Belgian Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken announced that the national government will develop a new investment plan to increase Belgium’s defense budget allocation to meet NATO spending requirements by 2029.
Speaking to ambassadors on Friday, Francken said the plan, which includes establishing a Defence Fund, marks the beginning of Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s commitment to strengthening the nation’s defense capabilities. The minister indicated that the country’s immediate priorities will involve purchasing munitions, additional F-35 fighter jets, small transport aircraft and a third frigate.
“This will put an end to what I can safely call a ‘period of national disgrace,’ a period in which Belgium was not loyal to its status as a founding member of NATO, but acted as the most notorious free rider of the entire alliance,” he said.
NATO members are required to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. According to NATO data, Belgium’s total defense spending for 2024 was $8.2 billion, which is 1.3 percent of its GDP, placing it among the lowest spenders alongside Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain.
The alliance has stressed the importance of Belgium complying with an article of the treaty that requires member states to maintain a certain capacity at the country level and collectively to counter adversarial attacks.
In January, Lithuania’s Minister of National Defense Dovile Sakaliene called upon the alliance to revise the 2 percent guideline, suggesting that the requirement be raised to at least 3 percent of GDP.
In addition to its commitment to meeting NATO’s defense spending targets, the Belgian government plans to enhance its defense capabilities through partnerships with Luxembourg and the Netherlands in various domains, including maritime operations, ground-based air defense and special forces.