A Commission staff working document published on 24 June 2026 and transmitted to the Council finds that Belgium leads the EU in 5G coverage and digital public services but has the lowest fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) penetration in the bloc, at 35.51% against an EU average of 74.13%. The country report, part of the Digital Decade 2026 package covering all Member States, warns that without urgent action on fibre rollout, gigabit uptake, advanced digital skills and SME scaling, Belgium risks missing its 2030 targets.
Belgium set 14 national targets, 93% aligned with the EU 2030 objectives, and is on track for 58% of its 12 trajectory points. It addressed 71% of the seven Commission recommendations from 2025, with 14% leading to significant changes and 57% to some changes. The updated national roadmap submitted in January 2026 includes 128 measures (37 new) with a total budget of EUR 664 million, equivalent to 0.1% of 2025 GDP. Of the recovery and resilience plan, 27% (EUR 1.3 billion) is allocated to digital, alongside 14% of cohesion funding (EUR 0.4 million).
Very high-capacity network coverage reaches 96.25% of households, above the EU average of 85.54%, but FTTP coverage lags far behind. 5G coverage stands at 99.94% (EU: 96.79%), though only 62.0% uses the 3.4-3.8 GHz band, below the EU average of 74.75%. Basic digital skills are held by 61.2% of the population, slightly above the EU 60.4%, while ICT specialists account for 5.9% of employment, above the EU 5.0%. Digital public services score 81.6 out of 100 for citizens and 96 for businesses, with access to electronic health records at 100%. Some 80% of Belgians consider digital policy a very high or high priority for the EU.
The Commission’s recommendations for Belgium cover basic digital skills, ICT specialists, SME digitalisation, AI adoption, fixed and mobile connectivity, cybersecurity, and green-digital action. The report is addressed to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, and feeds into the broader State of the Digital Decade 2026 communication on closing structural gaps and mobilising investments for 2030 and beyond.