Bart De Wever is set to become Belgium’s new Prime Minister on Monday morning and will immediately join an informal EU Defence Summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels.
Following the Arizona party meetings over the weekend, the swearing-in ceremony for the new Prime Minister is anticipated on Monday, as confirmed by sources close to outgoing Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
If Bart De Wever assumes office as expected, he will represent Belgium at the “EU Leaders’ Informal Reflection Session” on European Defence at 11:00 on Monday.
This “retreat,” convened by European Council President Antonio Costa, marks the first EU summit since US President Donald Trump took office. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are also invited.
The European leaders are driven to strengthen their common defence in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and destabilisation efforts against EU members and in light of Trump’s uncertain stance on NATO support. The American president’s demand that NATO members allocate 5% of their GDP to defence will be a key topic, especially as Belgium’s Arizona aims to reach 2% by 2029 and 2.5% by 2034.
De Wever’s presence among EU leaders will be notable due to his party’s affiliation. Most EU leaders belong to the Christian Democrats (EPP), Socialists (S&D), or Liberals (Renew Europe). However De Wever’s N-VA party is part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which includes Eurosceptic and right-wing parties, led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Despite this, the N-VA is also associated with the European Free Alliance (EFA), which has a technical group with the Greens in the European Parliament.
