Defense expert Wally Struys shoots down the mistakes of Groen, Ecolo and the PTB regarding their position on defense spending.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo wants to further increase Belgium’s defense effort to reach 2% of GDP by 2035.
“To arrive at 2% of GDP, we are talking regarding expenditure at the level of Defense and not the overall budget granted, there is a difference between this budget and the expenditure. You should also know that there is a billion euros of difference, which comes from pensions, says Wally Struys, Defense Economist and Emeritus Professor at the Royal Military Academy. When Ecolo, Groen and the PTB are offended by an increase in the budget (Editor’s note: Ecolo and Groen are firmly opposed to this proposal, and speak of “overinvestment” which would jeopardize current social and environmental policies, the PTB also marked his opposition), so it’s wrong! We are talking regarding military expenditure and in this there is not only the purchase of arms and equipment, there are also pensions, knowing that 60% of expenditure is related to personnel, while the budgets nationals have a completely different definition”.
