Good morning Mr. Chairman,
Good morning to all,
A hundred years ago, a small community in the French
“Département-du-Nord” became the setting of an immense
onslaught. On the fields around Loos, the German and British
Armies engaged in fierce fighting deploying large numbers of
soldiers and shelling each other’s positions with gas and
conventional ammunition. During this battle, 12 British
battalions lost 8 000 out of their 10 000 men in just four hours.
At the end of these hostilities, which lasted about two weeks,
almost 85 000 men would fall, of which 60 000 were British.
These numbers send shivers down our spine. The Battle of
Loos was, unfortunately, not an isolated event of human
madness. Twice, our continent has been torn apart by a total
war, in every sense of the word. And twice people swore that
such a thing should never happen again.
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We attend commemorations to remember the sacrifices that
our societies have made. After so many decades of peace, we
seem to sometimes take peace for granted. But security always
comes at a price. There is no such thing as “free Security”. The
main task of Defense Departments over the world, together
with other actors, is to ensure a safe and secure society. In
turn, physical security is a necessary precondition for the wellbeing of our population and a sound economy.
Belgium is located in the heart of Europe. Because of our open
economy, it is directly dependent on what happens elsewhere
in the world.
So what is the security environment in which we,
Europeans, find ourselves in nowadays?
On the South flank, the Arab Spring has set in motion a general
societal crisis in countries of the Mediterranean, as well as an
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internal conflict in Libya and a civil war with regional
dimensions in Syria and Iraq.
The Sahel region finds itself confronted with extremist groups,
fueled by organized crime and terrorism. It also continues to
harbor long-lasting internal conflicts. This fragile region counts
among its countries the most important number of failed states
in the world.
The events along Europe’s Southern periphery have a direct
negative impact on the security and welfare of European
citizens. I already referred to phenomena such as organized
crime, in particular trafficking in arms, drugs and human beings.
The strong increase in uncontrolled and, very often, illegal
immigration, is a problem that Europe must address actively
and can no longer continue to ignore. Defense is one of the
instruments of a broader package of political and socialeconomic measures that can contribute to addressing this
phenomenon.
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Along Europe’s eastern borders, Russia’s expansionist actions
in the east of Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimea have
created a sentiment of insecurity that will determine the military
and security dynamics in Europe and NATO’s position towards
Russia for many years to come. The nature of this threat will
require that European armed forces retain adequate and
sufficient material resources, including main battle tanks,
modern fighter aircraft and naval vessels that can counter a
rising submarine threat. The purpose must be to have a
credible military deterrent at all times.
The United States will evidently continue to play an important
role in ensuring European peace and security through NATO.
But at the same time, we cannot deny that Washington has
shifted its primary focus towards the Pacific and more
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specifically, China. The US therefore continues to stress the
need for a more balanced burden-sharing by the European
NATO-members.
The EU is a global economic power. Belgium itself is a maritime
country and Belgian ports constitute an important link between
the major European industrial centers and the world economy.
Our maritime supply lines may be threatened by armed
conflicts in coastal states anywhere in the world, as well as by
acts of terrorism and piracy.
Another flux has meanwhile also taken a security dimension:
the flux of bits and bytes. It is essential that our Defense
contributes to protecting cyberspace.First and foremost it
should ensure its own ICT-driven operation ability. But Defense
should also stay alert because the cyber dimension, as an
integral part of everyday life, is closely related to the physical,
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social and economic prosperity of populations living in Belgium
and Europe.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have a background in the construction business. Quite often I
heard an architect bragging that “he constructed this building”.
But without the workforce behind the architect, the building
would have only existed on paper. The same goes for the
military.
Without the efforts of our soldiers, security will only remain on
paper. Moreover, a military consisting only of machines, run by
machines, is a scary thought. It should therefore not surprize
that Hollywood is producing science fiction blockbuster movies
years, even decades, in a row on this topic. To the contrary:
until today the soldier remains the most important pillar of any
military force. For me defense is and always will be a
people-driven business.
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But a soldier without a proper equipment and training is not an
effective soldier at all. When I became Minster of Defense, I
inherited a department in crisis. Defense investments had been
minimal over the last 20 years. 75% of the budget was
allocated to staffing costs. This situation left little or no margin
to invest in new equipment or in a more intensive training
schedule. This unhealthy situation has left its mark on the work
floor. It is in this respect that I started working on a strategic
vision for the future of the Belgian armed forces.
A strategic plan that takes into account all the challenges I
mentioned before.
A plan, which strives to address all the major investment
projects in our Air, Land, Naval and Cyber/Intelligence
dimensions.
A plan that foresees a future for the many men and women who
put their lives on the line on our behalf, every single day.
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But change cannot be obtained alone and top down. It is
important to pursue an open dialogue with people at the
grassroots level. Representative Unions such as yourselves,
are important stakeholders in this dynamic of reform and
consolidation. They are a voice of concern representing the
interests and the needs of the soldiers. Their goal is to further
the well-being of military staff. An absolutely important goal to
strive for.
Luckily, the days that thousands of soldiers were sent into the
unknown by the single stroke of a pen of a General or a
politician, thereby completely disregarding their fate, are long
gone.
An open and honest dialogue remains quintessential today and
in the future to ensure broad support both from the general
public as from the soldiers themselves.
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The Belgian armed forces are facing a transformation process
that will be one of the most radical of the past decennia. Will
our defense budget increase? And how much? What is the
level of our ambition? That is the main topic of an important
discussion within the Belgian government. If the issue was up
to me, I would not hesitate to increase the budget to 1.6%,
which corresponds to the average of European NATO
Allies. As a small but wealthy country in the heart of Europe,
we must remain a loyal and credible partner, in the true sense
of the word. A partner that shares the burdens and the risks
that societies have to bear in order to ensure their collective
security.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The commemoration of tragic events such as the battle of Loos
tell us that our prosperity and security have come at a horrific
price. This was the case in the past. This is the case in the
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present, and I am convinced that this will continue to be the
case in the future as well.
Thank you very much.
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