NATO Defence Ministers to Meet in Preparation for Warsaw Summit

Politics » DEFENSE | June 14, 2016, Tuesday // 11:46
Bulgaria: NATO Defence Ministers to Meet in Preparation for Warsaw Summit NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference, a day ahead of the Meetings of NATO Ministers of Defence in Brussels, Belgium, 13 June 2016. Photo: EPA

The defence ministers of the NATO member countries are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the forthcoming NATO summit in Warsaw in July.

This will be their last meeting in this format before the high-level meeting next month which will bring together the heads of state or government of the NATO member countries.

During the meeting, ministers will hold two sittings of the North Atlantic Council as well as a working dinner with the participation of Sweden and Finland and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

There will be also also a sitting of the NATO-Ukraine commission.

The main focus of the meetings will be on modern defence and deterrance, cooperation between the EU and NATO, expanding the zone of stability beyond the boundaries of the Alliance.

The ministers will also discuss strengthening local forces in the fight against terrorism and provision of AWACS surveillance planes to support the global coalition against Islamic State (IS).

Among the other topics of discussion will be providing support for EU's Sophia operation in the Mediterranean Sea, Afghanistan and the relations between the Alliance and Ukraine.

Speaking to media on Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that over the next two days the participants in the meetings will take decisions on strengthening collective defence and enhancing cooperation with partners.

Stoltenberg added that the decisions at these meetings will pave the way for the Warsaw summit.

The ministers are to agree to deploy by rotation four robust multinational battalions in the Baltic states and Poland.

The battalions are part of a much larger shift in NATO's defence and deterrence posture, including a larger NATO Response Force, a new Spearhead Force and eight new small headquarters in the eastern part of the Alliance.

Stoltenberg highlighted that allies should spend more on defence to sustain the shift in NATO's defence posture.

Bulgaria will be represented at the meetings by Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev.

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Tags: Bulgaria, NATO, EU, Defence, Jens Stoltenberg, Nikolay Nenchev, Ukraine, Afghanistan, terrorism, Federica Mogherini, IS

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