Belgium is too dependent on foreign energy, says professor

Belgium is too dependent on foreign companies for its energy, costing the country around €1.8 billion per year, reports De Morgen based on research by Jonathan Holslag (pictured), professor of international politics at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) since 2011.

Short-term foreign investors are turning Belgium into an "investment slave" in the long term, warns Holslag. Belgium’s dependence on imported energy costs the country €1.8 billion annually, Holslag writes in an opinion piece in De Morgen.

First there is the import of electricity from abroad, which accounts for €362 million per year, says Holslag. And then there is an additional €678 million worth of imports of fuel to run the country’s power plants. He goes on to mention investment income, with energy companies such as France's GDF Suez and the Dutch Nuon receiving significant sums, amounting to as much as €760 million per year.

Holslag does not take into account around €10 billion in oil and gas imports to Belgium every year for cars, industry and heating. He is urging Belgium to become more independent for its energy needs, by investing more, for example, in wind farms at the coast.