Luxembourg Communists Slam Deals With NATO and the US

The Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL) has raised serious concerns about the country’s increased cooperation with the US and NATO. KPL’s criticism comes in the aftermath of two agreements on space cooperation that were signed with the US on January 14, Tuesday. The agreements were signed in Washington DC by Luxembourg’s defense minister François Bausch and the US undersecretary of defense for policy, John Rood.

KPL said that “Only weeks after US President Donald Trump declared space a ‘new war scene’ of the imperialist great powers, the two Luxembourg ministers responsible for the army, François Bausch and Henri Kox [Minister Delegate of Defence], flew to Washington to, among other things, sign two agreements with the Pentagon.”

Earlier, the KPL had criticized Luxembourg’s move to contribute USD one million to modernize NATO’s Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) aircraft fleet. According to KPL, “For a long time, Luxembourg has spent [increasing amounts of] public money in the military sector every year, regardless of which parties are in the government. This year, it will be at least 375 million euros – a new record – and the Army Minister has already announced 515 million euros for 2024.”

“It’s almost insane that the government and the parliament in the country allowed such record spending on military under the instigation of the US and NATO, knowing that they serve not peace, but war,” KPL added

KPL chairman Ali Ruckert said that “anyone who justifies this extravaganza is not at all worried about the associated ‘collateral damage’ for people and the environment, in a country where almost one in five inhabitants is threatened with poverty, more than 25,000 people are without work, classes takes place in containers, and tens of thousands of apartments are missing.”

Even though Luxembourg is a tiny European country with a population of just above 6,20,000 and a very small military army, it has been been a member of NATO since its founding in April 1949. Luxembourg houses the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) in the town of Capellen, and two major storage depots in Bettembourg-Dudelange and Sanem. The country is also likely to be an integral component of the upcoming Defender-Europe 20 military exercise, involving forces US forces, including those already stationed in Europe, and those from NATO member states. The exercise is seen by observers as yet another step towards the further militarization of Europe, and may lead to the further deterioration of the sensitive relationship shared by many European countries with Russia.