Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever used a World Economic Forum panel in Davos to argue that the European Union’s real strength is attraction—rooted in rule of law and “soft power”—and that it stands apart from major powers that don’t inspire voluntary membership.
Speaking during the session “Redefining Europe’s Place in the World,” De Wever said: “No neighbor of the United States says, ‘We want to join the United States.’ Nobody wants to.”
He followed with a sharper comparison: “People want to join the European Union. Nobody wants to join China. They want to join the European Union just because we have respect. We have the rule of law. We do speak softly.”
The 45-minute panel—developed with the Financial Times and moderated by Gideon Rachman—featured De Wever alongside Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch, and French Treasury Director General Marguerite Bérard. The conversation ranged across Europe’s strategic autonomy, enlargement, global competition, and the state of transatlantic ties as geopolitical pressures shift.
De Wever repeatedly returned to the danger of fragmentation in the West, warning: “The West is not united, but Putin sees that we are divided.” He said the West once had a clearer identity—“sovereignty, democracy, freedom”—and raised concerns about a future in which the United States might hesitate to back democracies facing authoritarian threats.
Invoking Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, De Wever framed the current moment as a crossroads: “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters. It is up to Trump to decide whether he wants to be a monster or not.”
He also argued Europe must take more ownership of its security and economic future, saying: “Europe must now wake up and take responsibility for building its own prosperity, as the US has shifted its strategic focus toward the Pacific—a change that would persist beyond Trump.”
The remarks come as transatlantic friction rises again following President Trump’s threats of tariffs on European allies opposing U.S. efforts to acquire Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. Trump has repeatedly described Greenland as essential for U.S. national security and has not ruled out military options, according to Reuters.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking separately at the forum, called for a “new independent Europe” in response to U.S. trade pressure and broader geopolitical shifts, CityNews Toronto reported.
