EU unity on Ukraine is the fruit of "listening to each other", says Belgian PM De Croo

The Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo says he is "convinced" that European Union members will remain united in their approach to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, because their strategy is the fruit of careful coordination.

"I think that the unity that we have shown was a unity that was achieved because we listened to each other," he told Euronews at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "I do not see our capacity to build unity being evaporated. It's just something we have to take into account, and that means that we will have to work a bit harder. But I'm convinced that unity is the message going back to Russia. And I'm quite convinced that we will be able to keep that unity."

And he said the approach of Ukraine itself was a key factor in sustaining that unity.

"What Ukraine is doing is playing on something you could call seductive power," he said. "I mean, they're seducing the world with the story, with what they stand for. I think it's a very intelligent way of building a coalition."

Belgium has committed to meeting the NATO 2% defence spending requirement by 2035, but De Croo said any acceleration of that timetable would be conditional on a more coordinated European approach to spending.

"If we want to spend more, I'd rather also have the industrial programmes of European firms so that we develop technology and technology that we can also use outside the security world;" he said.

De Croo cited cybersecurity and intelligence as areas in which the focus should go beyond military needs.

"I want cybersecurity investments to be to the benefit of everyone," he said. "If we do intelligence work, I want it to help to protect our industrial policies."

Europe is currently divided over whether to extend sanctions on Russia to cover