(L-R) Luc Frieden, Prime Minister of Luxembourg; Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General; Credit: © SIP / Julien Warnand

On Thursday 7 December 2023, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola during a working visit to Brussels, Belgium.

Prime Minister Frieden first travelled to the NATO headquarters to meet Secretary General Stoltenberg. This meeting took place ahead of the Washington Summit during which NATO will celebrate its 75th anniversary.

According to Luxembourg's Ministry of State, the primary objective of the meeting was to reiterate the Grand Duchy's unwavering support for NATO's mission to ensure the security and stability of the European continent.

Discussions focused on the strategic importance of NATO for the European continent and all Allies. Luxembourg announced that it would implement a plan to increase the country's defence efforts within NATO and reach the threshold of 2% of gross national income (GNI). Prime Minister Frieden took the opportunity to emphasise that Luxembourg will also continue to support Ukraine in its right to self-defence.

"The road to Washington is clear," he said. "Luxembourg will remain a reliable and committed Ally."

Prime Minister Frieden also held a bilateral meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. The latter underlined Luxembourg's role as one of the seats of the European institutions.

One week before the European Council and a few months before the 2024 European elections, they discussed current issues, including the single market, enlargement and the importance of youth participation in the upcoming elections, as well as the security situation on the continent.

On support for Ukraine, the European Parliament President "commended Luxembourg for its generous and steady assistance".

For his part, Prime Minister Luc Frieden emphasised during a press conference that "the new Luxembourg Government believes that Europe has been invented as an alternative to war, [...] to increase peace, stability, prosperity" and stressed Luxembourg's role in supporting this. He highlighted the need for both enlargement and deepening when it comes to European integration.