Category: NATO

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte commended General Cavoli for modernising NATO’s collective defence and for his work responding to the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He thanked General Cavoli for strengthening NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea, to deter and defend against threats targeting Allies’ critical undersea infrastructure, as well as for conceiving and establishing NATO’s new command in Germany, which is bolstering support to Ukraine. “You have been an outstanding SACEUR, leading with honour and integrity,” said Mr Rutte. 

The Secretary General welcomed General Grynkewich, noting that he brings a wealth of experience to the post of SACEUR. As a former fighter pilot, General Grynkewich has “a deep understanding of the threats we face from the skies, and across other domains,” said Mr Rutte.  As the latest Director of Operations of the Joint Staff, he also has wide experience of delivering military and security priorities in the face of global challenges. “I know NATO can count on you to serve with the same steadfast resolve as your predecessors,” the Secretary General concluded.

Allied Command Operations is responsible for the planning and execution of all NATO operations. General Grynkewich is the twenty-first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The first to occupy the post was General Dwight D. Eisenhower, subsequently the 34th President of the United States. 

The Secretary General will deliver a speech.

Media advisory

11:00 (CEST) Start of Change of Command Ceremony

Media coverage

The ceremony will be streamed live on the NATO website and will be made available to EBU News Exchange.

Still images of the Secretary General’s participation will be available after the event on the NATO website. Video will also be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal.

 

For more information:

For general queries: contact the NATO Press Office

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Diederik Dijkgraaf from the Netherlands and Riivo Kruuk from Estonia managed to convince the jury with their submissions and were able to bring their murals to life in The Hague in collaboration with Dutch artist Tobias Becker. This year’s competition was organised under the motto “Maintaining Our Shared Future”.

The mural consists of the two winning entries combined. On the left, “NATO Dove: Protection of 1 Billion Citizens” was designed by Diederik Dijkgraaf and incorporates the flags of all 32 Allies into the wings of a dove. On the right, “A Peaceful Day” was designed by Riivo Kruuk and pays tribute to Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer. The winning designs were selected by a professional jury who considered entries from all across the Alliance.

PTECs form a global network of institutions offering courses and academic seminars to civilian and military staff from NATO Allied and partner countries. Their goal is to improve the professionalism of national personnel, increase the ability of military personnel to operate well together, and conduct education and training activities carried out within the framework of NATO partnership programmes and policies. Since the PTEC community was launched in 1999, Ukraine has been an active member, thanks to the participation of its International Peacekeeping and Security Centre (IPSC).

Despite the many challenges posed by Russia’s war against Ukraine, the 25th MPTC draws lessons learned from combat experience to refine courses and explore new training opportunities. It actively collaborates with the NATO Military Police community of interest and the NATO Military Police Centre of Excellence, based in Bydgoszcz, Poland, to develop high-quality courses. This helps to strengthen training initiatives in the discipline of Military Policing.

Cooperation with NATO will also be enhanced through the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC), also based in Bydgoszcz. The 25th MPTC will create synergies with the JATEC and add value by identifying and applying lessons learned from Russia’s war of aggression. Cooperation between NATO and Ukraine is characterised by the common objective of increasing interoperability. Ukrainian officials have highlighted that they see NATO as the right platform for their defence institutions to share their unique and state-of-the-art capabilities with Allies and like-minded partners.

Centres wishing to join the PTEC network must undergo thorough evaluation.  Evaluation of the 25th MPTC in March by experts from NATO Headquarters, Allied Command Operations and other NATO and Allied entities was, exceptionally, conducted in Bydgoszcz due to Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. Representatives of the centre and NATO experts used the facilities of the NATO Military Police Centre of Excellence. NATO experts concluded that the centre demonstrated high expertise, professionalism and familiarity with NATO standards. The MPTC in Lviv, Ukraine is now the 36th member of the network of Partnership Training and Education Centres.

The Secretary General, welcomed by Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, addressed the urgent need for enhanced defence capabilities amid growing global threats. “There is no strong defence without a strong defence industry,” he stated, praising Airbus for contributions like the A400M aircraft and the MRTT [in full]. One week after the agreement on a 5% GDP defence spending target reached by Allies at NATO’s Summit in The Hague, he urged the industry to innovate and scale up production to meet NATO’s ambitious capability targets and keep our one billion people safe. 

Following his address, Secretary General Rutte held a bilateral meeting with CEO Mr Faury and his team, and visited the A321 Final Assembly Line, interacting with Airbus employees. The visit underscores NATO’s commitment to fostering transatlantic industrial cooperation to deliver critical capabilities for the years to come.

With a long tradition dating back to 1851, World Expos (also known as World’s Fairs) are grand international exhibitions where countries unite to showcase their cultures, technologies and innovations, fostering global cooperation and exchanging new ideas. Since 2000, they have taken place once every five years.

Osaka’s Expo is taking place over several months, from 13 April to 13 October. The “NATO Days” will take place in August aligning appropriately with the “Peace, Human Security and Dignity Week.” Although NATO is not an official Expo participant, it will collaborate closely with NATO member countries hosting pavilions at the event — a partnership facilitated by the Mission of Japan to NATO and coordinated through Norway and Romania, NATO’s Contact Point Embassies for Japan.

This collaboration is a prime example of NATO’s broad framework of partnership with Japan. Since the early 1990s, NATO and Japan have been working together on a range of global security challenges, enhancing political dialogue and practical cooperation, and upholding and strengthening the rules-based international order. This complements the firm relationships between NATO and its other partners in the Indo-Pacific region: Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand.

