NATO update

NATO Secretary General meets the Prime Minister of Luxembourg NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden, in Brussels on Thursday 7 December 2023. Mr Stoltenberg congratulated Prime Minister Frieden on his recent appointment and thanked him for Luxembourg’s contributions to NATO, including its participation in NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Romania. The Secretary General welcomed Luxembourg’s commitment to increased defence spending and thanked the Prime Minister for his “commitment to have a concrete plan to reach 2% by the Washington Summit,” adding “this is key for a fair burden-sharing on both sides of the Atlantic”. Mr Stoltenberg also welcomed Luxembourg’s participation in NATO’s Innovation Fund and investments in NATO’s high-end capabilities, including the next generation of NATO’s AWACS early warning and surveillance aircraft. “This is one of NATO’s biggest-ever joint capability purchases,” he said and added that Luxembourg is at the forefront of NATO’s technological and innovation agenda. Click here to download the press point by the NATO Secretary General and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, and here for the Q&A session. The webstory is available on the NATO website, as well as the transcript of the press point by NATO's Secretary General and Luxembourg's Prime Minister. Protecting Allied critical undersea infrastructure Undersea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines carry the vast amount of our Internet data, help us make trillions of dollars of financial transactions and transport 60 per cent of our oil and gas, so protecting such infrastructure is crucial to the well-being of our societies and to our security. NATO has stepped up the protection of undersea infrastructure. For instance, it has increased the number of air and sea patrols in the Baltic Sea.  NATO has also created an undersea infrastructure coordination cell designed to map risks and coordinate efforts between Allies, partner countries and national industries; and it has joined efforts with the European Union (EU) to improve the resilience of this critical infrastructure, through a NATO-EU dedicated task force. Click here to download the video.  You can also watch the video on YouTube.

 

8 December 2023 Update

Secretary General welcomes Luxembourg’s NATO contributions, support to Ukraine NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Prime Minister of Luxembourg Luc Frieden in Brussels on 7 December 2023. Mr Stoltenberg congratulated Prime Minister Frieden on his recent appointment and thanked him for Luxembourg’s contributions to NATO, including its participation in NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Romania. READ MORE

Secretary General and Ukrainian Defence Minister discuss battlefield situation, NATO support NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined the Alliance’s unwavering support to Ukraine during a meeting with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in Brussels on 4 December 2023. READ MORE NATO’s Deputy Secretary General meets with Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană welcomed Shalva Papuashvili, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, to the NATO Headquarters on 6 December 2023. Mr Papuashvili attended a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission to discuss Georgia’s domestic reforms and challenges to regional security. READ MORE Allies discuss threat to critical undersea infrastructure at Seabed Warfare Symposium On 6 December 2023 around 100 experts from across the Alliance and partner countries gathered at NATO Headquarters to discuss national and NATO perspectives on seabed warfare, including how current and future Allied maritime capabilities can effectively protect against the threats to critical undersea infrastructure. READ MORE NATO hosts conference on countering Russia’s manipulation of history and false historical narratives On 7 December 2023, NATO Headquarters hosted a conference on “Countering the Russian Manipulation of History and False Historical Narratives”. A diverse group of speakers and participants gathered to analyse how Russia manipulates history and makes use of false historical narratives to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine. Participants included distinguished experts from academia, think-tanks, civil society organisations, and official institutions from NATO Allies, Ukraine and other NATO partner countries, as well as the European Union. READ MORE Moldova hosts meeting on defence cooperation with NATO partners Representatives from Allied and partner countries met in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova from 5 to 7 December 2023 to exchange views on defence capacity building programmes to support several NATO partners, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Moldova and Tunisia. READ MORE Chair of the NATO Military Committee visits Switzerland On 4-5 December 2023, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Bauer, was in Switzerland for an official visit at the invitation of its Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Thomas Süssli. The Chair also met with Federal Councillor Viola Amherd, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, and delivered a keynote address to senior military and civilian staff. READ MORE Allied Surgeon Generals discuss the medical support required to strengthen NATO’s collective defence On 7 December 2023, the Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services (COMEDS) met at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The agenda focused on the medical implementation of the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA) Family of Plans and the Enablement of SACEUR’s Area of Responsibility as well as updates on the 2022 Resilience Assessment, the NATO Defence Planning Process and Exercise Steadfast Jupiter 23.

1 December 2023 Update

Secretary General at COP28: climate change matters for our security, and therefore it matters to NATO Attending the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai on 1 December 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that “climate change matters for our security, and therefore it matters to NATO”. Speaking at a high-level leaders’ event on climate security organised by the COP28 Presidency and the Munich Security Conference, Mr Stoltenberg underlined NATO’s commitment to fighting climate change and being a part of the global solution to a global challenge. READ MORE

Secretary General wraps up meeting of Foreign Ministers: “Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before” NATO Foreign Ministers concluded two days of meetings in Brussels on 29 November 2023, addressing support for Ukraine, preparations for the Washington Summit and pressing security challenges, including in the Western Balkans and NATO’s southern neighbourhood. READ MORE Secretary General welcomes US Secretary of State to NATO, thanks the United States for its leadership and support for Ukraine NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to NATO Headquarters on 28 November 2023, at the start of a two-day meeting of Allied Foreign Ministers. READ MORE Secretary General welcomes Ukraine’s Foreign Minister to NATO Headquarters NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to NATO Headquarters on 29 November 2023 for the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of foreign ministers. READ MORE NATO Foreign Ministers address deterrence and defence, support for Ukraine, and partnerships On 28 November 2023, NATO Foreign Ministers discussed pressing security issues, including NATO’s deterrence and defence, support for Ukraine, and how to work more closely with partner nations. Speaking after the meeting, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Allies also expressed concern about the war in the Middle East. READ MORE NATO’s flagship cyber exercise concludes in Estonia From 27 November to 1 December, Allied and partner cyber defenders tested their ability to protect networks and critical infrastructure against realistic and complex cyber threats and attacks. READ MORE Five Allies deploy jets to NATO’s eastern flank for air policing Fighter jets from Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Türkiye will take up NATO air policing duties on the Alliance’s eastern flank starting in December. The long-scheduled deployments demonstrate NATO Allies’ commitment to supporting each other and strengthening the Alliance’s collective defence. READ MORE NATO DIANA announces first cohort of innovators, launches call for mentors On 30 November 2023, NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) announced the first 44 companies selected to tackle NATO’s specific challenges on energy resilience, undersea sensing and surveillance, and secure information sharing.

Press Release 4 December 2023

NATO Secretary General meets the Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg On Thursday 07 December 2023, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will receive the Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Mr Luc Frieden, at NATO Headquarters.   15:00 (CET)     Press point by the Secretary General and the Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Media coverage Media representatives, who have annual accreditation to NATO for 2023, can cover the press conference in person. Media representatives without annual accreditation wishing to attend, please register to the Press Accreditation Portal no later than 05 December 2023 at 12:00.  Please note: ad-hoc accreditation may not be guaranteed and will be explicitly confirmed by email from NATO Accreditations. The event will be streamed live on Twitter @NATOPress and on the NATO website. A transcript of the Secretary General’s remarks, as well as pictures taken by a NATO photographer, will be available on the NATO website. The video will be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal after the event. For more information: Contact the NATO Press Office.