The Parliamentary Defence Commission on Thursday approved the deployment of 40 Luxembourgish soldiers to the NATO Response Force.
The current tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain a cause for concern across Europe. While diplomats continue to do their best to avoid a war in Europe, NATO has decided that it wants to show that it is ready to defend itself, if necessary.
Particularly in Eastern Europe, the organisation is increasing its presence, a topic which was also on the commission’s agenda on Thursday.
The Commission gave its general approval for the NATO mission, which is expected to be ready for deployment by 1 August. Forty Luxembourgish soldiers are to join a corps of 11,000 men and women to potentially be deployed in the context of the alliance’s high readiness force.
Minister of Defence François Bausch explained that the 40 soldiers are part of Luxembourg’s drone squad. At the moment, they are already participating in national training exercises. They will be integrated on a multinational level in the spring, at which point the Luxembourgish soldiers will come under German command.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Schlechter, the 40 soldiers include drone operators, medics, but also general staff, sergeants, and officers. Their main focus is on maintenance, supply, and transmission, Schlechter explained.
From January 2023, the brigade must be ready for deployment within two to seven days. To this end, the political decision-making process has been adapted, as every deployment of Luxembourgish troops must be approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
According to Bausch, in the case of a mission such as securing a border, the decision would pass through the Parliamentary Commission and the Council of State before entering into force as a Grand Ducal Regulation.
However, the Minister went on to say, if the situation would involve something like a “peace enforcement mission”, the law stipulates that the Chamber of Deputies must assemble within three days. In this case, the plenary session must give its approval, Bausch stated.
While the Minister of Defence outlined the importance of a “solidarity contribution”, Déi Lénk and the ADR announced that they are a priori opposed to Luxembourgish participation in this high readiness force.
MP Fernand Kartheiser from the ADR stated that while the Minister is justifying this participation by referring to the situation in Ukraine, his party argues that this issue requires a diplomatic solution. For this reason, Luxembourg should avoid participating in any unnecessary military provocation, Kartheiser said. The MP added that the ADR was especially surprised to see that a “traditionally pacifist party such as the Green Party” is suddenly more than willing to send troops.
Former Minister of Defence Jean-Marie Halsdorf from the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) argued that “the Luxembourgish army continues to do what it does best”: reconnaissance missions. According to Halsdorf, the only aspect that is new is that this particular conflict is much closer to home.
The full report by RTL Télé in Luxembourgish: