NATO was created in 1949 to destroy its "systemic enemy", the Soviet Union. In 1991, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved and in 1992, the USSR was dismantled. But far from dissolving, NATO only expanded. And Russia has "quite naturally" taken the place of the USSR in the role of systemic enemy. What''s more, the latest NATO summit officially endorsed the addition of new enemies: China, Iran and North Korea.

Despite the thunderous threats of the new US administration, despite the spectacle of disagreements and conflicts between members, despite the desire of European Union leaders to turn Europe into a supranational military power, NATO is not disappearing. In fact, the Trump psychodrama has merely justified the explosion in the military budgets of the Atlantic Alliance''s members, and Trump is now demanding that its members contribute 5% of their GDP. Rutte follows suit, calling for "considerably more than 3%". The Alliance and its member states have been over-armed since well before Russia''s military intervention in Ukraine, and the forthcoming NATO summit in June 2025 will further escalate the arms race and spark new wars.

Belgium has been a member of NATO since it was founded, and our successive governments have submitted to its directives and participated in every NATO aggression in the world. With no concern for the Belgian people, who have repeatedly expressed their rejection of war and the arms race, the purchase of bombers, the deployment of nuclear missiles and the presence of atomic bombs at Kleine Brogel air base in the Limbourg region of Belgium.

On April 8, Prime Minister De Wever, Defense Minister Théo Francken, Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, army chief Frederik Vansina and top military industry executives left for Ukraine. The bosses hope to make lucrative business out of the war, while millions of our country''s workers will have to make sacrifices to pay for military spending at the expense of our social gains.

The Arizona government is offering Zelensky a dowry of 1 billion euros from taxes on Russian assets tied up in Belgium, in return for contracts to produce arms and munitions for "our" companies in Ukraine. The war-mongers intend to line their pockets with the war economy. In other words, De Wever is diverting 1 billion euros in taxes, i.e. public money, to promote contracts for private companies. Double jackpot for them? By agreeing on production in Ukraine, but without recourse to additional personnel from Belgium, they would escape the application of Belgian and EU law, and legal obligations in terms of working conditions, remuneration, worker representation within their company...

The massive mobilization of workers in Belgium to defend social rights also expresses the refusal to pay for NATO wars. They join resistance in other countries of the Alliance. Let the struggles against the war economy and militarist culture become internationalized and unified!

Take Belgium out of NATO! This fundamental demand should urgently return to the top of the agenda of the peace movement, associations and progressive political and trade union organizations in our country. NATO''s war machine continues on an ever more insane course, leading us towards a new world war.