Reactions to the aggressive remarks made this week by US Ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, continue to unfold. In a post on social media, he accused Belgium of antisemitic behaviour and persecution of Belgian Jews, prompting indignation from politicians across various political parties in Belgium.
On 18 February, Paul Magnette, the leader of the French-speaking Socialist Party, addressed the US ambassador in a post on X. He reminded Ambassador White that the rule of law in Belgium, an EU member state, remains alive and robust.
“Dear Ambassador @BillWhiteUSA, unlike in the United States, where the rule of law is methodically unravelled by your administration, where MAGA militants target federal judges, and where the separation of powers survives only on paper, Belgium remains a robust rule-of-law state,” he stated.
Magnette further pointed out that a country led by a far-right president should not offer advice or lessons to democratic nations. “It has no lessons to receive from a country led by a far-right president who threatens Europe. Our laws are not written in Washington. This controversy does not contribute to the fight against antisemitism, a persistent scourge that we must combat together and without relent!” he wrote.
The President of the Socialist Party emphasised that Europe can no longer depend on the US for its security, energy, and technologies. In his 18 February post, Magnette commented, “The Greenland episode served as an electroshock: a dependent Europe is a fragile Europe. Sovereignty is not just proclaimed; it is organised.”
He called for the EU to adopt “a genuine European preference in our public procurement, massive investments in our industry and defence, securing critical technologies, and a common budgetary capacity, with the mutualisation of borrowing.”
“European strategic autonomy is not an ideological luxury. It is a political and economic necessity. Sovereignty is built. Now,” Magnette emphasised.
