Belgium open to NATO's 5% defence spending goal, but calls for "time and flexibility"
Belgium is open to gradually increasing its defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, in line with a proposal supported by the United States, but is calling for time and flexibility to meet that target. Defence minister Theo Francken said so after a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, NATO defence ministers approved its most ambitious rearmament programme since the Cold War. Secretary general Mark Rutte the financial burden of that plan, saying that “we already know we’ll have to spend much, much more if we want to meet all these targets.”
To finance these investments, Rutte wants to increase the NATO's defence spending target for alliance members from 2 to 5 per cent. After Thursday's meeting, US secretary for Defence Pete Hegseth stated that the alliance is close to agreeing to raise that spending target.
"We think we are very close, almost near consensus on a 5 per cent commitment to NATO," Hegseth told the press in Brussels. "There are some countries that are not yet fully in agreement. I won't name names; we don't do that among friends in this room. We will convince them."
Belgium changes course
While Foreign minister Maxime Prévot pleaded for a more realistic target at last month's NATO meeting in Turkey, it seems that Belgium is no longer opposed to reaching that 5 per cent. "It's clear that what the Americans are saying makes sense," minister Francken said afterwards.
But to do so, Belgium would need more than seven years, Francken added. “Almost no country disputes the need to move to 5 percent of GDP. But we are going to ask for flexibility. We have already made an enormous effort, and it will not be easy to do even more.”
Francken also said that the details still have to be worked out at the upcoming NATO summit. That will take place in The Hague later this month.
Belgium's Defence minister Theo Francken. © PHOTO Nicolas TUCAT / AFP
Related news
