sector
• Average time to obtain a building permit in Brussels: ~7 years

The Urban Free Zone (Port + Audi Forest) provided for in the RPD aims to counter this trend, but experts do not anticipate a recovery before 2027.

Sources: Embuild, "record number of bankruptcies in construction" (2025); RTBF, "bankruptcies rising, permits at lowest" (2025).

RPD commitments

The Regional Policy Declaration of 13 February 2026 devotes a chapter to the economy and international attractiveness of Brussels.

Urban Free Zone

The government plans the creation of an Urban Free Zone at two sites:

• Port of Brussels — logistics and industrial vocation
• Audi Forest site — industrial reconversion after the factory closure

Three levers are planned:

• Tax lever — reduction of property tax and registration rights within the zone
• Administrative lever — single Fast-Track window for businesses
• Human lever — dedicated Actiris cell for jobs in the zone

Attractiveness and innovation

• Positioning Brussels as the capital of artificial intelligence
• Hub.Brussels: continued international economic missions
• Innoviris: integrated process with finance&invest.brussels
• GovTech hub (Schuman, Mediapark, Kanal)

Culture and major projects

• Kanal — museum opening with new governance and management contract
• Brussels Expo CONFEX (CONference + EXhibition) at the Heysel, funded via NEO
• Support for the nightlife sector and events
• Zinneke Parade and BXL 2030: support confirmed

Social economy and entrepreneurship

• Strong commitment to social economy
• Support for female entrepreneurship and diversity

Sport

• RUSG — stadium at Bempt (Forest)

Federal impact: hotel VAT increase (1 March 2026)

The federal government has decided to raise the VAT on hotel stays from 6% to 12% effective 1 March 2026. This measure, part of the federal budget agreement, directly affects the Brussels hotel sector — Brussels accounts for the majority of the country's tourist and business overnight stays.

The Brussels Hotels Association estimates the impact at approximately +EUR 8.50 on a EUR 150 room night. The federation denounces a "cocktail of taxes in 2026" combining this increase with other levies.

In parallel, the VAT on soft drinks served in hospitality establishments drops from 21% to 12%, a partial relief for the restaurant sector.

The regional RPD provides for free zones and attractiveness measures to partly offset these increased federal charges.

Data Centre and AI Infrastructure

Belgium is attracting major digital infrastructure investments: Google (~EUR 5 billion in Saint-Ghislain), Microsoft (>EUR 1 billion in Mont-Saint-Guibert). In the Brussels Region, the KevlinX BRU01 data centre (Neder-Over-Heembeek, 32 MW) has been operational since January 2026. Its estimated consumption (~168 GWh/year) would represent ~3.7% of regional electricity. The RPD positions Brussels as an 'AI capital' without a specific urban planning framework for data centres.

Source: KevlinX, press, RPD 2026.

Defence cluster and dual-use opening (March 2026)

On 12 March 2026, at the Bedex exhibition (Brussels European Defence Exhibition & Conference, 200+ exhibitors, 35 international delegations), the Brussels Economy Minister announced two decisions:

1. Creation of a technology cluster dedicated to defence — a network of Brussels companies in the security-defence sector, building on Brussels' position as NATO headquarters and the site of the new Belgian Defence headquarters
2. Opening of finance&invest.brussels to defence and dual-use technologies — investments in defence sectors and dual-use solutions (civilian and military) were previously excluded from the regional investment strategy. The Region holds approximately 70% of finance&invest.brussels

Hub.brussels organised a collective stand at the exhibition showcasing Brussels companies in the sector: Macq, NVISO, Bretholz Solutions, Proximus NXT, Hozint, among others.

Sources: BX1, DH (12 March 2026).

Tourism: Visit Brussels weakened by austerity (March 2026)

The 2026 Brussels regional budget deprives Visit Brussels of approximately EUR 6 million in operational resources (~1/5 of the annual budget), a direct consequence of regional austerity measures. According to unions, the austerity trajectory would bring subsidies from EUR 22 million down to EUR 8 million by 2029. The agency, which employs 160 people (of whom approximately 90 jobs are at risk), is responsible for promoting leisure and business tourism in the capital, a sector representing 35,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Immediate consequence: the Iris Festival 2026 is reduced to one day (Saturday only, Sunday cancelled). The 2025 edition had attracted approximately 100,000 visitors. The director of Square Brussels estimates the impact at 30-35% less activity, describing the measure as "counter-productive in the long term".

