The Defence Ministers of the NATO member countries will meet in Brussels on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 October.
Thursday will be devoted to Ukraine. The Ministers will begin with a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the 16th since April 2022. At this meeting of almost 50 countries, Ukraine could once again express its military requirements, particularly in terms of anti-aircraft systems and munitions.
According to one source, the participating States could announce new forms of support for Kyiv.
The Allied Ministers will then go on to a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, the first at Defence Minister level, which will also be attended by the Swedish Minister.
On Friday, the Ministers will meet at the North Atlantic Council, in the presence of their Swedish counterpart, before being joined by the Deputy Secretary General for Peace, Security and Defence at the European External Action Service.
In addition to discussions on strengthening the deterrence and defence of the Allies and NATO’s operations, the Ministers could look at the situation in the Middle East (see EUROPE 13268/1). The damage caused to the gas pipeline supplying Finland from Estonia and to a telecommunications cable, which, according to Helsinki, are probably “the result of external activity”, could also be discussed.
Alongside the meetings, a number of signing ceremonies will be held to mark the participation of Allies in various programmes. Some allies will join the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) initiative, the ‘European Sky Shield’ or the Air Space Management (ASM) initiative. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)