On Thursday 12 February, the defence ministers of the European NATO member states gave their support to Arctic Sentry Operation.
On his arrival at the NATO ministerial meeting, Dutchman Ruben Brekelmans welcomed the efforts to bring the various missions planned for the Arctic and the High North under the single banner of NATO. However, for his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, “it’s not just a change of name”. “It’s much more than that: more partners are taking part and that’s an excellent thing”, he explained.
The German minister detailed his country’s participation. “We have a great deal to offer, as you know, from the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the A400M to submarines, frigates, Eurofighters, and our aerial refuelling capabilities”, he said. The day before, he had announced that there would be four Eurofighters and the corresponding air-to-air refuelling capabilities.
The Swedish Ministry of Defence has announced that Sweden will participate with one fighter aircraft (JAS 39 Gripen).
Similarly, the UK’s John Healey announced that his country would be doubling its presence in the area. The French, Dutch and Belgian representatives also made it clear that their countries were ready to take part in the Arctic Sentry.
While stating that his country was ready to participate in Arctic security, Estonian minister Hanno Pevkur warned against “diverting attention from Ukraine and the Eastern Sentry and Baltic Sentry missions”. His Romanian counterpart, Radu-Dinel Miruță, called for a “fair distribution of resources” on the eastern flank. Adding that: “It is very important to protect the border, both to the north and to the east”.
While some ministers were concerned that the resources used for the other missions (Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry) would be diverted, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte felt that NATO was powerful enough to do everything. “We have to basically have a 360 approach against any threat against NATO territory. Eastern Sentry is important, as is Baltic Sentry, but of course also the Arctic”, he explained. Similarly, Boris Pistorius pointed out that the focus remained on Ukraine’s eastern flank.
Demonstrating the Allies’ continuing interest in areas other than the Arctic, eight countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden) agreed on Thursday to work together to rapidly acquire new multi-domain capabilities for naval operations. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)