Belgium is set to ramp up its defense spending in 2025 to meet NATO’s benchmark of allocating 2% of GDP to military budgets — a shift that will be funded in part by reducing social welfare programs and privatizing public assets, according to the Financial Times.
An extra €3.8 billion is slated for defense next year. To reach this figure, Brussels plans to push for €125 million in infrastructure investments to be counted as defense spending under NATO criteria. Additionally, the government aims to include €1.2 billion in tax revenues generated from profits on frozen Russian assets as part of the defense budget.
To sustain the 2% spending threshold, the government intends to take on more public debt. This will be partially offset by the sale of state-held stakes in companies such as Ethias and BNP Paribas, as well as broader privatization efforts expected to raise at least €3.2 billion.
The remainder of the funding is anticipated to come from cuts to social programs. Planned measures include tightening access to unemployment benefits, scaling back certain pension payments, and implementing tax reforms designed to rebalance public finances.
