With just 17% of global SDG targets on track, urgent and co-ordinated action is more critical than ever. This OECD Policy Coherence Scan explores how Belgium’s federal government is strengthening its institutional mechanisms, strategies and tools to more effectively implement the Sustainable Development Goals. Focusing on the federal level, the report assesses Belgium’s performance against the OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development. It highlights a solid legal framework and a strong culture of stakeholder engagement, while also identifying areas for improvement in policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. As Belgium develops its next Federal Plan for Sustainable Development, this report offers timely, practical recommendations to enhance alignment, accountability, and impact. It also sheds light on how Belgium is navigating complexity and what its experience can offer other governments working to build coherent, future-ready policies.
OECD Policy Coherence Scan of Belgium
Abstract
Executive summary
Governments around the world are under mounting pressure to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Out of 169 SDG targets, only 17% are on track, according to The United Nations Global Sustainable Development Report 2024. Complex global challenges and existential risks such as climate change, biodiversity loss, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions are adding to the urgency. In the Pact for the Future countries recognise that “the well-being of current and future generations and the sustainability of our planet rests on our willingness to take action”.
Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities (Flemish, French and German-speaking) and three regions (Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels-Capital). While all levels of government work actively to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this report focuses on federal policies and institutional mechanisms used to accelerate and track progress. It assesses Belgium’s institutional mechanisms at the federal level against the OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD, hereafter “the PCSD Recommendation”) and its three pillars: political commitment and long-term vision; mechanisms to manage policy interactions; and tools to anticipate and address policy impacts.
Belgium, currently developing its next five-year Federal Plan for Sustainable Development (FPSD), has put in place sound legal and strategic frameworks for sustainable development. The federal Act of 5 May 1997, and subsequent amendments, establishes an institutional framework for regular planning, consulting, implementing, monitoring and reporting on federal measures that promote sustainable development. This legal framework mandates a continuous cycle of five-year Federal Plans for Sustainable Development, which include actions and measures to meet European and international commitments and align with Belgium’s federal Long-Term Vision (LTV) for Sustainable Development to 2050. The LTV, however, predates the SDGs and does not fully reflect today’s global challenges. Belgium’s legal framework provides ongoing support and reflection on actions related specifically to on policy coherence for development (PCD).
The commitment to sustainable development is outlined in Article 7bis of the Belgian Constitution, which calls on the federal state, communities and regions, in exercising their respective powers, “to contribute to achieving sustainable development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions while considering intergenerational solidarity”. However, despite the legal foundation for and experience with PCSD, explicit political commitment to PCSD remains unclear. Moreover, while public budgets do allocate resources toward sustainable development priorities, they are not directly associated with the implementation of the SDGs. The effectiveness and efficiency of Belgium’s resource allocation could be improved by measuring the financial commitment to achieving the SDGs.
Belgium has four main institutional mechanisms at the federal level responsible for designing and managing systematic processes and co-ordination mechanisms to promote sustainable development. Efforts have also been made to foster vertical coherence among federal, regional and community levels through mechanisms such as the Interministerial Conference for Sustainable Development. However, co‑ordination across government levels is complex, and the 2017 National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) carries less weight than strategies at the federal and regional levels.
Belgium has a strong culture of stakeholder engagement, with several bodies facilitating dialogue with various societal groups. A more systematic, inclusive, and transparent framework for engagement could enhance the breadth and quality of stakeholder contributions, ensuring they meaningfully shape sustainable development policies.
Regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) are mandatory in Belgium for all primary and some subordinate legislation submitted to the Council of Ministers at the federal level. However, current RIA tools are sometimes regarded as “tick-box” exercises by government officials who are responsible for using them, without real compliance checks and enforcement measures.
Belgium’s commitment to the SDGs is commendable, and efforts are being made to enhance PCSD across all three pillars of the OECD PCSD Recommendation, including through this project. The findings and possible ways ahead outlined in this report and summarised below provide input to Belgium’s next FPSD. They aim to guide Belgian policymakers in prioritising concrete actions for enhancing policy coherence in pursuing sustainable development priorities.
There is a long-standing commitment to a robust legal framework for sustainable development, yet the government has no explicit political commitment to PCSD.
Several bodies – notably the Interdepartmental Commission for Sustainable Development, the Team Sustainable Development of the Federal Planning Bureau, the Federal Council for Sustainable Development and the Federal Institute for Sustainable Development – co-ordinate federal policy on sustainable development. However, the mandates of these actors remain unclear as to their specific roles in promoting PCSD.
While federal strategies and plans for sustainable development exist, the proliferation of sector-specific plans can lead to the fragmentation of efforts in pursuing sustainable development.
Regulatory impact assessments are in place, but compliance checks and enforcement are limited and the impact of policies on the SDGs and on other countries is not systematically assessed.
National and SDG indicators have been merged into one set of sustainable development indicators to facilitate overall reporting.
Make an explicit commitment to PCSD in the next FPSD that is backed by human and financial resources and adopt a more strategic approach to promoting PCSD by identifying a limited number of key priorities or goals for enhancing PCSD, along with specific targets and indicators.
Consider strengthening the mandate of the Interministerial Conference on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) to promote PCSD and act as a central mechanism for policy coherence, and establish clear and institutionalised processes to manage trade-offs between sectoral plans and potential transboundary impacts.
Consider using the policy briefs (note de politique générale) to launch an analysis, identifying priority issues at stake, to inform the development of new policies to address the challenges of the 2030 Agenda; review existing plans and policies to identify co-benefits, overlaps, duplication, and gaps, and consolidate them as needed to enhance policy coherence.
Ensure a rigorous regulatory impact assessment (RIA) framework with robust compliance checks and enforcement measures and consider making the publication of (RIA) reports and conclusions compulsory and closely monitor compliance.
Promote monitoring and reporting on SDG global indicator 17.14.1 Number of mechanisms in place to enhance PCSD.
