Relationship dossier
Belgium
France
Relationship assessment
Close partnership with sustained defense cooperation and European coordination
Belgium toward France
+65Belgium provided transport and medical-evacuation support to the French-led intervention in Mali in 2013. Belgium also entered the CaMo defense partnership in 2018, aligning aspects of its land forces with the French Army.
France toward Belgium
+65France entered the CaMo defense partnership with Belgium in 2018, supporting closer integration between the Belgian land forces and the French Army. France has also cooperated with Belgium on European and regional matters.
Overall relationship
+70The relationship is characterized by sustained defense cooperation, including Belgian support for a French-led operation in Mali and the bilateral CaMo partnership, alongside coordination within European institutions. These durable ties support a close partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Belgium and France maintain a close relationship supported by sustained defense cooperation and coordination on European and regional matters. Belgium contributed transport and medical-evacuation support to the French-led intervention in Mali in 2013. Their CaMo partnership, agreed in 2018, integrates Belgian land forces more closely with the French Army. These concrete ties complement broader cooperation within the European Union.
Key developments
Belgium provided transport and medical-evacuation support to the French-led intervention in Mali.
Belgium and France agreed to the CaMo defense partnership to deepen cooperation between Belgian land forces and the French Army.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and implementation of defense cooperation beyond the CaMo partnership are unclear.