Luxembourg to deploy 25 soldiers to NATO mission in Romania
Deployment to bulk up NATO's eastern flank comes as country's troops are withdrawn from Mali, Defence Minister François Bausch says
Luxembourg will deploy 25 military personnel to Romania © Photo credit: Anouk Antony
Luxembourg will send around 25 military personnel to Romania as part of a mission to bulk up NATO's eastern front, Defence Minister François Bausch has announced.
The government will send troops to participate in NATO's "Enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA)" mission in Romania, part of a multinational battalion including French, Dutch and Belgian soldiers. Luxembourgish officers will be deployed in reconnaissance activities, Bausch told parliament at the end of last week.
The deployment of the soldiers comes as the country prepares to withdraw a similar number of troops from Mali, where an EU training mission is due to end on December 1. Two Luxembourg military personnel will remain in the country as part of a UN battalion.
Luxembourg is set to increase its annual defence spending to 1% of the size of its economy by 2028 - or close to €1 billion - following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
However, Bausch has dismissed meeting a NATO target - under which Luxembourg and all other NATO members pledged to increase their defence spending to 2% of GDP by 2024 - as "unrealistic and unachievable".
