Prime Minister Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist) expects Belgium will be able to meet NATO’s 2 per cent of GDP norm for defence spending without inflicting too much damage on other policy areas. He spoke the words on arriving at today’s European defence summit in Brussels. The plan proposed by the European Commission to pump more money into European defence will help, he noted.
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PM De Wever to examine how NATO’s 2% defence spending target can be reached sooner rather than later
Colin Clapson
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Belgium had planned to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence - the norm agreed by NATO countries - by 2029. But Mr De Wever says this norm must be met sooner. Belgian defence minister Theo Francken (Flemish nationalist) suggested this could be achieved by June this year.
‘2029 is far too late. We have woken up to a world in which Europe needs to rearm much faster,’ the prime minister said.
Belgian foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Francophone centrist Les Engagés) earlier warned of a possible impact on ‘other sectors crucial to the well-being of our society’. But Mr De Wever believes it should be possible to spare other policy areas. ‘As a government we should first examine what the possibilities are,’ he noted.