Unlock the European market from a strategic location after Brexit

As Belgium’s northern region, Flanders is perfectly located amidst Europe’s major commercial and industrial centres, including Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and the Ruhr Valley. Its seaports – including those of Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend and Zeebrugge – connect UK companies to the European mainland in a matter of hours.

International logistics and transport

Flanders is ideally equipped to help you unlock Europe’s market potential through multimodal transport. Flanders’ road and railroad systems, for instance, are among the world’s densest – not to mention the region’s logistics infrastructure, which comes in at 3rd place in the World Bank’s biennial Logistics Performance Index.

Business travel made easy

There’s also great news for UK citizens travelling to the EU. Even after Brexit, they will still be able to enter the Schengen zone without a visa – and Flanders offers various options for business travel:

  • Cities like Antwerp and Brussels are part of Europe’s high-speed train network and offer fast railway connections to 19 different cities in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Switzerland …
  • With the Eurostar railway service via the Channel Tunnel, your employees can easily travel between London and Brussels, enabling them to commute to work in Europe while living in the UK.
  • Airline operators at Brussels Airport and Antwerp Airport offer frequent flights within and beyond Europe. Antwerp Airport is specifically aimed at business travel, providing UK travellers with a smooth, fast connection to London City Airport.

Step into Europe’s symbolic capital

What’s more, Brussels – the capital of Flanders and Belgium – is home to hundreds of international corporations and intergovernmental decision-making organisations, such as the EU and NATO. The city can easily be considered Europe’s lobbying capital as well: over 3,800 diplomats are active in Brussels. Only New York City has more.

Claim your place in the world’s most globalised economy

Part of the world’s most globalised country (KOF Index of Globalization), Flanders is an international trade powerhouse – bringing your business close to Europe and the rest of the world.

Not only has foreign direct investment been booming for the past several decades, Flanders’ export figures continue to soar as well.