Uniunea Europeană şi NATO au semnat marţi o nouă declaraţie comună – a treia, după cele din 2016 şi 2018 – pentru a continua să-şi dezvolte cooperarea, în contextul războiului de agresiune al Rusiei în Ucraina, transmit EFE şi dpa.
Secretarul General al NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, preşedinţii Comisiei Europene, Ursula von der Leyen, şi al Consiliului European, Charles Michel, au semnat documentul la sediul Alianţei Nord-Atlantice din Bruxelles.
Cele două părţi lucrează de mai multă vreme la această declaraţie, care iniţial urma să fie gata înaintea summitului liderilor NATO care s-a desfăşurat la Madrid în iunie 2022.
La Varşovia, în iulie 2016, cele două organizaţii au creat cadrul pentru consolidarea cooperării, pe fondul provocărilor comune în est şi în sud şi, în decembrie acelaşi an, miniştrii de externe ai NATO au aprobat o declaraţie cu 42 de măsuri comune pentru impulsionarea cooperării NATO-UE. Ulterior, în decembrie 2017, acestui document i-au mai fost adăugate încă 32 de măsuri.
A doua declaraţie comună între UE şi alianţa nord-atlantică a fost lansată la 10 iulie 2018, iar ambele organizaţii au căzut de acord cu acel prilej să avanseze rapid în domenii precum mobilitatea militară, lupta împotriva terorismului şi întărirea anduranţei în faţa riscurilor chimice, biologice, radiologice şi nucleare, precum şi să promoveze agenda privind femeile, pacea şi securitatea.
Secretarul General al NATO a subliniat în diverse ocazii necesitatea de a extinde cooperarea dincolo de mobilitatea militară, anduranţa la tehnologiile emergente şi disruptive şi impactul schimbărilor climatice asupra securităţii.
Cooperarea ”este mai importantă ca oricând”, a declarat Stoltenberg, după semnarea declaraţiei comune, potrivit dpa. ”Trebuie să continuăm să întărim parteneriatul dintre NATO şi Uniunea Europeană şi trebuie să consolidăm în continuare sprijinul nostru pentru Ucraina”, a adăugat el, care a făcut referire totodată la o întâlnire pe care a avut-o cu Von der Leyen şi cu Michel la doar câteva ore după ce Rusia a invadat Ucraina, la 24 februarie 2022, pentru a evidenţia relaţiile apropiate dintre UE şi NATO.
”Preşedintele (rus Vladimir) Putin a vrut să cucerească Ucraina în câteva zile şi să ne divizeze. Este evident că a eşuat în ambele planuri”, a insistat Stoltenberg.
Declaraţia semnată marţi menţionează explicit China, pentru prima oară. ”Afirmarea în creştere şi politicile Chinei reprezintă provocări pe care trebuie să le abordăm”, a declarat secretarul general al NATO.
Totodată, UE şi NATO s-au angajat să furnizeze ucrainenilor toate mijloacele militare necesare pentru a-şi apăra patria, iar ”săptămâna viitoare” sunt programate discuţii cu privire la tipul de arme care poate fi furnizat.
”Săptămâna viitoare sunt prevăzute discuţii cu ucrainenii pentru a vedea ce tipuri de arme sunt necesare şi cine este în măsură să le furnizeze, din rândul aliaţilor”, a menţionat Stoltenberg după semnarea declaraţiei comune, scrie Agerpres.
”Noi ştim că trebuie să consolidăm, iar acum aprofundăm acest parteneriat vechi de peste 20 de ani, pentru că securitatea Europei este pusă la încercare şi ameninţată”, a declarat, la rândul său, von der Leyen.
Parteneriatul UE-NATO va deveni ”chiar şi important după ce Finlanda şi Suedia vor deveni membri deplini ai NATO, la aderare”, a subliniat ea.
