Belgium is one of the EU’s defense laggards and can’t afford to anger the U.S. president, but Theo Francken draws the line at his attacks on the Italian PM.
Jacopo Barigazzi, Victor Jack, Ferdinand Knapp
Trump posted a photo of Meloni late Sunday, joking that he would need a restraining order against the Italian leader. The public trolling followed an awkward meeting between the two leaders at the June G7 summit in Evian, France, after which Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo — something the Italian leader insisted was not true.
“I love her, she’s conservative, she is totally on the same line … and then you’re going to have a fight on what? On a picture!” said Francken.
The Belgian defense minister underlined that the EU is not close to being ready to defend itself without continued U.S. help, so Europeans “need to keep the Americans on board.” It will take Europe “five to 10 years” to build up the conventional military capabilities currently provided by the U.S., he said.
Trump has regularly attacked NATO allies — last week berating them for low defense spending — while withdrawing some U.S. troops from Germany. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month announced a six-month review of America’s military footprint in Europe.
Trump’s pressure, together with growing fear of the threat posed by Russia, is prompting European countries to boost defense budgets and to build up their own defense markets better. Francken’s comments come as the European Commission prepares proposals to encourage more cross-border defense procurement by limiting national protectionism.
“I want to see a single market on everything,” Francken said.
