NATO’s secretary general defended this Tuesday that the partnership with the European Union must go “to the next level”, despite Russia having “seriously failed” in its attempt to conquer Ukraine and divide Western countries.
“Putin wanted to conquer Ukraine in a few days and divide us. He failed miserably on both counts”said Jens Stoltenberg during a joint press conference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels.
The war that began on February 24, 2022, by the Russian Federation brought NATO and the European Union (EU) even closer, the organization’s secretary general added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “it wants another Europe, it wants to rule its neighbors and take over democracy” and despite the failed attempt, the Russian invasion will have “far-reaching implications for European security” – an idea that Stoltenberg wants to reinforce and which he already mentioned last week, in his first speech in 2023, in Oslo (Norway).
That is why Brussels and NATO signed the Third Joint Declaration to face the challenges that have arisen in recent months and that are yet to come: “We are determined to take this partnership to the next level.”
For example, on the table are the “growing geostrategic competition”, especially from China, the “emerging and debilitating technologies” that could jeopardize the European infrastructure and that of the countries that are part of the military alliance, and the attempts to interference from Moscow.
“Our partnership becomes even more important when Finland and Sweden are in the organisation”Stoltenberg stressed, and when that happens NATO will be responsible for the security of “96 percent of European citizens”.
Source: DN
