15:07 January 24, 2023
During 2022, the value of goods and services imported from Russia to Belgium increased by 130%.
About this informs Polish Radio, writes dailylviv.com.
Retired Belgian army colonel Roger Hausen believes that his country is “one of the main sponsors Russia’s war in Ukraine“. In an interview with the TV channel VRT, he noted that the aid that Belgium provides to Ukraine is significantly less than that of its allies, and imports from Russia — depending on the industry — either remained unchanged or increased sharply.
Hausen is now a publicist and often appears in the Belgian media, commenting on military and defense issues.
“At the end of December, Belgium’s military, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine amounted to about 0.045 percent of GDP. Countries with similar economies such as Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark etc., make at least ten times more. The government says that it is doing everything for Ukraine to win the war, that Ukraine is fighting for our freedom and our democratic values, but looking at the quantity and quality of the equipment we are sending, we can only draw one conclusion: the aid does not seem to be enough,” assessed the former military.
The colonel noted that partly due to the increase in prices, the cost of trade Belgium with Russia has increased sharply since the beginning of the aggression in February last year.
“In the period from the end of February to the end of September, the value of goods and services imported from Russia increased by 130% compared to the same period last year. This is mainly the result of the increase in the price of energy carriers, gas and oil. If we look at the prices of metals and pharmaceutical raw materials, it shows that volumes remain unchanged. From January to the end of September, Flanders imported 3 billion euros more than in the same period in 2021. I conclude that given the size of our economy, we are one of the main sponsors of the Russian war. This is a harsh analysis, but the numbers speak for themselves,” Hausen concluded.
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