Meeting between Yuriko Backes and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

This bilateral meeting was an opportunity to exchange views on the security environment and the strengthening of NATO's deterrence and collective defence posture, one month before the NATO summit in Washington. In this context, Minister Backes announced that Luxembourg Defence is ready to assume its responsibilities and will honour its commitments to meet NATO's 2% spending target. "Ahead of the Washington summit, I will submit to the Council of Government a proposal for the trajectory of the defence effort with a view to achieving the 2% target. It will be an ambitious but realistic plan. The concept of solidarity remains a priority for Luxembourg and as such we will continue to invest in capabilities and projects of common interest for the benefit of our Alliance," Yuriko Backes explained.

With regard to Ukraine and Russia's war of aggression, the Minister of Defence emphasised Luxembourg's unwavering support for Ukraine. Yuriko Backes explained that in 2024 'Luxembourg has for the first time allocated a budget of 70 million euros specifically for military assistance to Ukraine. This is an absolute minimum that can be adjusted as necessary, depending on Ukraine's needs and requests.'

During the meeting, the Secretary General and the Minister of Defence exchanged views on the defence industrial base. Both expressed support for cooperation and joint multinational procurement, in particular through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). In this context, Minister Backes stressed that it will be important to respect the specific characteristics of Allies that do not have large defence industries, but whose industries can nevertheless play an important role in the supply chain.

The next meeting of NATO defence ministers will be held at Alliance headquarters on 13-14 June.

Press release by the Directorate of Defence