Go to main menu Go to search Go to main content Go to footer

Belgium presiding over the Council of the EU

Image
News
Date
By Joint secretariat

Since 1 January 2024, Belgium has been in charge of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For the upcoming six months, they set a number of priorities for the Presidency:

  • Defending rule of law, democracy, and unity
  • Strengthening EU's competitiveness
  • Pursuing a green and just transition
  • Reinforcing EU's social and health agenda
  • Protecting people and borders
  • Promoting a global Europe

During the presidency, Belgium will be emphasising two principles: sustainability and sobriety

Have a look at how project partners from Belgium work together with others in Interreg Europe.

Belgium involved

Belgium is one of the founding members of the European Union. With its population of over 11 million, it is one of its smaller members. Yet, the involvement of Belgian partners in the interregional cooperation projects is high. After first two calls:

  • 67 project partners bring to Belgium new ideas from other corners of Europe and share with others good practices originating in Belgium.
  • 59 of the 150 approved Interreg Europe projects have Belgian partner organisations.
  • project has a Belgian lead partner.

The cooperation interest of Belgian partners reaches across most topics covered by the programme.

Click through the carousel to see the 25 projects approved in the first call. The second call projects will have their websites available later this year.

     

    Belgian partners improved policies during the previous programme

    Belgian partners were actively engaged also in the previous Interreg Europe programme (2014-2020). Thanks to their interregional cooperation and policy learning in 66 projects, Belgium benefited from 26 policy changes and improvements. 20 changes were linked to the Structural Funds programmes. The Belgian project partners mobilised over MEUR 32 of funding to implement the changes. MEUR 14.8 came from the Structural Funds.

    You can find out more about all project results from 2014-2020 at our project results page.

    Good practices from Belgium

    Inspiring good practices from Belgium are manifold and available for all in our good practice database. The Policy Learning Platform experts have validated 115 good practices from Belgium so far.

    Click through the carousel to get inspiration from the Belgian good practices.

    Expert support services and Belgium

    Three Belgian public authorities have benefitted from our Policy Learning Platform expert support services on a variety of topics such as launching an energy and climate action plan for East Belgium or the management of cultural heritage in Antwerp.

    Also, more than twenty Belgian members of the Interreg Europe community have taken part in peer reviews and matchmakings as peers. The Ministry of the German-speaking community, for example, was a peer in a session for the outermost region of La Réunion, bringing expertise on the labour market integration of NEETs.

    Finally, on 6-7 March 2024, the Province of East Flanders will be hosting their own peer review on their smart specialisation strategy.

    Discover more about Belgian participation in Interreg Europe

    Explore Belgian country page with an overview of the country’s involvement in the programme.

    Tags
    Cooperation