Send Print Tweet

05/03/2007 - OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría will present the latest Economic Survey of Belgium at a news conference in Brussels, hosted by the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, on Tuesday 13 March 2007.  The OECD survey looks at the policies needed to bolster long-term economic growth, including strengthening public finances and reform of the labour market.

The survey will be available to journalists in English and French on the OECD's password-protected website at 11.00 a.m. Paris time (10.00 GMT) for immediate release.

The news conference will take place at 12.00 noon at l’Hôtel du Premier Ministre, 16 rue de la Loi, Brussels. To register for the news conference, journalists should contact Didier Seeuws (tel. 32 2 501 0206).
 
A Policy Brief with the main conclusions of the survey will be freely accessible in pdf format (in English and French) on the OECD’s web site at www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/belgium. You are invited to include this internet link in reports on the survey.

Among the questions investigated by the survey are:

• How could fiscal policy be put on a sustainable path?
• What policies are required to improve the functioning of the labour market?
• How could wage developments better reflect local labour market conditions?
• How could efficiency in tertiary education be improved?
• Could performance of the financial sector be improved further?
• Could less prescriptive regulation be effective and enhance competition?

Journalists will be allowed advance access to the electronic version of the publication, by e-mail and under embargo, four hours ahead of release time. For journalists in Asia/Pacific time zones such advance access is allowed 12 hours ahead of release time.

The study will be sent by e-mail on request only. In asking to receive the survey under embargo, journalists undertake to respect the OECD’s embargo procedures. Requests to receive the survey by e-mail under embargo or to obtain a password to access the website should be sent by e-mail to Nicole Le Vourch in the OECD’s Media Relations Division.