Preşedinta CE a dat sabotarea gazoductelor Nord Stream 1 şi 2 ca exemplu al nevoii de ”a ne asuma mai multă responsabilitate pentru securitatea infrastructurii noastre de reţea”.
Ea a subliniat importanţa menţinerii ”presiunilor asupra Kremlinului” şi a anunţat că UE urmează să impună în curând sancţiuni unor ţări, ca Belarusul şi Iranul, care susţin militar Războiul rus în Ucraina.
”De la începutul Războiului rus în Ucraina, cooperarea UE-NATO a devenit mai puternică”, a declarat preşedinta CE Ursula von der Leyen.
”Astăzi (marţi), prin noua Declaraţie Comună, ne aducem parteneriatul la un nou nivel”, a subliniat ea.
”Ne vom adânci cooperarea şi o vom extinde la domenii noi”, anunţă preşedinta Comisiei
Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation
by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- The NATO-EU strategic partnership is founded on our shared values, our determination to tackle common challenges and our unequivocal commitment to promote and safeguard peace, freedom and prosperity in the Euro-Atlantic area.
- Today, we are faced with the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades. Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine violates international law and the principles of the UN Charter. It undermines European and global security and stability. Russia’s war has exacerbated a food and energy crisis affecting billions of people around the world.
- We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s aggression. Russia must immediately stop this war and withdraw from Ukraine. We express our full solidarity with Ukraine and reiterate our unwavering and continued support for its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We fully support Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defence and to choose its own destiny
- Authoritarian actors challenge our interests, values and democratic principles using multiple means – political, economic, technological and military.
- We live in an era of growing strategic competition. China’s growing assertiveness and policies present challenges that we need to address.
- Persistent conflict, fragility and instability in our European neighbourhood undermine our security and provide fertile ground for strategic competitors, as well as terrorist groups, to gain influence, destabilise societies and pose a threat to our security.
- As underlined by both the NATO Strategic Concept and the EU Strategic Compass, this is a key juncture for Euro-Atlantic security and stability, more than ever demonstrating the importance of the transatlantic bond, calling for closer EU-NATO cooperation.
- NATO remains the foundation of collective defence for its Allies and essential for Euro Atlantic security. We recognise the value of a stronger and more capable European defence that contributes positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to, and interoperable with NATO.
- Our mutually reinforcing strategic partnership contributes to strengthening security in Europe and beyond. NATO and the EU play complementary, coherent and mutually reinforcing roles in supporting international peace and security. We will further mobilize the combined set of instruments at our disposal, be they political, economic or military, to pursue our common objectives to the benefit of our one billion citizens.
- Building on the 2016 Warsaw Joint Declaration and the 2018 Brussels Joint Declaration, which significantly expanded the breadth and depth of our partnership established more than twenty years ago, we have achieved unprecedented progress across all areas of cooperation.
- We have reached tangible results in countering hybrid and cyber threats, operational cooperation including maritime issues, military mobility, defence capabilities, defence industry and research, exercises, counter terrorism, and capacity-building of partners.
- As the security threats and challenges we are confronted with are evolving in scope and magnitude, we will take our partnership to the next level on the basis of our long-standing cooperation. We will further strengthen our cooperation in existing areas, and expand and deepen our cooperation to address in particular the growing geostrategic competition, resilience issues, protection of critical infrastructures, emerging and disruptive technologies, space, the security implications of climate change, as well as foreign information manipulation and interference.
- In signing this declaration we will take the NATO-EU partnership forward in close consultation and cooperation with all NATO Allies and EU Member States, in the spirit of full mutual openness and in compliance with the decision-making autonomy of our respective organisations and without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defence policy of any of our members. In this context, we view transparency as crucial. We encourage the fullest possible involvement of the NATO Allies that are not members of the EU in its initiatives. We encourage the fullest possible involvement of the EU members that are not part of the Alliance in its initiatives.
- We will assess progress on a regular basis.
Signed at Brussels on 10 January 2023 in triplicate.
