Upgrading the Belgian Contribution to NATO’s Collective Defence
- EU and strategic partners,
- EU strategy and foreign policy,
- Europe in the world,
- European defence / NATO,
Once again, collective defence constitutes the focal point of European security. This Egmont Policy Brief reviews the evolution of NATO’s deterrence and defence posture, analyses the Belgian contribution to the Article 5 mission, and dissects the key issues pertaining to the future evolution thereof. These include: (1) coming to terms with the return of nuclear deterrence, (2) enabling NATO’s conventional posture as a transit nation, (3) growing Belgian airpower, (4) focussing the forward engagement of Belgian land forces in eastern Europe, and (5) tailoring all supporting efforts accordingly. Additional government decisions are urgently needed, because in collective defence, it is the adversary that sets the timeline.
(Photo credit: Belgian Defence)