Bart 
De Wever

***Toespraak gegeven op 12 maart 2026. Enkel het gesproken woord telt.***

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Welcome to BEDEX. 

Let me begin by thanking everyone who is here today.  

In particular Mark Rutte, Minister Clarinval, and the Minister-Presidents of our regions. 

Thank you for your presence and for the support you are giving to this important initiative. 

Defence is not the responsibility of a single government or a single level of government.  

It requires commitment from allies, from regions, from companies, and from our armed forces themselves. 

BEDEX brings that world together.  

And that’s why I’m very proud to be here. 

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Ladies and gentlemen, 

During Belgium’s last general mobilisation, at the start of the Second World War, 616,000 men were called to arms. That was eight percent of the population. 

Today, something like that would be unthinkable.  

Organisationally, socially and economically that is simply no longer feasible. 

Our security looks radically different from what it did eighty-six years ago. 

But one thing has not changed: security requires constant effort. 

Those who want to be safe must be prepared for the worst. 

After a long period of naivety in Europe, we are once again fully aware of this. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, Belgium still spent more than three percent of its GDP on defence. In the 2000s, that dropped to below one percent. 

It took a major effort to significantly increase that again last year, to 2.01%. 

We are still not among the frontrunners within NATO, but we are clearly catching up and taking our responsibility. 

And that is necessary. 

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The threats we face are growing. 

Some threats are visible.  

A brutal war is still being fought on our own continent.  

Others are less visible: state-sponsored sabotage, shadow fleets, cyberattacks, organised crime and terrorism. 

Peace, freedom, prosperity and open trade — values we long took for granted — are now under pressure. 

And there is another factor. 

War is changing rapidly. 

Anyone looking at Ukraine today sees how technology is transforming the battlefield. 

The Ukrainian digital platform Brave1, sometimes described as an “Amazon for War”, brings companies, engineers and military personnel together to rapidly develop new solutions.  

At the front, drone technology often evolves in a matter of weeks. 

This teaches us something important. 

In the past, we mostly prepared for the previous war.  

Equipment could be decades old. In 1940, Belgian soldiers went into battle with rifles that dated from the 1880s. Most of the army had to march on foot to get around. 

Let us remember the words of one of Europe’s greatest military commanders, General Charles de Gaulle. 

When, on the tenth of May 1940, he was given command of the newly created 4th Armoured Division, the Quatrième division cuirassée, he said: “Avec une telle division, il y a dix ans, nous gagnions la guerre. Il y a cinq ans, nous obtenions match nul. Aujourd’hui, nous ne pouvons plus que perdre.” 

Today’s digitalisation and electrification of warfare mean that significant parts of military equipment must be modular. The adaptability of our equipment must be far greater than in the past. 

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Defence can no longer plan innovation entirely from the top down. Large programmes will remain necessary, but they are not enough. 

We must be able to adapt more quickly to new technologies and work more closely with companies and researchers. 

The nexus between defence, industry and innovative players is therefore becoming more important than ever. 

Our security depends on our capacity to innovate, to adapt and to develop technology. Our society itself must also be resilient in that regard. 

And that is precisely where the importance of BEDEX lies. 

Here, companies, researchers, military personnel and allies meet. 

Here, contacts are forged that can hopefully grow into concrete cooperation. 

Here, the Belgian defence industry gains visibility, and our armed forces gain access to new ideas. 

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BEDEX brings together three worlds: economy, technology and defence. Jacques Delors already saw this triangle as a foundation of European cooperation. Today we see how relevant that insight still is. 

That is why I would like to thank everyone who made this possible: Belgian Defence, the companies taking part, and our partners. 

I wish you inspiring discussions, new partnerships and, above all, many ideas for the future. 

And it is my pleasure and honour to declare BEDEX open. 

Thank you.