Charles Michel
President of the European Council
Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission
Jens Stoltenberg
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Joint press conference
by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
Good morning.
President von der Leyen,
dear Ursula,
President Michel,
dear Charles,
Welcome to both of you. It is great to see you back at NATO headquarters and a very warm welcome to both of you.
This is a great way of starting the New Year.
We have just signed the third NATO-EU joint declaration.
To further advance the strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union.
This is more important than ever.
Almost a year ago, hours after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 24 February, the three of us met together here at the NATO Headquarters.
President Putin wanted to take Ukraine in a few days.
And to divide us.
On both counts, he has clearly failed.
Russian troops have been pushed back by the brave Ukrainian forces.
And NATO and the European Union have stood united in support of Ukraine.
The regime in Moscow wants a different Europe.
It wants to control its neighbours.
And it sees democracy and freedom as a threat.
This will have long-lasting consequences for our security.
So we must continue to strengthen the vital transatlantic bond in NATO.
We must continue to strengthen the partnership between NATO and the European Union.
And we must further strengthen our support to Ukraine.
In a world of growing strategic competition, authoritarian actors challenge our interests, values and democratic principles.
Through military, but also political, economic, and technological means.
China’s growing assertiveness and policies present challenges that we need to address.
Persistent conflict and instability in our neighbourhood undermine our security.
And provide fertile ground for both strategic competitors and terrorist groups.
Our declaration makes clear that NATO remains the foundation of our collective defence and remains essential for Euro-Atlantic security.
It also recognises the value of a more capable European defence that contributes positively to our security and is complementary to, and interoperable with, NATO.
Today’s declaration builds on the previous two, from 2016 and 2018.
Based on these declarations, we have developed concrete actions.
And we have reached unprecedented progress in our cooperation.
We are determined to take the partnership between NATO and the European Union to the next level.
To address in particular the growing geostrategic competition, resilience issues, and the protection of critical infrastructures. As well as emerging and disruptive technologies, space, the security implications of climate change, foreign interference and information manipulation.
Our partnership will become even more important once Finland and Sweden become full NATO members.
With their accession, NATO will be protecting 96% of the citizens in the European Union.
And a higher share of its territory than ever before.
We encourage the fullest possible involvement of the NATO Allies that are not members of the EU in its initiatives.
And we encourage the fullest possible involvement of EU members that are not part of the Alliance in its initiatives.
So dear Ursula, dear Charles,
Thank you for your personal commitment and your leadership in taking our cooperation forward.
So then, I pass the floor to you, President Michel.
NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu: We’ll start with Financial Times.
Financial Times: Thank you so much. Henry Ford, Financial Times. A question for President Michel. Last … In October 2021, you said that 2022 would be the year of European defence. You said there would be strengthening of strategic autonomy to reduce reliance on others. Today, you’ve just signed a document that says stronger European armies are complementary to NATO as the leader in that. Is true strategic autonomy dead or has it just been put on the shelf for a few more years?
And if I may a question for the Secretary General. We’ve heard from the Swedes and the Finns that they think they’ve done enough, and Turkey should not ask for more. Do you agree? Does Turkey have a right to ask for more steps or has Sweden and Finland completely done all they can for membership? Thank you.
President of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel: [answers in French]
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: On Finland and Sweden on membership of NATO, in NATO. I’m confident that the accession process will be finalized and that and that all NATO Allies will ratify the accession protocols in their parliaments. And that also goes for Türkiye. But let me start by just reminding you all about what has happened so far. This has been so far the quickest accession process in NATO’s modern history. We have to remember that normally accession processes into NATO take years. Finland and Sweden applied in May last year. Already in July, all 30 Allies, including Türkiye, decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become full members of NATO. and all 30 Allies also signed the accession protocols and so far 28 out of 30 Allies have already ratified. This is quicker than ever before in NATO’s modern history.
