However, the regulatory landscape governing data centre development in Belgium is shaped by a fragmented regional permitting regime, mounting grid capacity constraints, and an expanding suite of EU regulations.
The key regulatory developments that sponsors, developers, lenders, and operators should consider when planning or financing data centre projects in Belgium can be summarised as follows.
Zoning and permitting: from a fragmented regional landscape to a streamlined EU environmental assessment regime?
Belgium's constitutional structure means that planning and zoning matters, as well as permitting, fall within the competence of the three regions—the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region, and the Brussels-Capital Region. There is no unified federal permitting regime for data centres, nor is there a dedicated zoning category for data centre use under any of the three regional spatial planning frameworks.
Data centres must therefore usually be accommodated within existing zoning classes and are typically situated in industrial areas.
The permitting process ordinarily begins with a zoning compatibility check, followed by a formal permitting process. Where the proposed development is consistent with the applicable zoning plan, permit timelines typically range from six to twelve months, although this timeline could be significantly longer in the event of third-party objections or appeals. Where the proposed use is not compatible with existing zoning, a rezoning exercise—potentially involving regional authorities, advisory bodies, a public consultation, and spatial implementation plans—may be required, and may further involve considerable delay and uncertainty.
Several practical considerations and evolutions merit attention:
- First, there is no requirement for an applicant to own a site; a right to build (such as a long-lease right) is sufficient, although the duration of the right and the consequences of early termination should be carefully considered.
- Second, an environmental impact assessment may be required as part of the permit application, the outcome of which may influence both the grant and the conditions of the permit. Biodiversity considerations (e.g., linked to power and water usage) are to be assessed within this process.
In this regard, a significant development at EU level is the European Commission's proposal for a regulation on speeding-up environmental assessments1 for strategic sectors. The proposal expressly identifies “data centres and AI factories” among the categories of infrastructures where an enhanced, streamlined environmental assessment regime would apply.
If adopted in its current form, this regulation would impose a common procedural framework across member states, potentially reducing the current divergences between Belgium's three regional regimes and shortening permitting timelines for qualifying projects. This initiative, if adopted as is, may thus materially lower the risk profile of permitting processes linked to Belgian data centre developments.
Energy and grid capacity: increasing constraints
Energy supply and grid access represent perhaps the most significant practical and regulatory constraints on data centre development in Belgium today.
Belgium's transmission system operator, Elia, recently proposed the creation of a specific “data centre” category within its network capacity framework, subject to maximum capacity allocations, and already introduced this as a short-term measure2. Elia's initiative includes “flexible connections” for data centres, under which network access could be curtailed during periods of peak demand, and it is expected that the upcoming federal grid development plan for 2028–2038 should address data centre consumption specifically3.
In addition, the Commission for Electricity and Gas Regulation decided on January 29, 2026, to amend the code of conduct governing connection and access to the transmission grid. These amendments introduce binding deadlines for each step in the connection process and impose filters to ensure the seriousness of connection applications, introducing inter alia a “use it or lose it” mechanism to address non-utilisation of allocated grid capacity and limiting capacity reservations in time. These measures are a first step, and further reforms may follow, with a potential shift to a “first ready, first served” allocation model4.
EU regulatory obligations
Belgian data centre operators are subject to a suite of EU-level instruments that impose increasingly regulatory requirements, especially the following:
The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)5
Data centres with an IT capacity of 500 kW or more are required to report annually on a range of performance indicators, including power usage effectiveness (PUE), water usage effectiveness (WUE), renewable energy share, and waste heat recovery. In the Walloon Region, first reports were due by September 15, 2024, with annual updates due on May 15; the Flemish and the Brussels Capital Regions follow comparable timelines through their own administrative portals.
The European Commission is also implementing a data centre sustainability rating system, with a comprehensive “Data Centre Energy Efficiency Package”. To this end, the European Commission published on March 26, 2026, a draft act with the aim of developing a common EU scheme for rating the sustainability of data centres in Europe and simplifying the existing reporting scheme. The draft act is currently open for feedback until April 23, 20266.
The Renewable Energy Directive (RED)
Under Article 24(6)(b) of the recast RED, member states are required to establish a coordination framework between district heating and cooling system operators and sources of waste heat from data centres. The RED also requires minimum levels of renewable energy in new buildings and existing buildings undergoing renovation, which may apply to data centre developments.
EU Taxonomy
Data centres may qualify as a sustainable economic activity under Activity 8.1 (“data processing, hosting and related activities”) of the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act7. Taxonomy alignment is increasingly relevant for operators seeking green financing or whose investors are subject to sustainable finance disclosure obligations.
Policy direction and key considerations for stakeholders
Belgium's 2025–2029 federal government agreement signals a broader strategic orientation towards digital infrastructure and data governance in its “Roadmap for a Digital Economy”, and the Belgian data centre market presents material opportunities. However, the detail remains to be developed, and there is currently no evidence of a more coherent national vision or framework. Therefore, the current regulatory landscape requires careful navigation, especially as regards permitting and zoning risks, grid access and capacity constraints, and EU regulatory obligations, as highlighted above.
For any questions on these topics, please contact our specialists.
Footnotes
1. European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on speeding-up environmental assessments, Brussels, December 10, 2025, COM (2025) 984 final, 2025/0391 (COD). A plenary session vote on the proposal is currently foreseen in October 2026, meaning that formal adoption will only follow in Q4 2026 or later.
2. Elia, Short Term Measure, Grid Users Connection Process, dated September 5, 2025.
3. According to Elia’s presentation “Taskforce Multi-Energy Scenarios”, the 2028-2038 federal development plan is expected to be published in May 2027.
4. The CREG decision.
5. Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of September 13, 2023, on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955 (recast).
6. The draft act on a common EU rating scheme for data centres.
7. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 of June 4, 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation and for determining whether that economic activity causes no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives.
