
Bart De Wever, a conservative leader, was sworn in as Belgium’s new prime minister on Monday, following a hard-fought coalition deal that shifts the country further to the right. After seven months of intense negotiations, De Wever becomes the first nationalist from Dutch-speaking Flanders to hold the office.
A staunch law-and-order advocate, De Wever’s coalition has already pledged to take a firm stance on irregular migration. His rise signals a broader right-wing shift in European politics.
The 54-year-old, who has recently moderated his calls for Flemish independence, took the oath of office before King Philippe at the royal palace in Brussels. From there, he quickly attended a meeting of EU leaders focused on defense and transatlantic relations, joking that he was “jumping right in.”
On defense, De Wever confirmed Belgium’s commitment to NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defense, up from the current 1.3%. “Europe has been a bit lazy on defense,” he said, adding that Russia’s actions have “woken us up.”
De Wever also emphasized the need for the EU to maintain strong relations with the U.S., especially in the face of pressures from President Trump regarding trade tariffs and defense spending.
De Wever’s N-VA party is part of the hard-right ECR group in the European Parliament, which includes Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The ECR now counts three prime ministers at the European Council table and participates in governments across seven countries.
Hard-right parties, buoyed by anti-immigrant sentiment, performed well in recent European elections and have made strong gains in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands.
