It is the 16th year that the Belgian capital has held on to fourth on the list of 30 cities under scrutiny by commercial estate agents Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker, which have been conducting the European Cities Monitor study since 1990.

Brussels has hung on to its position thanks to factors such as offering good access to markets, international and internal transport links, quality telecommunications and a good relationship between the price of office space and its quality, according to the study.

The city has also been recognized for offering a good quality of life to foreign workers, it added.

However, Brussels is still a long way behind London and Paris, which have remained the top two cities to locate a business over the past 16 years.

Frankfurt also maintained its third position this year, while the Spanish city of Barcelona has overtaken Holand's Amsterdam to break into the top five.

Brussels Minister-President Charles Picque said his city must work hard in the next few years to stay ahead of competition from central European cities.

"The gap between those behind us is larger, but that doesn't mean we should rest on our laurels during the next few years," he said, adding that there were several cities in central Europe which had improved their ratings in this year's study substantially.

Warsaw remains the city that can expect the biggest influx of international companies in central Europe, with more than eight percent of the 500 companies surveyed saying they will locate in the Polish capital over the next five years.

Prague came in second, followed by Moscow and Budapest in jointthird.

Businesses tend to choose a location for their companies based on criteria such as whether the city offers easy access to markets,qualified work force, good communications facilities, transport links and business costs, the study showed.

When asked what needed improving in most cities, many companiespinpointed the transport links and a reduction in taxation and bureaucracy.