NATO’s engagement activities during the “Peace, Security and Dignity Week” will emphasise the importance of multilateralism and cooperative security in addressing today’s complex challenges, including cyber security, hybrid threats, information threats, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, emerging technologies, and industrial cooperation. The events will also showcase NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme, promoting joint scientific research, technological innovation and knowledge exchange.

Like many other countries and organisations who will be represented in Osaka by mascots, NATO will be travelling to Japan with a new version of its long-term unofficial mascot, the NATO Hedgehog. Hedgehogs are peaceful animals, but formidable and resilient when attacked, making them the perfect representation of NATO’s role as a defensive alliance.

The provisional agenda for NATO’s participation at the Expo can be found below. Sign-up links for events requiring registration will be shared in late July. Any questions may be addressed to Dr Pietro De Matteis, Programme Officer for the Indo-Pacific.

1 August

• Romanian Pavilion: Opening of the “Home Beyond the Dawn: Contemporary Art Exhibit”. This exhibition features works by Ukrainian artists and is organised by the European Union in collaboration with Romania. The exhibition will be open until 12 August.

5 August – Ukrainian National Day at Expo 2025

• Romanian Pavilion: 15:30–16:30 – Panel discussion with Ukrainian artists of the “Home Beyond the Dawn: Contemporary Art Exhibit” on the topic: “Art as an instrument for resistance and solidarity in times of war”.
   
• Belgian Pavilion:
  • 17:00–18:00 (provisional) – Panel discussion on “Women (artists) at war” to contribute to the celebration of Ukraine National Day at World Expo Osaka celebrated on 5 August.
  • 20:00–21:00 (provisional) – Cultural event with Ukrainian DJ Reset at the Belgian Pavilion organised by the European Union in collaboration with the Belgian Pavilion and Ukraine.
     
• Expo Guest House:19:00–20:30 – Official Reception linked to the Ukraine National Day at Expo Guest House (by invitation only).

7 August

• Nordic Pavilion: 10:00–13:30 – NATO Conference Day 1: “NATO’s Contribution to Preserving Peace & Stability” at the shared pavilion of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The conference will provide an opportunity to discuss NATO’s engagement and its commitment to peace, security and international cooperation with representatives from the diplomatic community, international organisations, academia, think-tanks and youth.
   
• Nordic Pavilion: 19:00–21:00 (provisional) – Networking Reception

8 August

• Nordic Pavilion: 10:00–13:30 –NATO Conference Day 2 – Continuation of the conference “NATO’s Contribution to Preserving Peace & Stability”
   
• Nordic Pavilion: 14:30–16:30 (provisional) – “Youth for peace & security”. Activities involving young people from Japan and NATO member countries in partnership with Japanese universities.
   
• Czech Pavilion: 13:00–18:00 –NATO Industry Day: “Designing Future Security for Our Lives”. This event will present NATO’s approach to industrial cooperation and foster connections with businesses, startups and young entrepreneurs from NATO member and partner countries.
   
• Czech Pavilion: 19:00–21:00 – NATO Days Closing reception: A Spectacle of Air and Water show

Media advisory

12:35 (CEST) Speech by the NATO Deputy Secretary General on “Europe’s Strategy on Defence & Security,” followed by exchange of views, at the 29th Annual Economist Government Roundtable.

Media coverage

The event will be streamed live on the event’s website.  

For more information:

For general queries: contact the NATO Press Office

For more details on the agenda and registration for the event, please check the event’s website.

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Leaders came together for a series of events around the NATO Summit in The Hague on 24-25 June. 

On Tuesday, the Secretary General spoke at the NATO Public Forum – a conference that lasted two days and provided in-person and online audiences with an opportunity to dive into the decisions being made at the Summit, as well as other topics on which NATO is engaged. NATO also hosted a Summit Defence Industry Forum on the 24th that brought together political and military leaders, as well as industry, to advance efforts to boost defence industrial production across the Alliance. 

On Tuesday evening, the Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima hosted a social dinner for the leaders gathered for the Summit at the historic Huis ten Bosch. In parallel, NATO Defence Ministers held a working dinner, as did NATO Foreign Ministers who met, along with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, for a working dinner of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

At the formal session of NATO Heads of State and Government on Wednesday, Allied leaders adopted a summit declaration that set a new benchmark for defence investment, underlined the importance of ramping up defence industrial production, and affirmed continued support for Ukraine. With The Hague Defence Investment Plan outlined in the statement, Allies commit to investing 5% of GDP in defence – including 3.5% of GDP on core defence requirements and 1.5% on defence- and security-related investments like infrastructure and industry. This marks a major uplift from the previous benchmark of 2% of GDP.

“Together, Allies have laid the foundations for a stronger, fairer, more lethal NATO,” the Secretary General stated in a closing press conference. “These decisions will have a profound impact on our ability to do what NATO was founded to do – deter and defend.” Highlighting the challenges to Allied security, the Secretary General underscored, “whether from Russia or terrorism, cyberattacks, sabotage or strategic competition – this Alliance is and will remain ready, willing and able to defend every inch of Allied territory,” explaining that the new pledge would “ensure that our one billion people can continue to live in freedom and security.”

There were also a number of additional meetings held at the NATO Summit including a meeting of the NATO Secretary General, the President of Ukraine, and the Presidents of the European Council and European Commission; a meeting of the NATO Secretary General, the President of Ukraine, the President of France, the German Chancellor, and the Prime Ministers of Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom; and a meeting between the NATO Secretary General and NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners. 

The next NATO Summit is planned for 2026 in Türkiye.