NATO's 32 leaders opened a two-day summit in Ankara on Tuesday, chaired by Mark Rutte and hosted by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, under pressure from Donald Trump to lift defence spending toward a new five-percent target. The gathering convened hours after Russian missiles and drones killed at least 16 people in Kyiv.
In Brussels, the US defence secretary announced a six-month review of America's military footprint in Europe, tying its outcome to how fast allies take charge of their own security. For Luxembourg — host of NATO's procurement agency yet a low spender by share of output — the pressure is suddenly concrete.
Luxembourg's Defence Minister Yuriko Backes presented a roadmap on 20 May 2026 raising military spending by 0.1 points of GNI annually to 2.3% (EUR 1,665 million) by 2029, an incremental first step toward NATO's 5%-by-2035 pledge. The national finance council puts the cumulative extra cost at EUR 13.4 billion, with annual spending set to nearly quadruple. Backes rejected an "arms race" framing.
Luxembourg plans to lift defence investment to 2.3% of GNI by 2029, estimated at EUR1.665 billion that year, while reviewing later steps toward NATO's wider 2035 commitment.