Diplomatic tensions between Belgium and the United States entered a new phase after Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot conveyed his reaction to a social media post by U.S. Ambassador Bill White targeting Belgian politicians.
Prévot met with White for about 90 minutes on Monday. The minister said White’s public remarks about Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke could cause unnecessary escalation in relations between the two countries and stated that such comments by an ambassador serving in Belgium were unacceptable.
White’s post heightened tensions
During a dispute over health warnings for alcoholic beverages, White posted an AI-generated image of Vandenbroucke on Instagram. The image described Vandenbroucke as “harming every kind of joy in life.”
White also wrote “Who is the biggest loser in Belgium?” over the image, prompting a reaction from Prévot. After the post, Prévot said he would summon the ambassador for a meeting and described the post as “unacceptable.”
Prévot recalled diplomatic rules
Prévot said ambassadors must follow the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs within the framework of diplomatic rules and conventions. He said the same principle would apply if Belgium’s ambassador to the United States personally criticized American officials.
The Belgian foreign minister asked White to refrain from public remarks personally targeting Belgian politicians. Prévot said this approach was necessary to preserve the historic and strong relationship between the two countries.
Prévot said countries may hold different, even fundamentally divergent, views, adding that diplomacy exists to address those differences openly and directly through appropriate channels. He said publicly lecturing each other or interfering in domestic political debates was not reciprocal in terms of relations between the countries.
White said he would continue sharing his views
White said the meeting also addressed social media posts and the sharing of messages. The U.S. ambassador said he respected Prévot’s views but would nevertheless continue to share his own opinions.
White described the meeting as “extremely productive” and said the sides understood each other well. It remained unclear whether White had apologized.
Wording of alcohol warning changed
The diplomatic dispute between the two countries unfolded as Belgium debated a change to the health warning used for alcoholic beverages. Producers are being asked to use the wording “alcohol harms your health” instead of “alcohol abuse harms your health” in their communications.
Belgian brewers launched a campaign against the change.
