Luxembourg Welcomes Finland’s NATO Membership, Advocates Sweden’s Accession

The Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, participated in the two-day meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers from Tuesday 4 to Wednesday 5 April 2023 in Brussels.

Prior to the meeting, Minister Asselborn took part in the official ceremony marking Finland's accession to NATO, in the presence of the President of Finland. Minister Asselborn welcomed this historic decision: “Finland's membership in NATO will make Finland safer and NATO stronger. For NATO and Finland, it is the beginning of a new era”.

The head of Luxembourg's diplomacy also highlighted the importance of allowing Sweden to join the Alliance before the Vilnius summit: “Sweden has its place among us. Turkey is an important country within the Alliance and I am sure that it will fully appreciate the security of the Swedish people. We have no right to disappoint the latter.”

The ministerial meeting began with a formal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, which allowed the Allies to have an in-depth exchange of views with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.

"After more than 400 days of a bloody war and on behalf of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, allow me to express the deepest respect for you, for the Ukrainian people and for your armed forces who valiantly defend not only the sovereignty of the Ukrainian nation, but also the international order based on rules, democratic values as well as international justice", declared Minister Asselborn, addressing his Ukrainian counterpart, particularly appreciating the weight of the enormous responsibility which weighs on the latter’s shoulders.

After assuring his counterpart that Luxembourg's will maintain its support as long as necessary, Minister Asselborn emphasised the importance of the work aimed at establishing a special international tribunal to deliberate on the crime of aggression committed by Russia. “Without justice, there is no peace. To this end, we support the investigations currently being carried out by the International Criminal Court and we welcome the creation of the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crimes of Aggression in The Hague. We must do everything to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.”

The morning of the second day’s working session was entirely devoted to the preparations for the Vilnius Summit which will take place on 11 and 12 July 2023. In this context, Minister Asselborn expressed his hope that the Turkish and Hungarian governments will do what is necessary and finalise their steps in order to allow Sweden to join before the summit.

Subsequently, NATO Foreign Ministers welcomed, in the presence of the Swedish "guest", their counterparts from the four Asia-Pacific partners, namely Australia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand, for an exchange of views ahead of the Vilnius Summit. In a joint intervention, the Benelux countries underlined the interdependence of security in the Indo-Pacific region and security in the transatlantic area. In light of the Russian war against Ukraine, the Allies and their Asia-Pacific partners have reaffirmed their commitment to common values and to the Charter of the United Nations.

On the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, Minister Asselborn had bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Canada, Mélanie Joly, and from Japan, Yoshimasa Hayashi, to take stock of bilateral relations with these respective countries, as well as mutual support for Ukraine. The exchange with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan was also an opportunity to have an in-depth discussion on the latest developments in Asia, while the interview with the Canadian Minister provided an opportunity to discuss management challenges of coveted natural resources in order to prevent conflicts at an early stage and help states reduce the ecological footprint of their armed forces. In this regard, Luxembourg supports Canada in the forthcoming establishment of a NATO Centre of Excellence for climate change and security.