Belgium will invest an extra €4 billion in military programmes to hit NATO’s 2% of GDP spending target for the first time this year, Defence Minister Theo Francken has said.
In a submission to the national parliament, Francken said that his department is committing to buying more ammunition, cruise missiles and light aircraft as part of a spending splurge ahead of NATO’s June leaders summit in The Hague.
“We will achieve 2% GDP this year and not in 2029 or 2035,” Francken said on Saturday in a post on social media. “This means approximately €4 billion extra per year.”
Last week, NATO figures showed that one in three members of the alliance failed to meet the target of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2024. Belgium, along with Italy and Spain, are historically comparative low spenders. Spain recently announced it will speed up defence spending.
“This extra money will mainly go to ammunition purchases,” Francken said, explaining that NATO stipulates that each country should have a 30-day supply. “Now we barely have ammunition for a few days, and for some calibers even only a few hours. Soon our soldiers will no longer have to throw stones or shout ‘bang, bang’.”
Francken points to developments in Washington to explain the need for more investment given that US President Donald Trump has consistently demanded that European allies meet their NATO spending commitments.
“In recent months, there has been a recalibration of transatlantic relations,” his submission to Parliament reads.
(jp)