Presenting his annual report for 2022 on Tuesday 21 March, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the year had been “pivotal” for the security of the Allies.
“President Putin wanted less NATO, but he got exactly the opposite - more NATO”, he told the media, adding that the Allies were “strong and united”.
The Annual Report, the first since the Russian invasion, reviews the activities and achievements of NATO and the Allies, including unprecedented support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, the continued strengthening of the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, the adoption of a new Strategic Concept and an invitation for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
While Mr Stoltenberg highlighted that 2022 had been the eighth consecutive year of increased defence spending in Europe and Canada - up 2.2% in real terms - he called for more.
“It is clear that we need to do more, and we need to do it faster”, he stressed, hoping for new commitments from the Allies at the Vilnius summit in July 2023. According to the Secretary General, only seven Allies spend 2% of their GDP on the defence budget.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/5xl (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)