NATO News

NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană marked the inauguration of the Military Women’s Training Center in Jordan in a virtual address on 7 June 2021.

NATO collects defence expenditure data from Allies and publishes it on a regular basis. 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. In the figures and tables that follow, NATO also uses economic and demographic information available from the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission (DG ECFIN), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previewed the 14 June NATO Summit in an online press conference on Friday (11 June 2021), calling the gathering of 30 world leaders a “pivotal moment for our Alliance and for our collective security”.

Local landmarks will be emblazoned in NATO colours on the eve of the NATO Summit in Brussels (on 14 June). The leaders of the Alliance’s 30 countries are meeting at the alliance’s headquarters, to set an ambitious agenda for transatlantic security in a competitive world through their NATO 2030 initiative.

This week (8 June 2021), Poland delivered medical equipment and supplies, including facemasks, protective gloves and suits, to Iraq in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and Poland coordinated this support made possible by Poland’s donation to the NATO stockpile.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday (10 June 2021), ahead of the NATO Summit.

On 04 June 2021, DGIMS hosted the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives (NCGP) Handover/Takeover (HOTO). After two years as Chair of the NCGP, Lieutenant Colonel Corine Van Nieuwburg-Hofte (Netherlands) handed over to Chair-Elect Lieutenant Colonel Diana Morais (Portugal). The event will mark the 60th Anniversary of the integration of gender perspective within the Alliance, with the Netherlands as a founding Nation of the Committee on Women in the NATO Forces (CWINF). The small ceremony was an opportunity to wholeheartedly thank Lt Col Van Nieuwburg-Hofte and the Netherlands for their contributions toward increasing awareness of gender perspective within the Alliance over the past decades.

On Friday, 11 June 2021, the NATO Secretary General will brief the press ahead of the meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government, taking place at NATO Headquarters on Monday, 14 June 2021.

Defence Ministers from 10 NATO countries on Wednesday (9 June 2021) agreed to bolster the training of their nation’s military pilots, taking advantage of new technologies such as virtual reality.

During the second day of his visit to Washington D.C. on Tuesday (8 June 2021), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with members of the U.S. Congress, including the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Gerry Connolly; Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks; and several U.S. Senators.

I welcome the decision by the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals to affirm the conviction of Ratko Mladic. It is right that he is being held accountable for his outrageous crimes against civilians, including the murder of thousands of Bosnian men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington D.C. on Monday (7 June 2021), to discuss preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit on 14 June. The Secretary General thanked President Biden for his leadership and the “powerful commitment” of the United States to NATO, saying that he welcomed the President’s “strong message on the importance of alliances.” Mr Stoltenberg said they agreed on the importance of strengthening NATO in a more competitive world, and that the ambitious decisions to be taken under the NATO 2030 initiative will prepare the Alliance for the future.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg began a visit to Washington D.C. on Monday (7 June 2021) by previewing the upcoming NATO Summit at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană underlined the Alliance’s enduring support for Ukraine and its ambitious reform agenda at the ‘Zero Corruption: Democracy in Action’ conference on Monday (7 June 2021). Speaking via video link, he stressed that fighting corruption is a critical way to defend democracy and encouraged the government of Ukraine to keep up its efforts in this area.

NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will travel to Washington D.C. on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 June 2021.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previewed the 14 June NATO Summit in an online keynote address on Friday (4 June 2021), co-hosted by NATO, the German Council on Foreign Relations, and the Brookings Institution. Describing a world of growing global competition, he explained that ”through NATO 2030, we are adapting to a more competitive world,” adding that “ambitions must be high, as the challenges to our security are great.”

On 7th June 2021, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoană, will take part in a high-level discussion at the Zero Corruption: Democracy in Action Conference organised by Democracy in Action in partnership with the Government of Ukraine in Kyiv.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė of Lithuania to NATO Headquarters on Thursday (3 June 2021) to discuss the preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit.

On Friday 4 June 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will give a keynote speech to preview the NATO Summit in Brussels on 14 June. His speech “NATO 2030: a transatlantic agenda for the future” will be made online at an event organised by NATO together with the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and The Brookings Institution. The speech will be followed by a question and answer session with the Secretary General.