(L-R) Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space; Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg's Minister for Defence;
Credit: MAE
On Tuesday 14 October 2025, Luxembourg's Minister for Defence, Yuriko Backes, held a bilateral meeting with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, at the Berlaymont building in Brussels, Belgium.
As reported by Luxembourg's Directorate of Defence, discussions focused on strengthening European defence, developing capabilities within the European Union (EU) and exploring financing options, notably through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, which is part of the ReArm Europe plan (EU defence initiative), as well as the forthcoming Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030.
Minister Backes underlined the importance of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in strengthening the European defence industrial and technological base. She said: “The increase in defence investments must benefit SMEs and help them integrate into the European defence value chains.”
Commissioner Kubilius and Minister Backes also exchanged views on the strategic importance of the space sector. In this context, Minister Backes informed the Commissioner of the recent launch of Luxembourg’s first Earth observation satellite, LUXEOSys, and the planned second government and military communications satellite, GovSat-2, developed under the public-private partnership between the Luxembourg government and SES Astra SA.
Following the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers and the “Ukraine Defense Contact Group” at the NATO Headquarters, a session of the Foreign Affairs Council in its “Defence” configuration took place on Wednesday 15 October 2025 to exchange views on preparations for European defence.
EO
