Category: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

In the first session of the two-day meeting, Defence Ministers met in an expanded format that for the first time included partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, as well as the European Union. 

Secretary General Mark Rutte said this was “a clear sign of our deepening cooperation in the face of shared challenges.”

Ministers discussed joint efforts to boost cyber defences, defence production and innovation; counter disinformation; and harness new technologies, including artificial intelligence. They also consulted on how they’re working together to support Ukraine.

“The war in Ukraine has shown that instability in Europe can have far reaching consequences across the world, and that countries thousands of miles away – as far away as Iran, China and even North Korea – can become security spoilers in our own backyard. Our world is closely linked – and so is our security,” said Rutte, who was chairing his first NATO Defence Ministers Meeting since taking office earlier this month.

The Secretary General also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine. 

President Zelenskyy later addressed NATO Defence Ministers in the NATO-Ukraine Council, welcoming NATO’s continued support and highlighting Ukraine’s most urgent needs. 

The Secretary General underscored that Allies are firmly on track to deliver on their financial pledge of 40 billion euros in security assistance to Ukraine, with 20.9 billion euros provided in the first half of this year. 

Mr Rutte also noted his recent trip to Wiesbaden, Germany, where he visited NATO’s new command to coordinate security assistance and training to Ukraine. He said that the men and women serving there are “already hard at work to ensure that we deliver for Ukraine – so that you can prevail.”

Contributing Allies took part in a signing ceremony during a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers at NATO Headquarters. NATO’s Acting Deputy Secretary General Boris Ruge welcomed “the beginning of more meaningful work in new areas, but also important milestones for existing projects,” adding that “it’s a great example of how our Alliance delivers”.

The first project aims to accelerate the delivery of new generation Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) – such as NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) – through multinational cooperation. Thirteen Allies kicked off the project: Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. RPAS fleets are essential to a range of roles and missions including joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and electromagnetic warfare. 

The second initiative seeks to increase the interchangeability and interoperability of key Allied artillery munitions. With initial contributions from 15 Allies – Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States – the project will contribute to harmonizing national fire testing and certification mechanisms. It will also help keep relevant standards up-to-date and support their adoption.

The Distributed Synthetic Training Environment project aims to respond to the ever-growing demand for virtual training at the multinational level. It establishes a network of advanced and immersive multinational training opportunities for militaries. Eighteen NATO nations have joined the project: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, United Kingdom and the United States. By leveraging national simulated training capabilities for multinational purposes, the project will bring immense operational benefits and economies of scale. 

NATO is further stepping up its efforts to support Allied delivery of space technologies with two new projects. Through NORTHLINK, 13 Allies – Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United States – will explore the development of a secure, resilient and reliable multinational Arctic satellite communications capability. Through the STARLIFT initiative, 14 nations – Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States – will investigate ways to strengthen NATO’s access to and use of space to deal with a range of challenges coming from operating from space. STARLIFT may help Allies to launch assets on short notice, manoeuvre a pre-positioned spare spacecraft or buy data from commercial partners during crisis or conflict 

Further steps were also taken to advance work on two projects already underway: the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) and NATO’s cross-border airspace cooperation. Launched in 2020 and managed by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), the NGRC initiative aims to replace medium multi-role capabilities ending their life cycle in 2035 and beyond. On Thursday, five of the participating Allies – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom – committed to identify a single preferred solution for the replacement of these capabilities by the end of 2027, thereby enabling the development of this solution in 2030. 

NATO’s cross-border airspace initiative also grew to 20 member countries with the addition of Denmark, Germany, Iceland and Portugal. First launched in October 2023, the project aims to foster civil-military cooperation on the use of airspace for NATO training and exercises, and other air activities in several regions of Europe.
 

The Alliance Data Sharing Ecosystem (ADSE) for defence and security will support the implementation of NATO’s digital transformation and its efforts in rapidly adopting dual-use technologies. It will leverage existing capabilities across the NATO Enterprise, Allied government agencies, industry and academia, and other key stakeholders. The pilot phase will run until the end of 2025, and initially focus on public and unclassified data to support four priority areas: the security of critical undersea infrastructure; geospatial awareness; information environment assessment, and maritime situational awareness.

Connecting the ADSE with other data-sharing initiatives, such as the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space, will have a multiplier effect on NATO’s data exploitation capability and multi-domain operations.

The new initiative is timely. Strategic competitors are accelerating data exploitation in the military and civilian domains, notably for the development of AI-enabled capabilities. The availability of AI-ready, quality data is a prerequisite for NATO to maintain its technological edge and military effectiveness.

Ambassador Ruge will participate in the Riga Conference, speaking on a panel entitled: “NATO’s 360-Degree Strategy and Strategic Partnerships”.

He will also meet with Latvian senior officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Baiba Braže, and the Minister of Defence, Mr Andris Sprūds.

Media advisory

9:30 (CEST)        Participation by the Acting Deputy Secretary General in the Riga Conference

Media coverage

The Acting Deputy Secretary General’s remarks will be streamed live on the Riga Conference’s YouTube channel.

A transcript of the Acting Deputy Secretary General’s remarks, as well as photographs, will be on the NATO website.

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“Morocco is an important country in North Africa and the Middle East and a valuable interlocutor for NATO on security issues, particularly in the field of counter-terrorism,” the Special Representative said. Noting that Morocco is the first among the partners within NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue to conclude an Individually Tailored Partnership Programme of practical cooperation with the Alliance, Mr. Colomina highlighted the importance of the cooperation. “Morocco has always been an important contributor to peace and international security, particularly through its contributions to various missions and operations carried out by NATO,” he explained.

