Strategic Programmes

Given the cross-cutting nature of its competence areas, the FPS Economy’s goal of improving competitiveness has led to twelve strategic programmes, consistent with the European agenda and with the concerns of major market players: 

1. Statistics because all economic policies are backed up by relevant, reliable and available indicators and statistical data while adhering to European obligations.

2. Economic forecasting because anticipating economic changes is indispensable for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the Belgian economy and reacting accordingly.

3. The goods and services market because the competitiveness of any economy is based not only on horizontal macroeconomic measures but also on sectoral and individual initiatives whose impact must always be analysed.

4. Energy because supply of the market and the degree to which corresponding policies are integrated on an EU level affect price changes and the competitiveness of our production base.

5. The information society because developing telecommunications, ICT and the information society leads to some of the biggest gains in productivity and innovation.

6. SMEs because a competitive economy requires a liberation of SMEs’ potential, and thus a permanent consideration of their needs and unique characteristics.

7. Consumers because the market can only be efficient if market demand exists thanks to household confidence and consumption.

8. Competition because it is the cornerstone of economic policy, allowing for a correct interaction between supply and demand and it guarantees fair play between economic agents, thereby stimulating competitiveness.

9. Regulation because the economy must be supported by a coherent regulatory framework which is easy to understand, less costly and regularly evaluated.

10. Market surveillance because a regulatory framework requires good information, fair application of rules and efficient control mechanisms.

11. Innovation because it helps to create new processes and products and to conquer new markets.

12. External competitiveness because the emergence of new global markets requires international dialogue on regulations as well as new requirements from our economy in terms of competitiveness.

These twelve priorities make up the FPS Economy’s strategic approach, which may be summarised as follows: using high-performance statistics and forecasting, the FPS Economy wants to know perfectly the entirety of the goods and services market (integrating the specific sectors of energy and the information society as well as the specific characteristics of SMEs and consumers) in order to supervise the market better (through competition, regulations and market surveillance) and to stimulate its growth (via innovation and external competitiveness). This is intended to support the Belgian economy's competitiveness and meet the objectives set by the Lisbon Strategy.