Then, what paved the way for this historic decision was the agreement between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden. That was also signed on the margins of the NATO Summit in Madrid in July, where they agreed to work more closely together. Finland and Sweden agree to lift restrictions on arms exports, that has already been done. And they also agreed to work more closely in the fight against terrorism, that is also taking place. They have established a permanent mechanism where they exchange more information intelligence and they are working more closely in in how to address terrorist threats. Türkiye has legitimate security concerns. No NATO Ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Türkiye. And therefore, it is something we should welcome that the NATO Allies, Finland and Sweden are working more closely on these issues.
And then let me add one more thing, and that is that we have to understand that Finland and Sweden, they are in a very different place now, compared to where they were before they applied for a NATO membership. Since they applied, several NATO Allies, including the United States, have agreed bilateral security arrangements, security assurances for Finland and Sweden. NATO has increased its presence in the region, and as invitees, Finland and Sweden are now participating in NATO’s meetings, ministerial meetings ambassadorial meetings, meetings of different NATO committees and Finland and Sweden are more and more integrated into NATO’s military structures. So it’s inconceivable that Finland and Sweden will face any military threats without NATO reacting to that. So I’m saying that I of course see the importance of finalising the accession process with the ratification in both the Hungarian and the Turkish parliament. But I’m also saying that I’m confident that will happen and that we have already moved a very long way in a short time with Finland and Sweden.
President of the European Commission, Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen: A few words on the topic of strategic autonomy. A lot has happened in the last year. And President Michel is right when he said that at the beginning of the year. Because strategic autonomy is not only limited to defence, it includes of course defence. And strategic autonomy does not say that you do not cooperate. You cooperate with like-minded partners. And the fields in which we have made a lot of progress, the first one is very well known. And this is the vaccine production. So I don’t have to explain that, but a big step forward on that we’ve done during the pandemic. The second field indeed is or was our toxic dependency on Russian fossil fuels. We have basically completely gotten rid of it during this year, coal completely. We have winded down Russian oil and more than 80% of the Russian gas has been cut. We have been able and that’s strategic autonomy to diversify our supply chains to trusted and like-minded partners.
And of course, to ramp up the own production of energy. We have doubled the deployment of additional renewable energy in the European Union and this is independence. Renewable energy is not only clean and affordable, but independence.
Then we have been working, because we saw a growing dependency on semiconductors, on the Chips Act – also a success story. We are preparing the Raw Materials Act because we see the same challenge what the supply of raw material is concerned, too much focus on one region of the world. And we have developed Global Gateway. Also to build up these partnerships with like-minded on the whole energy topic for example, with the global south.
So a lot has happened in the topic of strategic autonomy. Final point: defence. We are working now with the Member States through a task force jointly with the EEAS and the European Defence Agency to figure out what are the needs for the replenishment of the stocks. And what does the industry need to cater for it because it takes two here – not only the demand, but also of course, the supply side and this is another step forward in organizing and harmonizing European common defence answer.
NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu: Go to the Ukrainian news agency “Ukrinform”.
Ukrainian News Agency: Thank you for the floor [inaudible]. News agency of Ukraine. I want to mention that Ukrainians [are] grateful very much to both organization both to EU and NATO practical solidarity. My question is that both organization now have the common problem of depletion of military stocks, because nobody expected the war in Ukraine of such a scale. My question is, what is the practical cooperation? Between NATO and EU in filling that gap? And the second part of the question: As the Russians now mobilise reservists and preparing some kind of a future advance, will EU and NATO be able to be in time and prepared to assist Ukraine in this battle, which could be decisive? Thank you.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Maybe I could start by saying that you are right that NATO Allies and EU members have depleted their stocks to provide support to Ukraine and that has been the right thing to do. Because this is also about our security. And of course we need to use our capabilities, our stocks, our ammunition, to support Ukraine. And I also have been asked, and I’ve told NATO Allies that if they have to choose between meeting all the NATO guidelines on stocks on the capabilities or to support Ukraine, it’s more important to support Ukraine. And therefore, we have been able to provide an unprecedented level of support to Ukraine over many months. But of course, when we are depleting our stocks, there is only one long term solution to that and that is to produce more. And that’s also reason why NATO Defence Ministers took decisions to increase our stockpiles of munitions and equipment when they met last fall.
