(L-R) Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs; Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO;
Credit: MAE
Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, participated in the informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, which took place in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 May 2025.
As reported by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, this meeting provided an opportunity for an in-depth discussion on preparations for the NATO Summit scheduled for June 2025 in The Hague, the Netherlands. The ministers discussed NATO's major strategic challenges, the situation in Ukraine and the Allies' future defence effort objective.
In his speech, Minister Bettel informed the Allies that Luxembourg is set to achieve the target of spending 2% of its gross national income (GNI) on defence by the end of the year (instead of by 2030). Regarding the new objectives that the summit must define to enable NATO to equip itself with all the capabilities necessary in the current geopolitical situation, Minister Bettel emphasised that the specificities of all Allies must be taken into account and called for a certain flexibility in the balance between defence spending and spending related more broadly to security and resilience.
He also addressed the Alliance's support for Ukraine, urging that the NATO Summit give this issue the necessary attention.
