PM, Defence Minister Visit 26 Luxembourg Soldiers on NATO Mission in Romania

On Tuesday 5 September 2023, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, François Bausch, accompanied by Luxembourg Army Chief of Staff, General Steve Thull, paid a working visit to Cincu in Romania.

This one-day working visit to the military base in Cincu (during which the official delegation was also joined by members of the press, including Chronicle.lu) featured bilateral meetings between Prime Minister Bettel and Romania's President Klaus Iohannis and between Minister Bausch and the Minister of National Defence of Romania, Angel Tîlvăr. The visit followed that of the Romanian President to Luxembourg in February 2023.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and the President of Romania addressed soldiers from Luxembourg, Romania, France and Belgium, who are based in Cincu while they take part in NATO's Enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA), more specifically as part of a "Multinational Battlegroup" set up in May 2022 to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defensive posture on its eastern flank in the face of Russian aggression towards Ukraine.

Speaking in a mix of Romanian and English (President Iohannis) and English, French and Luxembourgish (Prime Minister Bettel), the two leaders highlighted Luxembourg and Romania's longstanding "friendship" and agreed on the principle of being stronger together. On behalf of the Luxembourg government, Prime Minister Bettel thanked the Luxembourgish soldiers for their service. He later noted that Luxembourg's choice to join the Multinational Battlegroup was "an obvious decision" and stressed the importance of unity and working together.

During the press conference that followed (in the presence of Romanian and Luxembourgish media), Luxembourg's Prime Minister and Romania's President noted that their earlier discussions had focused on NATO and EU goals and security developments, such as recent Russian attacks on the Danube river, which both sides condemned. They agreed on the need to continue supporting and showing solidarity with Ukraine. Prime Minister Bettel emphasised the need to stop bigger countries from trying to decide the future of neighbouring countries, also referring to the fact that Luxembourg was invaded twice by a bigger neighbour in recent history. Luxembourg's support for Romania's accession to the Schengen free-movement area was also raised during these discussions.

In response to a question from the press, President Iohannis denied recent reports of Russian drones landing in Romania. He assured that the country has "total control" of its national territory, although it remained concerned that verified attacks were taking place just 800 metres from the border. "We are on the alert, we are paying attention and we are very well defended," he added, later confirming that NATO was prepared for "every possible incident". Prime Minister Bettel concurred, recalling that if one NATO member country were attacked, all of them would respond.

Later in the afternoon, the visiting Luxembourg delegation exchanged with members of the Luxembourg contingent participating in the NATO mission in Cincu. Currently, there are 26 Luxembourgish soldiers stationed at the military base, which is still in development and is located 200 km from the border with Ukraine. Up to 30 members of the Luxembourg Army can participate in the mission - which ends in July 2025 - at a time. Their mission is to participate with a light reconnaissance platoon in exercises and training missions in Romania to contribute to the deterrence and (if necessary) the defence posture of NATO member countries.

Speaking to the press, Lieutenant Audrey, commander of Luxembourg's reconnaissance platoon in Romania explained that the current troops have been stationed in Cincu for two months and will stay for another two, before rotating with colleagues. Their daily routine consists in carrying out daily exercises and training together with their French, Belgian and Romanian colleagues. Commenting on whether she felt at risk so close to the border with Ukraine, Lieutenant Girard recalled that "risk is part of the job"; Luxembourgish soldiers have been stationed in Mali, Afghanistan and elsewhere and there is always an element of risk. Similarly, First Soldier Chief Aly, for whom this is his second mission abroad (after Mali), assured: "We are well equipped and well prepared [to protect the border] in the worst case."

First Soldier Chief Aly (Credit: Jazmin Campbell/Chronicle.lu)