Group photo;
Credit: Regeringskansliet
On Thursday 21 and Friday 22 May 2026, NATO foreign ministers held an informal meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, to prepare for the NATO Summit scheduled to take place in Ankara, Turkey on 7 and 8 July 2026.
Ahead of the NATO Summit, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, declared: “The unity of the 32 Allies remains essential to the credibility of NATO’s deterrence and defence posture. We need a stronger Europe within a stronger NATO: a Europe that takes greater responsibility in terms of security and defence and that continues to strengthen its strategic capacities, resilience and autonomy. And this stronger Europe is already being built within the Alliance.
Increasing spending alone will not be enough. We must also invest more effectively in our defence industries, strengthen the coordination of our capabilities and industrial bases, and deepen our cooperation with our partners, first and foremost within the European Union.
Allied support for Ukraine must remain strong, predictable and sustainable. We remain fully committed to a just and lasting peace based on international law. At this stage, Russia is showing no real willingness to engage in good faith towards a ceasefire and continues its strikes against infrastructure and civilian populations in Ukraine.
The current situation in the Middle East, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, has major repercussions on regional security, the global economy and the international humanitarian situation, which directly concerns the Alliance. Luxembourg continues to advocate for de-escalation and a diplomatic solution to resolve tensions in the region.”
According to Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, alliance ministers took part in a reception followed by an informal dinner hosted by Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmer Stenergard, in the presence of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden, as well as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
