Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) hopes that a new budgetary framework for additional defence spending will be introduced as soon as possible. He stated this on Wednesday in the Defence Committee.
Belgium had planned to spend 2% of its GDP on defence by 2029 – the standard agreed upon by NATO countries. However, Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) and Francken have already indicated that they want to reach the 2% target this year.
The country is nowhere near that currently: defence spending now accounts for a maximum of 1.31% of the country's GDP (or around €8 billion). To reach this newly-set target, €4 billion would have to be found in the coming months. This comes at a time when the Federal Government needs to make considerable savings to get its budget back on track.
In light of these plans, the opposition is questioning the current value of Francken's policy declaration. "This creates an atmosphere of conditionality," said Annick Ponthier (Vlaams Belang).
Francken responded that those who want peace must prepare for war. He also pointed to the past, citing historical context, to justify his investment plans.
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"We were very naïve due to premature optimism. Europe assumed that wars between nations would no longer take place. We thought that peace was the norm and that we no longer had to make an effort to maintain peace."
According to Francken, Europe must learn to speak the language of hard power. "If we want to de-escalate credibly, we must be able to escalate credibly. Peace through strength will become our motto."
