Belgian Defense Minister Warns of Europe’s Reliance on US
Addressing the Belgian Federal Parliament’s Defense Committee, Francken spoke about escalating global tensions, pointing to recent American military operations in Venezuela and uncertainty surrounding Greenland, according to a news agency.
“The new year has arrived like a storm,” he remarked, portraying the current environment as a preview of looming challenges.
Francken argued that Europe’s emphasis on soft power rather than hard power over the past three decades has produced a harsh reality.
“A world in which our vision of the international legal order is not shared by everyone. The strong do what they want, the weak suffer what they must,” he said, stressing that nations lacking credible military capacity risk being marginalized in global affairs.
He underscored that Belgium and Europe remain “heavily dependent” on American military assistance, both in the ongoing war in Ukraine and in safeguarding their own defense.
Francken further criticized the “hypocrisy” of doubting US reliability while simultaneously requiring European forces to act only with American backing.
He attributed this reliance to years of defense budget reductions and structural deficiencies in intelligence, aerial defense, refueling capabilities, and drone systems.
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