Leave ‘Queen’ Meloni alone, Belgian defense minister warns Trump

 

Leave ‘Queen’ Meloni alone, Belgian defense minister warns Trump

 

Belgium is one of the EU’s defense laggards and can’t afford to anger the U.S. president, but Theo Francken draws the line at his attacks on the Italian PM.

The Belgian defense minister Theo Francken underlined that the EU is not close to being ready to defend itself without continued American help. |

 

Exclusive

July 7, 2026 4:00 am CET

By Jacopo Barigazzi, Victor Jack and Ferdinand Knapp

https://www.politico.eu/article/dont-touch-queen-meloni-belgian-defense-minister-warns-trump/

 

BRUSSELS — Europe still needs the U.S. to defend the continent for up to another decade, so leaders should be careful not to alienate Donald Trump, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken told POLITICO.

 

But Francken made clear there are limits — especially when it comes to Trump's recent attacks on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

 

“Of course we need him as an ally, but don't touch Meloni. She's the queen of center-right in Europe. She's the alpha. Leave her alone,” the Flemish nationalist minister said.

 

Trump posted a photo of Meloni late Sunday, joking that he would need a restraining order against the Italian leader. The public trolling followed an awkward meeting between the two leaders at the June G7 summit in Evian, France, after which Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo — something the Italian leader insisted was not true.

 

“I love her, she's conservative, she is totally on the same line ... and then you're going to have a fight on what? On a picture!” said Francken.

 

The Belgian defense minister underlined that the EU is not close to being ready to defend itself without continued U.S. help, so Europeans "need to keep the Americans on board." It will take Europe "five to 10 years" to build up the conventional military capabilities currently provided by the U.S., he said.

 

Trump has regularly attacked NATO allies — last week berating them for low defense spending — while withdrawing some U.S. troops from Germany. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month announced a six-month review of America’s military footprint in Europe.

 

Trump's pressure, together with growing fear of the threat posed by Russia, is prompting European countries to boost defense budgets and to build up their own defense markets better. Francken's comments come as the European Commission prepares proposals to encourage more cross-border defense procurement by limiting national protectionism.

 

"I want to see a single market on everything," Francken said.

 

He also called for countries to be sparing in using an opt-out that would allow them to favor domestic defense companies in arms contracts, calling it "totally protectionist."

 

“We're one of the best pupils in the class. We don't use it all the time ... We only use it very exceptionally," he said. Belgium invoked the loophole just two years ago, before Francken took office, to avoid a competitive tendering procedure when it approved a light-arms deal with Belgian producer FN Herstal.

 

But with European defense efforts still ramping up, the key is to ensure that Trump is not angered, Francken said. "We need the Americans, be diplomatic, listen to what they say, try to be gentle."

 

Although the Belgian government's official numbers show the country is just above NATO's former target of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense, an official monitoring report issued Monday found that Belgium would only reach 1.93 percent of GDP by 2029 if current spending trends continue.

 

That's very far off the pace needed to reach the alliance's new target of 3.5 percent of GDP on military spending by 2035, leaving the country vulnerable to a verbal attack by Trump in Ankara.