NATO's Parlamentariske Forsamling 2023-24, Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2023-24
NPA Alm.del Bilag 5, UPN Alm.del Bilag 240
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NATO FOREIGN
MINISTERS’ MEETING
3-4 April 2024
Policy Brief
075 SPE 24 E | Original: English | April 2024
This Policy Brief is presented for information only and does not
represent the official view of the Assembly.
 UPN, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 240: Policy brief NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting
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075 SPE 24 E
NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING, 3-4 APRIL 2024:
KEY TAKEAWAYS
NATO Foreign Ministers met in Brussels from 3 to 4 April 2024 to
mark NATO’s 75th
anniversary
and to
prepare for the NATO Summit in Washington DC
(9-11 July).
Ministers celebrated the 75th anniversary of NATO
in a private event on 3 April and in
a public ceremony at NATO Headquarters on 4 April. The ceremony at NATO
Headquarters also
commemorated the anniversaries of the 1999, 2004 and 2009
enlargements.
Two additional meetings took place on 4 April:
•
a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Foreign Ministers’ Session and
•
a meeting of Allied Foreign Ministers with their counterparts from Australia,
Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea, together with the European
Union.
Agenda
•
enhancing short- and long-term support to Ukraine
•
threats and challenges from the South
•
the global implications of Russia’s war
Decisions
•
Ministers agreed to examine a greater role for NATO and assuming more
responsibility for coordinating security assistance and training
and tasked the
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) with developing a proposal.
•
Ministers agreed a
new policy on Women, Peace and Security.
I.
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NATO’S 75
TH
ANNIVERSARY
Allied ministers
celebrated the 75
th
anniversary of NATO,
founded in Washington on
4 April 1949, in a private event on 3 April as well as in a public ceremony at NATO
Headquarters on 4 April.
Addressing the significance of the Treaty, the Secretary General said: “Never has a
single document with so few words, meant so much to so many people. So much
security, so much prosperity, and so much peace.”
The ceremony at NATO Headquarters also
commemorated the anniversaries of the
1999, 2004 and 2009 enlargements.
NATO PA Vice-President Theo Francken (Belgium) participated in these
commemorations,
representing President Michal Szczerba and the Assembly.
President Szczerba released a
video message,
based on the
statement adopted
by the Standing Committee
at its meeting in Tallinn on 24 March.
In his statement,
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated the importance
of the unique transatlantic bond binding NATO Allies together: “I do not believe in
America alone. Just as I don’t believe in Europe alone. I believe in America and Europe
together. In NATO. Because, we are stronger and safer together.”
Chairman of the Military Committee
Admiral Rob Bauer in turn stressed
that: “Together,
we are protecting much more than physical safety. We are collectively defending
freedom and democracy.”
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075 SPE 24 E
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NATO’s 75th anniversary webpage,
unveiled this week, includes a broad array of
resources about NATO’s history and achievements. Delegations have also received a
social media toolkit from the International Secretariat, with a host of resources and
events to highlight the Alliance’s shared history, achievements and future.
SHORT- AND LONG-TERM SUPPORT TO UKRAINE
At a serious and critical moment for Ukraine on the battlefield,
Allied Foreign Ministers
discussed how to step up support immediately and to put in place long-term
support measures, underpinned by financial commitments.
On 4 April,
a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Foreign Ministers’ Session
took place, which addressed the current situation and Ukraine’s short- and long-term
needs.
The NATO Secretary General stressed the “unity of purpose” among Allies on these
matters. He also made clear that, for the war to end, it was necessary that the Russian
leaders “understand that they cannot achieve their goals on the battlefield and they
cannot wait us out”. They would have to come to the negotiation table.
II.
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Urgent Support to Ukraine
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The Secretary General noted that
Allies had to shift the dynamics of their support,
as Russia is pressing across the frontlines and has stepped up strikes against Ukrainian
civilians and infrastructure: “Any delay in providing support has consequences on the
battlefield as we speak.” He underlined that “Ukrainians are not running out of courage,
they are running out of ammunition.”
•
In the days ahead of the ministerial meeting,
Allies had once again committed
substantial military packages:
o
Finland
has announced another EUR 188 million military support package.
o
France
has announced deliveries of additional missiles and armoured vehicles.
o
Germany
had announced that it would support a Czech initiative to procure
ammunition with EUR 576 million.
o
Sweden
has pledged to deliver another 800,000 artillery shells under the
Czech initiative.
o
The United Kingdom
has promised 10,000 uncrewed aerial vehicles.
•
In response to a question on
the urgency of enhancing Ukraine’s air defences,
the
NATO Secretary General noted that “Allies will now go back and look into their
inventories” to “provide more systems, in particular Patriots” as well as to increase the
flow of air defence ammunition and spare parts.
•
Asked about
additional US support,
the Secretary General noted that a large majority
of the US Congress, on a bipartisan basis, as well as of the US public was in favour of
increasing support to Ukraine, but that the challenge was now to turn this “into a concrete
decision.”
Long-term security assistance and training
•
Allied Foreign Ministers agreed to examine a greater role for NATO and assuming
more responsibility for coordinating security assistance and training.
•
They tasked the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) with developing
a proposal for a framework,
which Allies could consider in the run-up to the
Washington Summit. Among other, this new proposal should ensure fair burdensharing
among Allies and make military support to Ukraine:
o
stronger organisationally and institutionalised;
o
more transparent in order to enable proper political oversight;
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075 SPE 24 E
more reliable and predictable;
more efficient and effective;
more enduring and robust; and
less dependent on voluntary short-term offers and more based on long-term
NATO commitments with multi-year pledges.
