Today, EDA Chief Executive, Jiří Šedivý, was in Luxembourg where he was welcomed at the Directorate of Defence and visited the Luxembourgish satellite hub at Betzdorf. Luxembourg marks the third visit of Mr. Šedivý’s ‘tour des capitales’ which will see him meet officials in all Member States in the months to come.
Mr. Šedivý was received by Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, François Bausch, Director of Defence, Tom Köller, Deputy Director of Defence, Rol Reiland and Paul Nilles, Head of the Strategic planning and capability development.
Discussions focused on the EU defence initiatives, EDA’s role in supporting all Member States and Luxembourg’s defence priorities. The official visit concluded at the Luxembourgish satellite hub in Betzdorf, where Mr. Šedivý was welcomed at the home of the Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) and Lux GovSat.
“I am delighted to have this opportunity to visit Luxembourg as it is an important stakeholder in EDA’s success through its dedicated support and active participation in the Agency’s work. With Minister Bausch, I expressed my gratitude for Luxembourg’s value-added leadership on satellite capabilities, green defence and the circular economy. In these challenging times, I particularly welcome the strong support from Luxembourg to EDA and European defence cooperation.” Mr Šedivý commented.
Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, François Bausch, said: “We welcome very much EDA’s contribution to advancing the development of European Defence through cooperation and concrete and tangible results. We look very much forward to further deepening cooperation through the EDA Project Arrangement for governmental satellite communications. Besides that, we are planning to start a new cooperation with EDA trying to promote the principles of circular economy in European Defence.”