The West must foster a culture of resilience once again

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a game changer for the world stage. MP and defence specialist Theo Francken says that we can already draw two important lessons from this crisis: the West must foster a culture of resilience once again, and we must guarantee the independence of our energy supply.

Theo Francken says that Putin is using the high gas prices to cause social unrest among our population. “He is using it as he would a weapon, just as he uses cyber attacks and fake news. That is why it is so crucial that we reduce our dependence on Russian gas.” Theo Francken is therefore calling on the European Union to freeze gas prices, as is already the case in France.

Increase the defence budget

After the fall of the Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West has become slack. “We have also continued to be blind to the fear that many Eastern European countries expressed about the threat from Russia. Now it turns out that it was no laughing matter. That is why we urgently need to work on a renewed culture of resilience, with an increase in our defence budgets - to at least 2% of GDP The gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country, both by companies and the government. This term is usually used as a benchmark for a country’s prosperity. This is why the N-VA closely follows the evolution of the Belgian GDP. GDP , the minimum NATO standard.”

Weapons for Saudi Arabia

Belgium is also going to send weapons now, but Theo Francken says this help is coming far too late. “That should have been done weeks ago. While Ecolo in the Walloon Parliament was quick to allow a massive supply of weapons from a state-owned company to Saudi Arabia - weapons that will possibly be used in Yemen - it could barely agree in the federal government to supply second-hand helmets to Ukraine.”

Genuine war refugees are welcome

The crisis is causing a flood of refugees. Theo Francken is clear: “We must provide the necessary reception facilities here. Our asylum reception centres are overcrowded now; perhaps it is time to put an end to asylum fraud and make room for genuine war refugees. Who, moreover, will be welcome on our labour market, given the large shortages,” Theo Francken says.