Eduardo González
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg yesterday thanked President Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish Government and the people of Madrid “for hosting this historic Summit”, which has represented an “excellent way to celebrate Spain’s 40 years of membership”, and assured, in express reference to Ceuta and Melilla, that “NATO is there to protect all allies against any threat”.
“We have just concluded a transformative Summit with NATO Heads of State and Government,” said Stoltenberg at the press conference following the meeting, which was held on Wednesday and Thursday at the IFEMA fairgrounds in Madrid. At this NATO Summit, he continued, “far-reaching decisions were taken to adapt our Alliance to the future” and “a fundamental change in our deterrence and defense” was adopted.
“We agreed to invite Finland and Sweden to join our Alliance, we agreed on long-term support for Ukraine, we adopted the new NATO Strategic Concept, and we committed to intensify the fight against climate change and to establish a new billion Innovation Fund,” he explained. The Summit also decided to “invest more in NATO and increase NATO’s common funding budgets” and deepen relations with “some of NATO’s closest partners, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.”
Southern Flank
“Our last session at the Madrid Summit focused on the threats and challenges in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel,” said the Secretary General in reference to NATO’s Southern Flank, whose defense was one of the Spanish government’s most recurrent requests for this Summit. “The insecurity in these regions has a direct impact on the security of all the allies,” Stoltenberg warned.
In this regard, he explained, “for the first time, we have just agreed on a defense capability development package for Mauritania, helping to address border security, irregular migration and terrorism, and we have also agreed on additional capability development support for Tunisia and continued support for Jordan.” In addition, he continued, the Summit also addressed the global food crisis, which “is a direct consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” and discussed “how Russia and China continue to seek political, economic and military benefits in our southern neighborhood.” “Both Moscow and Beijing are using economic leverage, coercion and hybrid approaches to advance their interests in the region,” Stoltenberg denounced. “That is why we have discussed how to address this growing challenge, including greater support for NATO partners in the region,” he added.
Spain’s reception and Ceuta and Melilla
“The Spanish government’s hosting of this Summit has been perfect, impeccable, excellent, and all Allies have expressed their gratitude to Spain for hosting us in Madrid, a beautiful city, in the Royal Palace and in the Prado Museum, and then at this conference here, where every facility has been put in place and really provided the best possible setting for a historic NATO Summit,” the secretary general said. “So we are very grateful to the Spanish government, to Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister, and to the people of Madrid for the way they have hosted us,” he said. “It shows that Spain is really a highly valued and important NATO ally and it is a very good way for Spain to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its accession,” added the secretary general, who invited the attendees to meet “again at a NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next year.”
On the other hand, and in express reference to NATO’s position on Ceuta and Melilla, Stoltenberg assured that “NATO is there to protect all Allies against any threat”. “In the end, it will always be a political decision to invoke Article 5, but rest assured that NATO is there to protect and defend all Allies,” he added. In this regard, Pedro Sanchez stated yesterday at the press conference after the Summit that “Ceuta and Melilla are Spain, that is how we have always understood it” and, therefore, “a debate more artificial than a real debate”. Likewise, he insisted, the new Strategic Concept “makes it very clear” that “every centimeter” of the territory of NATO member states will be defended.
