NATO News

In June 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg launched NATO 2030, an initiative to strengthen the Alliance militarily, make it stronger politically and adopt a more global approach. NATO has reached out to civil society, youth and the private sector for their input on NATO 2030, including through a series of six NATO-Private Sector Dialogues held in cooperation with GLOBSEC. These dialogues looked at how NATO-private sector relations should evolve as conflicts are increasingly defined by bytes and big data as much as by bullets and battleships.

On 31 May 2021, North Macedonia received medical equipment and supplies from NATO’s Pandemic Response Stockpile, including 50-fingertip pulse oximeters, liquid disinfectant and various items of personal protective equipment. NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) facilitated this assistance, in response to a request from North Macedonia.

On Thursday 03 June 2021 the NATO Secretary General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will meet with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, Ms Ingrida Šimonytė, at NATO Headquarters.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed the UK as a key Ally in talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday (2 June 2021), focused on preparations for the NATO Summit on 14 June.

At their virtual meeting on 1 June 2021, Defence Ministers have endorsed NATO’s new policy on preventing and responding to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.

NATO defence ministers met virtually on Tuesday (1 June 2021) to discuss preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit and the way forward in Afghanistan. To prepare for the Summit, defence ministers addressed the NATO 2030 agenda to strengthen the Alliance. They focused on plans to reinforce Allied unity, including with a strengthened commitment to collective defence. “This means rapid and full implementation of our military adaptation and continued improvements to our readiness, our capabilities and our defence investments,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

On 02 June 2021, NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will travel to London, where he will meet with the Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Boris Johnson. He will also have meetings with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs, The Right Honourable Dominic Raab, and National Security Advisor, Sir Stephen Lovegrove.

NATO Foreign Ministers met on Tuesday (1 June 2021) in order to prepare for the NATO Summit on 14 June. “Ministers addressed a range of issues including Afghanistan, Belarus, Russia and China; and overall, the need for NATO to adapt to a new era of growing global competition,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We are presented with a number of challenges to our security that we need to tackle together, because no country and no continent can deal with them alone. Against this background, Ministers addressed the NATO 2030 agenda on how to continue to adapt NATO for the future.”

On Wednesday 02 June 2021 the NATO Secretary General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will meet with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte, at his residence in Brussels.

NATO Foreign and Defence ministers will meet via secure teleconference on Tuesday (1 June 2021). They will focus on the NATO 2030 initiative, which is at the heart of the upcoming Summit of NATO leaders on June 14 in Brussels. They are also expected to discuss topical issues, including the way forward for NATO’s engagement in Afghanistan, and developments in Belarus and Ukraine.

On the occasion of Exercise Steadfast Defender, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană visited the Headquarters of the Multinational Division South-East (HQ MND-SE), which he described as ‘a prime example of NATO’s adaptation’. ‘It was set up to facilitate reinforcements in the eastern part of our Alliance, but also to boost training and exercising’ he added during a joint press conference, held with the Romanian Minister of Defence, Mr. Nicolae Ciucă, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, and the Chief of Defence of Romania, Lt. Gen. Daniel Petrescu.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previewed this week's virtual meetings of NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers in a press conference on Monday (31 May 2021). Ministers will focus on preparations for the Summit, to be held in Brussels on 14 June 2021. They are also expected to discuss a range of issues, including the way forward for NATO’s engagement in Afghanistan, developments in Ukraine and Belarus, and the NATO 2030 initiative on the future of the Atlantic Alliance.

Today (31 May 2021), Ambassador Dubravka Lalović, Permanent Representative of Montenegro and Mr. Marc Di Paolo, Director of Defence Institution and Capacity Building Directorate in the Operations Division of the International Staff signed at NATO Headquarters in Brussels (Belgium) an agreement for the purchase of a magnetic resonance imaging scanner and an x-ray machine, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreement follows upon a request from Montenegro, through the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the North Atlantic Council’s approval to support Montenegro in this endeavour, through a co-financing arrangement.

On 28 May 2021, the North Atlantic Council approved the nomination of General Philippe Lavigne, French Air and Space Force, to the post of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. General Lavigne is currently serving as the French Air and Space Force Chief of Staff. General Lavigne will assume the appointment as successor to General André Lanata, French Air and Space Force, at a change of command ceremony at the Headquarters of Supreme Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia in September 2021.

On Monday 31 May 2021, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Mircea Geoană, will travel to Bucharest, Romania, where he will visit the Headquarters of the Multinational Division South-East (HQ MND-SE), which is taking part in the NATO exercise Steadfast Defender 21.

NATO ships, submarines, and aircraft are training off the coast of Portugal to practice NATO’s ability to defend sea lines of communication between North America and Europe. Among the 20 ships participating in exercise Steadfast Defender is the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on its maiden deployment.

Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană welcomed Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov to NATO headquarters on Thursday (27 May 2021). They addressed the security situation in and around Ukraine and discussed Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.

Today (27 May 2021) marks the launch of a joint project by two Italian and Austrian universities aimed at enhancing health and safety on the workplace, in response to new challenges posed by the COVID-19 global pandemic.