Belgium will meet NATO spending target in 2025
Belgium is expected to spend 2 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2025, meeting the NATO benchmark for the first time since the target was established. New figures released by the alliance show that all 32 member states, including traditionally slower spenders such as Belgium, Canada, Spain and Italy, are on track to meet the ambitious goal this year.
The NATO defence spending target was set in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Poland and Lithuania lead the pack, allocating 4.5 and 4 per cent of GDP respectively, while the US will spend 3.2 per cent.
To achieve the 2 per cent mark, Belgium has increased its defence budget by 57.4 per cent this year. The federal government previously agreed to raise spending from 1.3 to 2 per cent of GDP, with a full evaluation of the new standard scheduled for 2029.
NATO recently agreed on a new guideline of 5 per cent, divided into 3.5 per cent on defence and 1.5 per cent on security-related investments, including infrastructure and cyberdefence.
It remains to be seen how Belgium will reach the new target. Although the country voted in favour of increasing defence spending, prime minister Bart De Wever said his government has "no plans to do more before 2029".
Air policing mission
Belgium is also attempting to play a more active role in the alliance. Earlier this month, the country deployed four F-16 fighter jets and 98 personnel to Keflavik Air Base in Iceland for NATO’s Icelandic Air Policing mission.
This is the first time Belgian jets have participated in the operation, which aims to protect the airspace of a country without its own air force and to secure NATO’s northern flank. The Belgians are operating in the region between Greenland, Iceland and the UK, an area of heightened strategic importance amid planned Russian military exercises.
Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
Related news
