00:00Joining me from the World Economic Forum in Davos is Belgium's Foreign Affairs Minister
00:13Maxime Prevost. He took on his role one year ago and it's been marked by major geopolitical
00:20uncertainty and shifting power dynamics. Minister, welcome and thank you for joining us.
00:28Thank you. The World Economic Forum is taking place this year as the United States ramping up
00:34Russian rhetoric regarding possibly Washington taking control over Greenland and all the threats
00:39to Denmark. Donald Trump is in town here in Davos, expected also to meet the European leaders.
00:45What's Belgium's strategy when it comes to protecting Greenland and supporting Denmark?
00:49We absolutely need to be united on this issue. Frankly speaking, the attitude of the US is
00:55uncomprehensible and unnecessarily hostile. If they have concerns because maybe they have
01:05identified some threats in the region of the Arctic, okay, we are able to understand that
01:13and maybe we will discuss together in order to address those fears, those threats. And it already exists today, a partnership, an agreement between the US and Denmark in order to allow the US to deploy armed forces on Greenland if necessary.
01:35They only have one military basis today. It is possible to have more in the future according to the current agreement. So it's not necessary to take on an aggressive manner, an hostile one, any square kilometers of Greenland. It is really a red line for the European countries.
01:55But how do you explain in this case why the United States and the US administration is not listening to this argument coming from Europe, from the European allies, NATO allies?
02:05There is no rational explanation, frankly speaking. It is possible to address together those potential threats in the Arctic region.
02:15So let's do it. But having some blackmail, some threats against allies within the NATO family, this is totally unacceptable. So we will take the opportunity of the Davos meeting in order to share this message.
02:37Thank you very much.
02:38Thank you very much.
02:39Thank you very much. The King of the Belgians and my Prime Minister will have a meeting with President Trump. And I hope that it will be possible in the coming days and weeks to go back to a more reasonable way of thinking and acting.
02:52I think it's crucial. It's not only a crisis. It's really a turning point. And when you face a turning point, it demands action and certainly not hesitation.
03:05And the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the threats, the
03:35act. It is the opposite. It is the manner to demonstrate that we intend to take into account
03:43on a better manner than in the past the different fears expressed by the U.S. and that the NATO
03:52allies and especially the European countries have really the intention to take into account
03:59those fears and to secure in a better way the arctic region in the future. Donald Trump started
04:06making the statements regarding Greenland on his first term since 2019 and the European Union really
04:11engaged in the diplomatic dialogue ever since. It's why we absolutely need to take into account
04:19this moment and we cannot in Europe we can no longer depend blindly on the security provided
04:31by the U.S. We have a date with ourselves and we absolutely need to develop our autonomic strategy
04:40on military aspect, energetic aspect, technological ones also. Otherwise we will have a week in Europe
04:51and Europe is more than a political united institution. It is also a big force with 450 millions of
05:05people, with wealthy countries. We are not only one of the largest economic markets in the world.
05:14We also have the possibility to be a geopolitical power but it means that we absolutely need to act
05:22on a united manner and it is maybe the biggest challenge we are currently facing within the EU.
05:29The political unity.
05:30Of course, of course. And we need to react and also to prepare some potential countermeasures
05:37in order to send a clear message to the United States. It is not acceptable the way they are treated
05:44their allies. So we will of course use diplomacy, diplomacy in action in order to desescalate
05:56the current tensions we have. And I hope it will be possible to find a reasonable solution in coming
06:03weeks. Otherwise, we will be forced to use also the coercition instrument, for instance.
06:10Is Europe ready to go for that? Is Europe ready to go this far?
06:14I think that the current situation needs to act as a call to action for Europe. So if we want to avoid
06:23to be wicked, we absolutely need to demonstrate our capability to response on a proportionate,
06:31significative and firm manner. Otherwise, it will lose our credibility and our respectability. And it is
06:40so crucial for Europe in order to act as a geopolitical power and an economic market, a reliable one
06:49that we absolutely need to answer it firmly to the U.S. That's crystal clear.
06:56How is Belgium willing to treat the current situation? In the past, Belgium was among the countries with
07:01some of the lowest defence spendings, for example. Is this situation pushing the country to make rapid
07:08changes into that? Of course, of course. When you are on the crossroads, you have two choices. One,
07:19you follow the path to maybe a problem and not good issue and outcomes. Or you lead another way,
07:30the way of the reforms. And it is really the way that Belgium has decided to follow. So we have
07:37increased our spendings for military equipment. It was time. Frankly speaking, we were one of the,
07:46let's say, the bad pupils in the classroom. So now we have achieved last year the 2% GDP,
07:53and we will continue to increase our spendings for the defence sector. And we absolutely need to be at the
08:01rendezvous of our own responsibility. You know, defending, for instance, the international law,
08:09it's crucial for medium-sized countries like Belgium. Not out of naïveté, but because that's the only way
08:19we can defend ourselves, our population, our prosperity against any kind of hostile temptation coming from
08:29abroad. So it's why it's so crucial for the European countries to defend the international law and
08:35the rules-based order. And according to this, we consider that the United Nations remains the best,
08:46let's say, reliable framework and the best reliable context for promoting multilateralism
08:54discussions for peace and prosperity. And certainly not an initiative such as the Board of Peace, for instance.
09:02Board of Peace is another topic that is going to be discussed here at Davos with Donald Trump meeting
09:07the European leaders. What's the Belgian position on that? We have not been invited to be part of this
09:13board. And frankly speaking, when we have a look on the status, it is totally unacceptable.
09:20We have the opinion that through this initiative, President Trump is trying to replace the United
09:30Nations system and to create his own personal board. Because when you have a look on the status,
09:38it's not only the presidency of the United States, it's the presidency of Donald Trump himself
09:43with a veto rights on any kind of decision. And it is not acceptable. We absolutely need to reform the
09:53United Nations and maybe to create new opportunities for permanent member states coming from Africa or
10:00Latin America or Asia, but certainly not to create such a move on.
10:04But you do agree that it has to be reformed, do you?
10:06And of course, of course. That's why there is a void which has to be somehow filled in.
10:11There is a current process of reforming the UN called UN-80, trying to merge some agencies to create
10:23new opportunities in order to be more efficient. But creating something new in order to bypass the
10:30United Nations, it is certainly not the way Belgium intend to follow and neither to support.
10:36Finally, and very, very briefly, another strategy coming from the United States is abrupt and last
10:42minute announcements regarding the tariffs against certain countries. There was eight NATO members,
10:46there was France on Tuesday morning, it's your neighbour. How do you behave and what do you do if
10:51tomorrow that's Belgium? For more tariffs? We already act together with my different foreign minister,
11:00the different colleagues of the European countries, trying to identify how to react on an adequate,
11:09appropriate and firm manner. I had a meeting yesterday with some of my colleagues discussing
11:15about that under the lead of Kayakalas, our representative of the Commission for the Foreign
11:22and Security Policy of the European Union. And of course, it is not acceptable. We absolutely need to
11:28avoid any escalation on this tariff war, otherwise it will be bad for both parties, also for the US.
11:38We also have instruments in order to react. But I think that we prefer a reasonable
11:45solution that's a kind of escalation in threats from both sides of the oceans. Minister, thank you very
11:53much for your time. Thank you so much. Thank you.
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