“Our partnership is based on shared values and challenges,” he added, “and given the challenges that the region is facing – in particular, instability in the Sahel but also in the Middle East –  we need to cooperate even more closely and with more determination in support of international peace and mutual security.”

Allies need “to move further and faster to meet the growing threats we face”, he explained, adding that ”this requires more forces, capabilities and investment to meet the ambitious targets set by our defence plans.” Mr Rutte listed expanded defence industrial capacity, more robust supply chains and new technologies as critical to ensuring the Alliance remains resilient across all domains. He said he expected Ministers to greenlight a new NATO initiative to improve standardisation, explaining that “better implementation of standards can help reduce the cost of defence procurement, so this is essential work for NATO.”
 
The Secretary General reaffirmed that NATO stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine, both now and into the future. NATO Defence Ministers will meet with their Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov in the NATO-Ukraine Council on Thursday evening to discuss the battlefield situation and Ukraine’s most urgent needs. Mr Rutte indicated that work is well on track both to set up the new NATO command in Wiesbaden to coordinate security assistance and training for Ukraine, and to deliver on the pledge of 40 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine. He announced that “NATO Allies provided 20.9 billion euros in military assistance to Ukraine during the first half of 2024 and Allies are on track to meet their commitments for the rest of the year”, adding that “the message is clear: NATO is delivering for Ukraine, and we will continue to do so.”
 
The Defence Ministers’ meeting will also be an opportunity to exchange views on the current global security situation with NATO’s close partners in the Indo-Pacific and with the European Union. For the first time, Defence Ministers from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea are joining a NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting. “In this more interconnected world, it is vital that we tackle our shared security challenges together” the Secretary General concluded.

The information day was also an opportunity to mark Romania’s twentieth anniversary in NATO and highlight how Romania’s scientific community has contributed to NATO over the years. Dignitaries and researchers alike gathered to mark past and current successes of cooperation through the Science for Peace and Security Programme.

Thanks to one project, medical specialists have been able to use telemedicine to remotely assist during major disasters, and another SPS project helped build operational capabilities for civil protection in Mauritania. One of the current SPS activities involving Romania helps strengthen the Republic of Moldova’s capacity to respond to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) incidents.

The SPS information day was co-organized with the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization and the Military Technical Academy of the Ministry of Defence of Romania. 

Since joining NATO in March this year, “Sweden’s membership has made NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and all of us more secure,” said the Secretary General. He commended the Swedish government for its recent proposals to bolster NATO’s deterrence and defence, including with ”troops for NATO’s battlegroup in Latvia, combat aircraft for NATO’s air policing mission, and vessels for NATO’s Standing Naval Forces.” The Secretary General thanked Sweden for its offer to lead the new NATO battlegroup to be established in Finland. He noted that Sweden spends more than 2 percent of GDP on defence and welcomed the country’s plans to further boost its defence spending in 2025.

The Secretary General also noted Sweden’s steadfast support to Ukraine. “On a per capita basis, Sweden is a top supporter of Ukraine. Providing over 4 billion euros in military assistance,” he said. He reiterated that Allies are working hard to deliver on the commitments made during the Washington Summit on support for Ukraine, including “a new Command to coordinate security assistance and training, and a financial pledge of 40 billion euros as a minimum baseline in the coming year.”

Secretary General Rutte stressed that Ukraine’s path to membership is irreversible. “Every nation has the right to choose its own path. No one outside NATO or outside that particular country has a veto or a vote on this. Sweden’s seat at the NATO table shows exactly that,” he concluded.

Mr. Rutte praised Latvia for its many contributions to the Alliance. “You spend almost 3 percent of GDP on defence, you host a multinational battlegroup where Allies work side by side to defend NATO’s eastern flank, as well as military exercises to ensure that Latvian and Allied armed forces maintain a high level of readiness and interoperability,” said Mr Rutte at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Siliņa. He referred to Latvia’s commitment to increase defence spending to 3 percent of GDP and noted Riga’s ambition to reach this goal even sooner than expected. Mr. Rutte also commended Latvia for its contributions to NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and NATO’s training mission in Iraq.

On Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Secretary General reiterated that “we must deliver on the commitments we made at the Washington Summit,” noting that Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure with winter just around the corner. He recalled that “Latvia has provided extensive military training for Ukrainian soldiers” and leads a coalition that works with industry to supply drones.  “I welcome your recent announcement of a new military aid package, including armoured personnel vehicles,” added Mr. Rutte.

What was it like learning about NATO while growing up in the former Yugoslavia?
Why did NATO launch “out-of-area” operations in the Western Balkans following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s? 
What was the road to NATO membership like for Albania and Croatia, and how did these countries help pave the way for other countries in the region to join the Alliance?  

In this episode, former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović reflects on her country’s journey to independence and its decision to “rejoin the European family” by becoming a member of NATO and the European Union. She also speaks about how Croatia has helped other countries in southeast Europe join the Alliance, and how this experience will support the future membership of further countries, including Ukraine. In addition to serving as President of Croatia (2015-2020), she was also the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2005-2008), Ambassador to the United States (2008-2011) and NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy (2011-2014), so she played a crucial role in bringing Croatia into NATO and in its early years of membership in the Alliance.   

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