BRUSSELS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the country's economy "is now on track" and on "a path of sustainable growth" in a wide-ranging speech to mark the opening of parliament on Tuesday.
In a transcript seen by Xinhua News Agency, Michel told fellow lawmakers that the latest forecast for Belgian economic growth in 2015 is 1.3 percent, 0.2 percentage points below the eurozone average.
He expected exports to grow by 3.4 percent this year and 4.2 percent in 2016. Other pointers to economic growth were a 14- percent year-on-year decline in bankruptcies and a 31-percent increase in mortgage lending.
"We are optimistic but we are not naive," the prime minister told parliament, adding: "The economic reality is in perpetual motion. There are uncertainties about global growth. We must therefore strengthen our comparative advantages and correct our weak points."
Michel pointed to business reforms achieved in the past year, including reductions in social contributions and an exoneration of these payments for small businesses hiring their first staff.
However, he said much more needed to be done to rectify the "wage handicap" that harms Belgian business competitiveness.
"Working in Belgium is too heavily taxed. All international studies have shown that," he said. "This wage handicap with our neighboring countries in recent years has destroyed thousands of jobs and prevented the creation of thousands of others."
Tax reforms announced earlier this week, that will come into force in 2016, would see Belgium's lowest earners take home up to an extra 83 euros (94.50 U.S. dollars) net per month.
"This is an historic reform," Michel added.
