Businesses are being forced to face up to “fundamental choices,” he said, as a result of the economic crisis. This includes an assessment of the economic utility of maintaining operations abroad.

For companies based in Belgium, companies face deterrents such as high wage costs and in particular the automatic indexation of wages. This led to a sudden hike in costs at the beginning of the year, just at the moment when the banking and economic crisis was beginning to bite.

AmCham took the liberty of offering some tips on a “well-run Belgium”. Its suggestions included lowering the employer’s portion of social security payments to 20%, cutting company tax to 25%, pruning back administrative procedures and increasing worker participation, particularly for older workers.