On Tuesday 1 October, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte became the new Secretary General of NATO, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg, who has held the post for 10 years.
“NATO is the most successful political-military Alliance in history. But NATO Allies face serious challenges. And we have work to do”, he admitted to the media.
Continuing in the footsteps of his predecessor, Mr Rutte outlined his three priorities. The first is to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
“It’s the right thing to do. And it is also an investment in our own security , because an independent and democratic Ukraine is vital for peace and stability in Europe”, stressed the Secretary General, estimating that the cost of supporting Ukraine was much lower than that which the Allies would face if they let Putin have his way.
Mr Rutte promised that he would work with the Allies to fully implement the decisions taken at the Washington Summit and to continue to bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance (see EUROPE 13450/1).
“Through its support for Russia’s military industry, China has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war in Ukraine. China cannot continue to fuel the largest conflict in Europe since the Second World War without this impacting its interests and reputation”, Mr Rutte also warned.
The new Secretary General also wants to continue to strengthen deterrence and defence, and have the capacity to protect allies against all types of threats.
While the Alliance has made “tremendous progress” in this area over the last decade, “we need to go further and faster”, explained Mr Rutte. “We need more, better equipped forces, a more robust transatlantic defence industry, increased defence production capacity, greater investment in innovation, and secure supply chains”, he said. He made industry a priority, “because without a strong transatlantic defence industry, there can be no defence that’s clear”. At the Washington summit in July, NATO leaders committed themselves to strengthening the defence industry (see EUROPE 13451/3, 13450/3).
Contrary to his doctrine as Prime Minister of a so-called ‘frugal’ State, Mr Rutte, the ‘Secretary General’, has called for more spending. “But to truly match our capabilities with our needs, we need significantly more defence spending”, he explained. For example, the Secretary General will work with the Allies to ensure that they invest “enough, in the right areas”, and that they “shoulder the burden for our collective defence equitably”. “We must each pay our fair share”, he insisted. 23 Allies, including the Netherlands, spend a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defence.
Finally, Mr Rutte wants to look at the “growing” global challenges to Euro-Atlantic security. This means strengthening partnerships with countries that share the values of the Allies.
“The European Union is NATO’s unique and essential partner. There is potential to boost our cooperation in many areas, from supporting Ukraine to countering hybrid threats”, argued Mr Rutte. He also praised the EU’s defence efforts. “I think there is a clear recognition, both on the side of NATO and on the European Union, that we both value a more capable European defence, of course, being complementary to and interoperable with NATO. (...) Nobody wants, let’s say, duplication of what NATO already is doing”, he explained.
The Secretary General also highlighted NATO’s enhanced engagement with partners in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel “to foster stability in our Southern neighbourhood”. In July, the Alliance appointed Javier Colomina as its Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood (see EUROPE 13459/39).
Cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region will also be promoted. For the first time ever, the Defence Ministers of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea will be taking part in a NATO meeting on 17 and 18 October. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)