This cut comes on top of the hotel VAT increase (6% to 12%, 1 March 2026) and the EUR 3 million/year savings imposed on Hub.brussels (Brussels Houses Milan/Barcelona threatened), forming a triple impact on Brussels' attractiveness.

Cultural sector on alert: the bilingual network RABKO (120+ cultural institutions) addressed an open letter to the Brussels Parliament on 19 March 2026, denouncing three threats: the abolition of "Image de Bruxelles" subsidies, the ACS status reform and the Visit Brussels cuts.

Public mobilisation: a petition gathering 17,000+ signatures circulated against the cuts, and a rally by staff and supporters was planned for 25 March 2026 outside the Visit Brussels offices.

Sources: RTBF (19 March 2026), RTBF/RABKO (19 March 2026).

Structural data: Mini-Bru IBSA 2026

The Mini-Bru 2026 (BISA/perspective.brussels) places the Brussels economy in context:

Brussels generates 17.3% of Belgian GDP with 10.7% of the population — a 1.6x ratio reflecting its status as economic and institutional capital.

The 7 million overnight stays (Statbel 2024) break down into leisure (3.2M), conferences (2.2M) and business travel (1.5M). Visitors come primarily from Belgium (1.6M), France (785K), the United States (508K), Germany (495K) and the United Kingdom (459K).

Source: BISA Mini-Bru 2026 (NAI, Statbel, 2023-2024 data).

Brussels Houses threatened with closure (March 2026)

Hub.brussels, the Brussels agency for international business support, must achieve savings of EUR 3 million per year (EUR 6 million by 2029) on its international operations, a direct consequence of the 2026 austerity budget.

Approximately 9 of 32 foreign offices of Hub.brussels are at risk of closure, including the Brussels Houses in Milan and Barcelona — partnerships with Visit.brussels for economic and tourism promotion. The definitive list of closures has not yet been confirmed.

Ministerial confirmation (27 March 2026): Economy Minister Laurent Hublet (Les Engages) confirmed the cuts on BX1, stating: "At some point, we have to make efforts." He cited Cuba as an example of a questionable priority. The international network budget stands at EUR 10.2 million. Planned savings reach EUR 3 million from 2026, then +EUR 1 million/year until 2029 — totalling EUR 6 million in savings (⅔ of the budget). In addition, EUR 1.4 million in linear cuts were imposed by Budget Minister De Smedt (Anders).

The 33 offices abroad face near-total closure. The government claims to want to preserve "more than half" of the network. Concerns centre on contracts already signed (participation in international fairs) and the impact on exporting Brussels businesses. This measure adds to the cuts imposed on Visit.brussels, forming a triple shock to Brussels' international attractiveness.

Sources: BX1 (27 March 2026), La Libre, La DH (26 March 2026). Confidence: official (ministerial confirmation).

Innoviris freezes all new R&D projects (March 2026)

The regional research and innovation fund Innoviris has decided not to launch any calls for proposals in 2026, following a budget cut of ~20%. Ongoing projects from 2025 will continue, but no new projects will be funded.

Impact:

• Brussels universities (ULB, VUB, UCLouvain Saint-Louis) lose an essential funding source for applied research
• Innovative SMEs are cut off from the main regional R&D support mechanism
• The freeze contradicts the RPD's ambition to position Brussels as an "AI capital"
• Quadruple austerity shock on attractiveness: Innoviris (R&D), Hub.brussels (international network), Visit Brussels (tourism) and the federal VAT increase (hotel sector)

The decision is all the more notable because the regional R&D budget (EUR 2,532.9M, 2.45% of GDP) already falls below the European target (3%) and the private sector accounts for 71.9% of researchers — the public lever was Innoviris' distinguishing feature.

Source: BRUZZ (27 March 2026).

Heysel congress centre: EUR 150M approved by the Region (3 April 2026)

The Brussels government approved on 3 April 2026 an investment of EUR 150 million for a new congress centre on the Heysel plateau. The project targets a capacity of 20,000 simultaneous seats, integrated into the three palaces around the Place de Belgique.

The regional investment is made via share purchases (not as current expenditure) to avoid directly increasing public debt. The Region offers no guarantee for future borrowings by the company. Fiscal returns are estimated at EUR 1 billion over the project's lifetime.

Source: BX1 / DH / BRUZZ (2-3 April 2026). Confidence: official (De Smedt + Dilliès).

Sources and methodology

The commitments documented above come from the official text of the RPD (chapter 8) and from concordant press sources covering the government agreement of 12 February 2026.