Allied Foreign Ministers used their first ever meeting with the new US Secretary of State to reaffirm their commitment to NATO in a joint statement on Tuesday 23 March.
“We are meeting in Brussels to reaffirm the enduring transatlantic bond between Europe and North America, with NATO at its heart”, they said, recalling that “the transatlantic partnership remains the cornerstone of our collective defence, central to our political cohesion, and an essential pillar of the rules-based international order”.
The Allies point to the “good progress” made towards “fairer” burden sharing. “We welcome the efforts made by all Allies in Europe and North America that contribute to our indivisible security. We must and will do more”, they note.
The ministers also reiterated that the Alliance would continue to adapt as its members “face rising threats and systemic competition”, whether from Russia, terrorism, “authoritarian powers” or Covid-19. Thus, the NATO summit planned for this year will make it possible to “open a new chapter in transatlantic relations and set the direction for the future of our Alliance to 2030 and beyond”, including the strengthening of the Alliance’s political dimension.
The future of NATO up to 2030 was one of the topics discussed by the ministers, a discussion described as “very positive” by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the end of the first day of the ministerial meeting. “I sense strong support for a bold and ambitious 2030 NATO agenda”, he added. He said the ministers also welcomed the recommendation to update NATO’s Strategic Concept.
Climate change. The Allies also approved a report that will enhance the Alliance’s ability to “understand, adapt and mitigate” the security impact of climate change. “NATO can play a leading role in this area and contribute to the achievement of the ‘Net Zero’ goal”, the Secretary General said.
Earlier in the day, Mr Stoltenberg explained that NATO needed to understand the link between climate change and security, to adapt its missions and operations to climate change and to examine how to reduce the use of fossil fuels in different military operations and missions.
Afghanistan. The ministers also discussed the presence of Allied troops in Afghanistan. While the agreement between the US and the Taliban was to withdraw foreign troops by 1 May, the Allies have yet to make a decision on this.
"We have not made any final decisions on our force posture”, Mr Stoltenberg said, adding that there had been discussions on how the Allies could take a more comprehensive view. “There is no safe path ahead and we must be prepared for all options”, he added.
The Secretary General said that the decision to be taken would depend on the progress of the peace process. “We will continue to consult very closely in the days and weeks ahead and we will continue to decide and act together as Allies”, he promised.
Partnerships. Finally, the Allies discussed strengthening cooperation with like-minded partners around the world, including the EU, “in order to protect the rules-based international order and address common challenges and by improving our ability to train and support our partners”, Mr Stoltenberg explained.
In particular, ministers discussed the Middle East and North Africa, including the Alliance’s mission in Iraq and support to partners in the region. “To build greater stability, we need to strengthen our partnerships with international organisations, in particular the EU and the UN”, Mr Stoltenberg insisted.
See the Allies’ declaration: http://bit.ly/3re3CiB (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)