Workers’ Party of Belgium’s Peter Mertens discusses the wave of social protests in Belgium, the link between social cuts and militarization, and the struggle for alternatives.

Peter Mertens, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium, tells Peoples Dispatch that 2026 brings opportunities for class struggle – if the left is ready to act boldly.

EU leaders have agreed to raise €90 billion through joint borrowing to finance support, largely military, for Ukraine, advancing their own militarization agenda.

European leaders scrambled to resist a US-backed draft plan for Ukraine that includes no NATO membership, recognizing Russian-held territories, and capping Ukraine’s military.

Rising alarm follows European countries’ willingness to bring back the use of landmines

In a fractured, multipolar world, where Trump’s erratic reign has shattered order, NATO and the EU are fusing into a militarized monolith.

Berlin rearms, Washington directs—but who pays the price? Money for pensions, healthcare, and public services is now funneled into tanks, missiles, and frigates. There is no reason to accept a societal model where plowshares are reforged into weapons.

In 2024, European countries were major contributors to a global rise in military spending, allocating over USD 690 billion to armament

At a summit in Paris, European leaders offered little clarity on peace efforts in Ukraine but reaffirmed support for ongoing sanctions on Russia and post-ceasefire troop deployment

European leaders have announced further talks on military expansion and operationalizing support for Ukraine

Economist Jeffrey Sachs and Marxist historian Vijay Prashad discuss how US arrogance provoked the Ukraine War and thwarted peace.

As Ursula von der Leyen pitched her rearmament agenda to the European Parliament, only left parliamentarians pushed back against the pressure to expand military spending