“The additional cost for the Statecontinues the minister, would gradually increase to reach more or less 150 million euros [par an] in 2043, which makes a total of more or less 2 billion euros over the period 2025-2043. Looking only at the additional cost for Defense, without taking into account the savings for pensions, this represents a budget of more or less 4 billion euros which can no longer be devoted to the necessary transformation and functioning of the department.”
Physical preparation of the military
At the beginning of September, the SLFP-Defense union calculated that raising the retirement age of military personnel from 56 to 67 would cost 3.7 billion euros by 2050. The Michel government had already imagined such a reform in 2016, before giving up. “Today, with new geopolitical threats in Ukraine and the Middle East, such a choice would be even more disastrous.” than at the time, according to Boris Morenville, responsible leader at SLFP-Defense.
gullDefense is simply no longer planned to deploy all soldiers until the age of 67.
“The budget forecasts described above show that the possible consequences of a poorly designed measure are detrimental to transformation and operationalitycontinues Minister Dedonder, whose days at the head of the department are numbered, before the PS is sent back into opposition. Capabilities that are not part of the department’s core business, such as catering and neighborhood security, have been outsourced. These were tasks that were typically intended for older soldiers, who might suffer more physical discomfort. [La Défense] is therefore simply no longer planned to deploy all military personnel until the age of 67. The military profession is also above all a profession in which physical preparation is of great importance. It is utopian to think that we can ask the same thing of older soldiers in the field as of their younger colleagues.”
“I hopeconcludes the socialist, that negotiators for a new federal government will listen carefully to the Defense Staff and the unions.”
The army boss is alarmed
In mid-October, aviator general Frederik Vansina, big boss of the army, sent a letter (that The Free had been able to read) to all Defense personnel to express concern about Arizona’s pension plans. “I am fully aware of the potential impact that such decisions could have on your future, your career and your motivation”he wrote to his troops.
Thrown into the spotlight by the F-35 file, find out who Frederik Vansina is, the new boss of the Belgian army
He is “essential to avoid introducing uncertainty and discontent by modifying the pension system without taking into account the specificities of Defense and our profession. […] I will therefore continue to work tirelessly to ensure that a coherent and balanced approach is taken into account.”he promised.
Note, however, that Arizona’s partners plan to significantly increase the Defense budget, a priori beyond the estimated additional cost of the possible pension reform. The military, like the rest of the population, will have to wait until the government is formed to know what to expect.
“Arizona” negotiations: Belgium could increase its defense spending to 2.5% of GDP
