Belgium may need new taxes to reach NATO spending target, Foreign minister says

23 June 2025

Foreign minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) has called for an open debate on how Belgium will meet its rising defence commitments to NATO, saying all options must be considered. That includes potential new taxes, he stated in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws on Monday.

His remarks come after NATO members reached an agreement in principle to raise the alliance's spending target to 5 per cent of GDP. This includes 3.5 per cent for direct military expenditures and 1.5 per cent for related areas such as cyber defence and countering disinformation.

Belgium is one of the lowest spending countries when it comes to defence, and will only reach the current 2 per cent target by the end of this year. Belgium has dragged its feet for too long, and the patience of alliance members has run out. That is why openly opposing the target increase is not an option, according Prévot.

"Saying we won’t go beyond 2 per cent is counterproductive," the minister said. "It’s not just unrealistic - it undermines our call for flexibility. If we want to be taken seriously, we have to show that we’re willing to raise our defence spending over time. Otherwise, we’re sabotaging our own position."

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Need for structural funding

The key question now is how to fund the increase. The federal government is not even certain on how the 4 billion euros to reach NATO's 2 per cent target will be found, according to Prévot. And most of that money will come from one-off revenues, which are not sustainable.

To meet NATO’s long-term spending goals, structural funding solutions will be required. According to Prévot, Belgium has three main options: reduce government spending further, take on more debt, or generate new revenue - potentially through taxation. While stressing that tax increases are “not our preferred route,” he added that "money doesn’t grow on trees.”

But at least one coalition member has ruled out that possibility. "We can no longer raise taxes in the most taxed country in the world," MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez wrote on X on Monday. "Belgium's problem is not revenue but expenditure. Stop wasting citizens' money before talking about taxes."