Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg’s Minister of Defence;
Credit: Gwenny Eeckels
On Thursday 18 June 2026, Luxembourg’s Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, participated in the meeting of the NATO Ministers of Defence in Brussels, Belgium.
According to Luxembourg’s Directorate of Defence, this meeting prepared the forthcoming NATO Summit, which will take place in Ankara on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 July 2026.
During the North Atlantic Council session, the ministers discussed progress on increasing defence investment in line with the commitments made at the Hague Summit in June 2025. They also focused on meeting national capability targets and providing the resources and forces needed to implement the Alliance's collective defence plans, which remain the cornerstone of Euro Atlantic security, noted the ministry.
This discussion also formed part of a broader debate on rebalancing responsibilities and adapting the NATO force model. In this context, Minister Backes presented Luxembourg's defence effort trajectory up to 2029, stressing: "Luxembourg will fully assume its responsibilities, and we support the ambition of a stronger Europe within a stronger NATO." However, the ministry stated that within the framework of adapting the force model, predictability and a realistic timetable are essential. It added that the gradual reduction of United States (US) armed forces and capabilities in Europe must be accompanied by a proportional strengthening of European defence capabilities in order to avoid any critical gap in collective defence.
Before the North Atlantic Council session, Minister Backes took part in a meeting of the Nuclear Planning Group to discuss NATO's nuclear deterrence posture.
Ministry said that later at NATO Headquarters, she attended the 35th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, co chaired by German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius and United Kingdom (UK) Minister of Defence Dan Jarvis. In the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, defence ministers from around 50 partner countries reviewed the military situation and the Ukrainian armed forces' priority needs. During the meeting, Minister Backes announced an additional Luxembourg contribution of around €26.2 million to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Backes also held bilateral talks with Admiral Pierre Vandier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), and Irene Fellin, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security.
