Belgium’s Defence Minister Theo Francken expects the country to have a decade to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP, as announced during a parliamentary debate late Thursday on this year’s budget.
NATO members are set to decide at the upcoming summit in The Hague to increase the defence spending benchmark to 5% of GDP. Belgium aims to extend the timeline for meeting this target as much as possible while seeking flexibility.
Minister Francken indicated a strong preference for a period of seven to ten years to meet this goal, personally favouring a ten-year timeframe.
Although not yet finalised, such an arrangement would be "very good news" and offer Belgium "more breathing room" to boost its defence spending.
There remains discussion about how the 5% should be allocated. The initial proposal divides it into 3.5% for pure military expenditures and 1.5% for related investments. Belgium supports an alternative distribution of 3% and 2%, respectively. The possibility of annual budget increases is also uncertain at this stage.
Further clarity is expected in the coming days. Minister Francken refuted claims that this is a “Trump norm,” asserting that the pressure to raise the budget significantly is driven by Baltic states, Finland, and Sweden.
"Some countries want a straightforward 5% with no division," Francken noted, adding that countries like Belgium are in the minority, as most seek larger or quicker increases.
Decisions on Belgium’s path to the new target will be made following the NATO summit.
This year, Belgium’s defence spending is set to rise to 2% of GDP. Of the additional €4 million investment, €1 billion will be allocated to Ukraine and €2.7 billion to ammunition, a dossier that is now complete, according to the minister.
