Belgian Defense Minister Admits Europe Lacks Resources for Combat Operations
Theo Francken criticizes long-term focus on social welfare over defense capabilities
Quick Look
- Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken stated that European nations lack the military resources to counter threats, having prioritized social welfare over defense.
- The remarks follow Belgium's recent achievement of the 2% NATO defense spending threshold.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
European NATO members are increasing defense spending to meet new targets. The EU has launched major rearmament initiatives like the 800 billion euro ReArm EU plan.
BRUSSELS, 2 October. /TASS/. Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken has acknowledged that European countries do not have the necessary resources to conduct combat operations or respond to various types of threats, as they have focused only on social benefits and soft power for many years.
"Europe has been very good at investing in soft power, in social security, and it's beautiful to have a pension system, to have social welfare systems," Francken said in an interview at Euronews' Defence and Space Summit.
"When somebody gets sick, when somebody has lost his job, we have everything. But when there's war or when there is a hybrid threat, we don't have anything."
His words came amid European NATO member states’ efforts to increase defense spending and Brussels’ implementation of policies to strengthen the defense industry. The TV channel notes that Belgium, which for many years was considered a country with the lowest defense spending, only reached the NATO-set threshold of 2% of GDP in 2025.
"We neglected this for so long, we were like the worst pupil in NATO class," the defense minister said of Belgium.
In 2025, the EU set a course for large-scale militarization. For instance, at an emergency summit in Brussels in March, the ambitious 800 billion euro ReArm EU rearmament plan was approved; it envisages joint weapons purchases and the use of funds from the program for depressed regions. Later, the EU Council approved the creation of a 150 billion euro Security Action for Europe militarization fund as part of a long-term military construction program until 2030. Last year, at a NATO summit in The Hague, it was decided to increase European states’ defense and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2034.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the alliance is following a path of "reckless militarization," and the image of Russia as a "threat" is being used to justify the decision to increase the defense spending of the bloc’s member countries to 5% of GDP.
Open Questions
- How will EU states fund the 5% GDP defense target by 2034?
- Will social welfare programs face cuts to fund military expansion?
