Belgian government ignored financial advice 8 times for defense spending

The Belgian government has repeatedly disregarded financial advice when greenlighting defense expenditures, according to an investigation by Knack. The De Wever administration has ignored negative recommendations from the Inspectorate of Finance eight times this legislative period, yet still approved defense spending.

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Those advices are not binding.

One notable instance involves the monthly rental of a hangar in Zaventem for 217,900 euros. The Inspectorate of Finance deemed this cost excessive and questioned the contract's duration. Despite these objections and an unfavorable recommendation from the Minister of Budget, Vincent Van Peteghem, the government approved a modified version of the proposal. The Defense Ministry, led by Minister Theo Francken, will now pay the high monthly rent.

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Who takes strategic autonomy seriously, takes this heavy maintenance into their own hands.

Francken's ministry intends to use the hangar for the maintenance of the A400M military transport aircraft, aiming for strategic autonomy. Previously, this maintenance had to be conducted in Madrid. However, former Colonel and defense expert Roger Housen dismisses this rationale as "bullshit." He suggests that collaborating with European partners like Germany or France, who possess extensive A400M fleets, would be a more sensible approach than relying on a private company for such services.

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Taking that maintenance into your own hands to be strategically independent is a bullshit argument.