De Wever again criticises US in New Year’s address at the Royal Palace
Prime minister Bart De Wever again took aim at the United States during his New Year’s address at the Royal Palace in Brussels on Wednesday. He warned that Europe faces mounting geopolitical and economic instability.
Addressing around 500 representatives of the country’s leading institutions and authorities, De Wever opened his speech in German, stating that Belgium must prepare for “a long period of geopolitical and economic unrest”.
“Our greatest ally is trying to exploit this vulnerability”
He pointed to the ongoing war in Ukraine as a central factor, alongside the fact that Europe will not have the military means to defend its sovereignty for “years to come”. Without naming the United States directly, the prime minister again criticised Washington, saying that “our greatest ally is trying to exploit this vulnerability” and “gives the impression that the sovereignty of European countries and the democratic will of their peoples no longer really matter”.
De Wever was particularly outspoken about the discussion surrounding Greenland, a European territory which US president Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to incorporate. He spoke of a “lack of respect” in the debate and condemned “the presumptuous idea that the right to self-determination of the Greenlandic people should be violently overridden”, saying it “goes completely against who we are”.
De Wever went on to draw a parallel with the Persian Wars, when the Greek city-states of Sparta and Athens resisted submission to the Persians and secured their freedom. “We can never tolerate the integrity and right to self-determination of a European ally being put under pressure, even when that pressure comes from the strongest power in the world,” De Wever said. “Europe, in both the East and the West, must be united.”
Prime minister Bart De Wever delivers a speech at a New Year's reception organised by the Royal Family for the Belgian Authorities, at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Wednesday 28 January 2026. © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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