Diependaele will put a Flemish Defense Plan on the table next month
Flemish Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele was sitting at the table with Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Tuesday with his Walloon official Adrien Dolimont. To discuss all kinds of files, but the Ministry of Defense was also discussed. – © Belga
In Brussels and Wallonia, sites are already being visited for military investments. The Flemish employers of Voka call on the Flemish government to also write « a Flemish military story ». Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) wants to come up with a defense plan next month.
Now that the US seems to focus more on Moscow than on the old ally of Europe, the old continent has come to realize that it should learn to be a soldier on its own. Hundreds of billions will spend the European countries in the coming years. And our country also sets up a catch -up operation. For this year alone, the federal government is looking for just under 4 billion euros to set up our armed forces again.
It ensures that military investments are being looked after. Defense minister Theo Francken (N-VA) will go to Audi Brussels next week, with employers in his slipstream to see what is possible with the site. And in Wallonia, the mayor of Charleroi Thomas Dermine (PS) offers the abandoned industrial site of Caterpillar – owned by the Walloon government.
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In Flanders it remains quiet for the time being. Although it is historically the case that the classic arms industry is rather Walloon and Flanders focuses on high -tech products that can serve both militarily and civilian purposes.
Defense Minister Theo Francken (N-VA) will go to the Audi site in Vorst next week to see if military production is possible. – © Bart Dewaele
Voka wants the Flemish government to start and boosts military industry in terms of both infrastructure and innovation. “Flanders has been too strict in recent years. The rules must be relaxed. After all, we should not miss the boat ”, says the Flemish employers' organization. He refers to the directive of former minister Philippe Muyters (N-VA) who imposes restrictions on military investments in Flanders. To boost the consciousness around Defense, Voka, together with Theo Francken, is planning a series of road shows in the various Flemish provinces.
In the meantime, Flemish Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele is working hard on a Flemish Defense Plan that there is still to be the Easter holidays. What will be there in concrete terms is not yet clear, but the intention is to stimulate military production in Flanders and to eliminate obstacles.
