NATO News

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed US President Joe Biden to the NATO Summit in Madrid on Wednesday (29 June 2022). The Secretary General thanked President Biden for his “decisive leadership in strengthening the transatlantic bond” during Russia’s war on Ukraine, demonstrated by the President’s announcement to further increase US presence in Europe.

Arriving at the start of the NATO Summit in Madrid on Wednesday (29 June 2022), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg outlined the key decisions that will be taken to transform the Alliance and protect its citizens.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden met in Madrid on Tuesday (28 June 2022) under the auspices of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In that meeting, the leaders agreed a trilateral memorandum to address Türkiye’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership. The memorandum was signed by the foreign ministers of the three countries – Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu of Türkiye, Pekka Haavisto of Finland, and Ann Linde of Sweden – in the presence of all three national leaders, and the Secretary General.

In a 'sobering' assessment report released today (28 June 2022), NATO recognises climate change as an 'overarching challenge of our time' that will 'measurably' increase the risks to security and ‘worsen as the world warms further’. It calls for a fundamental transformation of NATO’s approach to defence and security and sets NATO as a leading international organisation in understanding and adapting to climate change.

Speaking at the NATO Public Forum on 28 June 2022, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that climate change is a crisis multiplier and it matters for NATO. Highlighting that “NATO is determined to set the gold standard on addressing the security implications of climate change”, Mr. Stoltenberg noted that the new Strategic Concept to be endorsed in Madrid states that climate change is a defining challenge of our time.

NATO leaders meeting in Madrid over the next three days (28-30 June 2022) are set to sign off on key decisions, including a new Strategic Concept, a major strengthening of NATO’s deterrence and defence and greater support to Ukraine.

Arriving in Madrid on Tuesday (28 June 2022), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for hosting the historic NATO Summit that is taking place from 28 to 30 June. Noting that this year marks 40 years of Spain’s NATO membership, Mr Stoltenberg also thanked the Prime Minister for Spain’s many contributions to Euro-Atlantic security.

Addressing the Brussels Forum conference on 27 June 2022, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, “an unprecedented act of generosity and foresight, born from the ashes of two brutal world wars.” He said that today we face another “pivotal moment for our security” as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “shattered peace in Europe.” Stressing that we need “a bold strategy for our new security reality”, Mr. Stoltenberg said that Allies will take important decisions at the “transformative Summit in Madrid” with a comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine.

At the invitation of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, senior officials from Türkiye, Finland and Sweden met with senior NATO officials at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Monday (27 June 2022). Chaired by Stian Jenssen, Director of the Secretary General’s Private Office, the talks focused on the security concerns raised by Türkiye in order to make progress on the NATO membership applications by Finland and Sweden.

On Monday (27 June 2022), in a pre-recorded video message at the Kyiv Security Forum, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana reaffirmed NATO’s continued solidarity and support for Ukraine against Russia’s unprovoked war.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson to NATO Headquarters on Monday (27 June 2022) for discussions on Sweden and Finland’s applications to join the Alliance. The Secretary General said the security concerns of all Allies must be taken into account as part of the NATO accession process and that Türkiye’s concerns are legitimate and must be addressed.

NATO collects defence expenditure data from Allies on a regular basis and presents aggregates and subsets of this information. Each Ally's Ministry of Defence reports current and estimated future defence expenditure according to an agreed definition of defence expenditure. The amounts represent payments by a national government actually made, or to be made, during the course of the fiscal year to meet the needs of its armed forces, those of Allies or of the Alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday (27 June 2022) said NATO leaders meeting in Madrid this week are set to sign off on key decisions, including a new Strategic Concept, a major strengthening of NATO’s deterrence and defence and greater support to Ukraine.

On Monday, 27 June 2022, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will receive the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ms. Magdalena Andersson, at NATO Headquarters.

Today (23 June 2022), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, at NATO Headquarters. The visit provided an opportunity to discuss the latest preparations for the NATO Leaders’ Summit scheduled to take place in Madrid at the end of the month.

As part of the close cooperation between the State of Qatar and NATO, the North Atlantic Alliance will provide support for the security aspects of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, scheduled to take place in the State of Qatar from 21 November to 18 December 2022.

Ahead of the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, NATO commissioned a survey across all 30 Allies to understand perceptions of Allied citizens, including on support for NATO membership, collective defence, and the transatlantic bond. Overall, support for NATO remains strong and continues to rise.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg set out his priorities for the upcoming Madrid Summit during a speech on Wednesday (22 June 2022). Speaking at an event organised by Politico, Mr Stoltenberg said: “We will take decisions to strengthen our Alliance, and keep it agile in this more dangerous world.”

Air and naval units from Canada, Italy, Portugal and Spain are currently carrying out patrols across the Western Mediterranean, as part of the NATO-led Operation Sea Guardian, to monitor sea lines of communication and localized traffic patterns in international waters in coordination with national navies, deter terrorism, and mitigate the risk of threats to security in the Mediterranean Sea.

On Thursday, 23 June 2022, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will receive the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Fiala, at NATO Headquarters.