Defence Ministers in Brussels signing MoU to integrate the Czech Republic into the MRTT programme;
Credit: NATO
The NATO Defence Ministers met on 24-25 October 2019 in Brussels to prepare for the Leaders' Meeting, the meeting of Heads of State and Government to be held in London as part of the 70th anniversary of NATO next December.
Ultimately, it was the situation in northern Syria following Turkey's offensive in north-eastern Syria (code-named "Operation Peace Spring") that dominated the agenda of the two-day meeting in Brussels.
In this context, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, François Bausch recalled the EU's condemnation of the Turkish intervention and expressed concerns about the humanitarian situation on the ground. He urged the parties present, including the Turkish forces, to ensure the protection of civilians. Minister Bausch added that he was convinced that obtaining a lasting solution to the Syrian conflict and Kurdish question through military means was impossible.
For his part, Henri Kox, Luxembourg's Minister Delegate of Defence, expressed concerns about the possible resurgence of the Islamic State following the instability created by the Turkish offensive in Syria.
Turning to the subject of Afghanistan, François Bausch notably announced that Luxembourg will contribute to the costs of the Kabul military hospital.
On Thursday evening, the defence ministers discussed hybrid threats (joint use of conventional and unconventional means), with Minister Bausch speaking in favour of increased cooperation with the EU, which possesses many civil instruments to deal with such threats. He also mentioned the challenge of climate change in the context of hybrid threats and welcomed the fact that there was a debate within NATO, on Luxembourg's initiative, on the security implications of climate change.
At the last meeting on Friday 25 October 2019, Minister Delegate Henri Kox described Luxembourg's efforts to share the defence burden among Allies.
On the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting, and on the initiative of Luxembourg and the Netherlands, François Bausch signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and the Czech Republic, in order to integrate the Czech Republic in the Multi Role Transport Tanker (MRTT) transport and refueling programme.