We have also a long standing defence planning process and capability targets for each and every Ally including stocks and ammunition and we are revising them to ensure that we have enough stocks both to protect our own territory but also to provide support for Ukraine. And we are also working with the European Union, we had Commissioner Breton here just before Christmas, and we are on the staff level looking into how we can coordinate our efforts. And because this is about ramping up production, of course in EU-NATO Allies, but also in Allies that are not members of the European Union. And we have engaged directly with the industry and they are now ramping up production. The aim is of course, to ensure that we can continue and also strengthen our support to Ukraine, because we have seen that Russia has suffered big losses in Ukraine, due to the brave Ukrainian soldiers and their professionalism and the dedication of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
But we should not underestimate Russia. They are mobilising more troops, they are working hard to acquire more equipment, more ammunition, and they have shown willingness to actually suffer but to continue the war. And there is no indication that President Putin has changed the overall aim of his brutal war against Ukraine. So we need to be prepared for the long haul, we need to continue to support Ukraine and again, it is extremely important the message that we’re sending today with the Declaration, with the two Presidents who are present with me, that we stand united, NATO and the European Union in our support to Ukraine.
NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu: We are running out of time, but we’ll take one, third question, which is DPA.
DPA: Thank you, Ansgar Haase, German Press Agency, DPA. A quick question to all of you on the ongoing discussions on weapon deliveries to Ukraine. Do you support member states that are considering sending western main battle tanks like the Leopard 2 or the Challenger 2 to Ukraine, or do you feel that there’s a huge risk of escalation? Thank you.
President of the European Commission, Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen: I have said many times since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine that I think that Ukraine should got get all the necessary military equipment they need and they can handle to defend their homeland. And this means of course, advanced air defence systems, but also other types of advanced military equipment, as long as it is necessary to defend Ukraine because they also defend the basic principles of the UN Charter of the Fundamental Rights and of the international law. And I’ve said that at the very beginning of Russia’s war, and I have still this position, of course.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Let me just add that what we have seen is that we NATO Allies, EU members, have provided Ukraine also with advanced weapon systems since the war started, and I welcome the new announcements just over the last days by the United States, Germany, France to also provide new types of armoured vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles and other types of armour to Ukraine. This is important, there is a constant consultation within the Alliance between the NATO Allies but also with Ukraine. We’ll meet next week in Ramstein in the US led the Contact Group to provide support to Ukraine and there will meet with the Ukrainian defence minister to discuss exactly what types of weapons are needed and how can Allies provide those weapons.
So in addition to armour, we have also provided advanced air defence systems as President von der Leyen just referred to, and also long range missiles with the HIMARS and all these systems are making a huge difference on the battlefield every day. I welcome the focus on systems but I think we need to also realize that this is not only about adding more systems, more platforms, more weapons, but also ensuring that the platforms, the weapons we have already provided, are working as they should, meaning that we also need to ensure that we provide the necessary ammunition, the spare parts, the training, the maintenance of the systems, which are already provided. And therefore yes, it is important to address what new systems do we need to provide to Ukraine, but also to ensure that all the systems which are already there, are working as they should.
President of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel: There is an aggressor, that is the Kremlin and there is a victim, that is the people of Ukraine. And I’m very pleased that in the recent weeks and months following the start of the war, the member states were able to deliver more and more military equipment to Ukraine. And like Ursula said, I fully support the same approach and the European Council many times repeated the call on more military support for Ukrainians to make sure that they will be able to defend [inaudible] because we know that they are fighting for the future, but they are also fighting for our common values.
NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu: Thank you very much. I’m very sorry we can’t take all the questions that we have but this concludes this press conference.