The Secretary General noted that “NATO Allies provide 99 percent of all military support
to Ukraine.” NATO is also already part of the US-led Ramstein group, with a dedicated
NATO subgroup.
The Secretary General underlined that the meeting “set the stage for achieving
consensus”
ahead of the July NATO Summit.
Allies have also begun discussions on a multi-year financial commitment
to
underpin the long-term effort to support Ukraine. When asked about a purported
proposal for USD 100 billion dedicated over a five-year period, as reported in the media
ahead of the meeting, the Secretary General declined to address specific aspects under
discussions.
NATO has also already
begun to transform the Comprehensive Assistance
Package into a multi-year programme.
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Ukraine’s path towards NATO
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The Secretary General underlined that
Allies “are supporting Ukraine’s reform
efforts to bring Ukraine ever closer to the Alliance.”
He reiterated that “Ukraine will
become a member of NATO. It is a question of when, not if.”
•
The Secretary General was asked about “some kind of invitation […] where Ukraine is
a candidate country but not a member yet”. He argued that,
after the removal of the
need for a Membership Action Plan at the 2023 NATO Summit, “it's very important
to maintain the one step process for Ukraine”
and not introduce another two-step
process. He noted the difference between the European Union, where accession
processes can take years after invitations, and NATO, where accessions should happen
rapidly after invitation.
III.
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THREATS AND CHALLENGES FROM THE SOUTH
Foreign Ministers addressed
security challenges in the Alliance’s Southern
neighbourhood,
including the enduring threat of terrorism.
They reviewed
the findings of the independent group of experts appointed by the
Secretary General in October 2023
to support NATO’s reflection on the South. The
report, which the experts are expected to make public, proposes concrete
recommendations to shape NATO’s approach to its southern neighbourhood –
particularly the Middle East, North Africa and Sahel regions, including opportunities for
further cooperation with partner nations, international organisations and other relevant
actors.
The Secretary General will now present concrete proposals to Allies.
The aim is to
agree a set of measures to strengthen NATO’s approach to its Southern
neighbourhood in time for the NATO Summit in Washington in July.
Asked during one of the press conferences about the
situation in Gaza,
NATO
Secretary General Stoltenberg replied: “So what we see now in Gaza is a humanitarian
catastrophe. We see suffering, we see that civilians are killed, and we also saw the strike
against aid workers. And I condemn the strike. I also welcome the fact that Israel has
made clear that they will investigate what happened. It demonstrates that the war which
is now going on has very serious consequences for innocent people: the people living
in Gaza, but also aid workers. And therefore I welcome the efforts by the United
Kingdom, by the United States and by many other Allies to facilitate some kind of
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075 SPE 24 E
ceasefire and a political solution to this conflict. NATO as an Alliance does not play a
direct role, but I welcome the efforts of NATO Allies.”
IV.
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THE GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS OF RUSSIA’S WAR
Allied Foreign Ministers met with their counterparts from Australia, Japan, New Zealand
and the Republic of Korea, together with the European Union, to discuss the
global
implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine, including the support for Russia
from China, Iran and North Korea.
The Foreign Ministers affirmed their determination to stand united to defend the rules-
based global order. As the NATO Secretary General put it, this is about “sending a very
clear message to Moscow and to Beijing that actually we see what they do and we see
how authoritarian powers are now more and more aligned. And that makes it just more
important that democratic like-minded states, nations are working together.”
Ministers also discussed how to
enhance practical cooperation between NATO and
these four Indo-Pacific partners
notably on technology, cyber, hybrid threats and
defence industrial production.
Commenting on the importance of engaging with Indo-Pacific partners, the NATO
Secretary General stressed: “this is not about making NATO a global Alliance”, but “what
happens in the Indo-Pacific matters for Europe and what happens in Europe
matters for the Indo-Pacific.
The war in Ukraine demonstrates that very clearly.
Because we see how China is propping up the Russian war economy, delivering dual-
capable equipment which is also used in the Russian military industry. In return, Moscow
is mortgaging its future to Beijing. And then we see how Iran and North Korea are
delivering ammunition, missiles, drones to Russia. And then in return, Russia is
delivering technology for missile and nuclear programmes of these countries.”
OTHER ISSUES
During their meeting, Ministers agreed a
new policy on Women, Peace and Security.
Asked about
the Georgian ruling party’s plans to reintroduce to reintroduce a
“Transparency of Foreign Influence” law, which it had pledged to “unconditionally
withdraw” after mass protests and strong international reactions,,
the NATO
Secretary General noted: “I oppose any attempt by the Georgian government to
reintroduce the draft legislation on foreign agents or foreign influence, because this will
actually contradict the whole effort of strengthening the democratic institutions in
Georgia. And Georgia should work on reforms to move closer to NATO and to move
closer to the European Union. And therefore also the European Union has been very
clear on this. I visited Georgia, Tbilisi, just a few weeks ago. And, of course, one of my
main messages was the importance of reforms, of strengthening democratic institutions.
And the Georgian people have also made it clear that they want a democratic
prosperous future within the European and Euro-Atlantic family. So any law that
introduced this idea of foreign agent, that I'm also afraid will actually have an impact for
a lot of media outlets, operating also internationally but also then in Georgia, will
undermine the whole idea of making Georgia a stronger democratic society.”
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www.nato-pa.int
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