Belgium maintains its position in a sharply declining European investment climate, but number of investments hits lowest point in over a decade

• Against the backdrop of a 10-year low point in foreign direct investment (FDI) across Europe, Belgium recorded a further drop in the number of investment projects in 2025.
• Our country did hold on to its 8th position in the European ranking, but the 11% drop in FDI means Belgium recorded the weakest year since 2014.
• The impact on job creation was more positive: foreign investments resulted in 6,094 jobs, an increase of 13%.

These are the main conclusions from the 2026 edition of the Belgian Attractiveness Survey, the annual study conducted by EY that gauges the attractiveness of Belgium as a destination for foreign investment.

Europe experienced a difficult year for foreign direct investment. In 2025, the number of FDI projects across the continent dropped by 7%, reaching the lowest level in the past decade. Job creation from foreign investments declined even more sharply, falling by 25% year-on-year. Lingering geopolitical tensions, trade and tariff uncertainties, volatile energy prices, as well as subdued economic growth continued to weigh heavily on investor decisions, particularly in manufacturing sectors exposed to global supply chain disruptions. The biggest investment destinations in Europe also took the biggest hits: France lost 17%, UK 14% and Germany 10%. By contrast, investment projects surged across key Southern, Central and Eastern European economies, with Spain (+7%), Poland (+10%), Romania (+16%), and Turkey (+20%) standing out.

Against this European backdrop, Belgium’s performance followed the general downward trend, with a slightly stronger decline in project numbers than the European average (-7%). Nonetheless, Belgium managed to preserve its 8th position among Europe’s top recipient countries for FDI.

“Europe is clearly going through a difficult phase when it comes to attracting foreign investment. Uncertainty has become a structural factor in investment decisions, whether driven by geopolitics, energy costs or trade tensions,” says Tristan Dhondt, Partner at EY Belgium. “That context is reflected not only in the declining number of projects, but even more so in the sharp drop in jobs created across Europe, a trend Belgium managed to buck.”
 

Manufacturing and and business services remain key drivers

Manufacturing and business services remained the main drivers of foreign investment in Belgium, accounting for 46 and 44 projects respectively. Logistics, which overtook business services in the previous year, fell back to third place with 42 projects.

Of all foreign investment projects in Belgium, 67% were greenfield investments. This category of investments is in steady decline: in 2023 greenfields accounted for 72% of the total number of FDI projects. The remaining projects related to the expansion of existing operations, indicating that Belgium continues to play a role in long-term investment strategies of international companies.

A notable trend in Europe is how the increased focus on strategic autonomy is driving investments in two specific sectors: Defense and AI. The number of FDI projects in defense increased 84% to 107 projects. In AI the growth rate was 96% to 306 projects (109 of which were data centers).

United States remains Belgium’s leading investor

The United States retained its position as Belgium’s largest foreign investor, despite a 21% decline in the number of projects, with 34 investments recorded. France and the Netherlands completed the top three investor countries, with 27 and 20 projects respectively.

Notable shifts in the investor landscape include a further drop in German investments, which halved compared to the previous year, and a strong increase from Turkey, which emerged as the fastest-growing investor in Belgium in 2025.

All this FDI-activity generated a marked increase in job creation compared to last year, clocking in at 6,094 jobs or a 13% increase. This growth can be explained by a very limited number of large-scale projects. Though nuance is warranted: Belgium’s job creation from FDI is still recovering from a big drop in 2023 (when it went down from 8,071 to 4,918).

“To remain attractive, Belgium must be competitive in the face of lower-cost economies, without entering into a race to the bottom on costs that it would not win. Its strength lies elsewhere, namely in its talent, infrastructure and capacity for innovation. By building on these strengths, Belgium can attract more high value-added investments, while preserving essential pillars such as logistics, which remains key for employment,” says Marie-Laure Moreau, Partner at EY Belgium.
 

Belgium resists the downward trend in investor confidence

In line with previous years, EY also surveyed international executives on their investment intentions and perceptions. The results show a continued decline in confidence in Europe as an investment destination: 60% of respondents expect an increase in Europe’s attractiveness over the next three years, down from 63% last year.

Belgium, however, stands out positively in this perception survey. 72% of surveyed executives expect Belgium’s attractiveness to increase over the next three years, compared to 70% last year.

Cost pressures remain key challenge

For Europe as a whole, investors identify labour and other input costs, tax competitiveness and energy prices as the main disadvantages. Market size, quality of infrastructure and Europe’s climate and sustainability policies remain its core strengths.

In Belgium, high energy costs, the regulatory environment and labour costs are perceived as the main challenges. At the same time, investors consistently point to the quality of infrastructure, the availability and skills of the workforce, and Belgium’s innovation and R&D capabilities as key assets.

Recommendations to boost the attractiveness of Belgium for foreign investors

These are the policy measures suggested by EY Belgium to ensure the attractiveness of Belgium for foreign investors in the long term:

1. Strengthen SMEs and scale-ups
   Improve access to financing and simplify their regulatory environment to support their role in attracting and anchoring investment.
   
   
2. Reinforce innovation and strategic sectors
   Support R&D and the development of high-impact sectors such as technology, advanced manufacturing and energy to drive future investment and job creation.
   
   
3. Restore cost competitiveness
   Address energy prices, labour costs and regulatory burden, including through more predictable policies and reduced complexity.
   
   
4. Simplify and accelerate the business environment
   Streamline administrative processes and provide greater clarity and stability to facilitate investment decisions and project execution.
   
   
5. Foster a predictable and collaborative tax and regulatory environment
   Strengthen dialogue between business and authorities to ensure a stable and transparent framework for investors.
   

-End of press release-

About the Belgian Attractiveness Survey 2026

Our evaluation of FDI in Europe is based on the EY European Investment Monitor (EIM). This EY proprietary database enables us to track projects announced in 2025 across 47 countries. The database tracks the FDI projects that have resulted in the creation of expansion of facilities and jobs.

We explore Belgium’s and Europe’s perceived attractiveness via an online survey of international decision-makers. For Belgium, field research was conducted by FT Longitude between 19 February and 7 April 2026, based on a representative panel of 200 senior corporate executives (C-suite or C-1 roles). For Europe, field research was conducted by FT Longitude between 11 February and 30 March 2026, based on a representative panel of 500 senior corporate executives (C-suite or C-1 roles).