Category Archives: NATO

Representatives from the Armenian Ministry of Defence met with their counterparts at NATO Headquarters at the end of April to review activities conducted within the framework of NATOs Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) for Armenia.

They took stock of the achievements made and set out the plan of joint activities for the rest of the year and for 2025. The Director of the Defence and Security Cooperation Directorate of NATOs Operations Division, Piers Cazalet, who also contributed to the annual review, noted: The DEEP programme is an excellent tool to support Armenian military education system reforms and strengthen the countrys cooperation with NATO.

The Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Colonel Arthur Yeroyan, underlined the importance of regular stock-taking and highlighted the added value of NATOs cooperation through its Defence Education Enhancement Programme. He said: As our Armed Forces are reforming and going through cultural changes, we are grateful for NATOs support in the key area of military education. The Commandant of Armenias Military Academy, Colonel Arsen Mangasaryan, added: With the support of DEEP experts we implemented major changes in all levels of our educational curriculum, starting from cadets up to the most senior levels. It helped us to establish cooperation with many international partner institutions. During the visit, Colonel Yeroyan also met with the Director of Cooperative Security Division of the NATO International Military Staff, Major General Darian Tiberiu Serban.

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NATO and Armenia strengthen their defence education cooperation - NATO HQ

From 6 to 8 May 2024, over 300 participants across 47 Allied and Partner Nations attended the 48th Annual Conference for the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives (NCGP) online and in-person at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. This years theme was Military Planning and Partnerships: A New Era of Gender Perspective at NATO.

Opening the conference, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC), highlighted the importance of the conferences theme, given that 2024 will mark several achievements in historical cooperation for NATOs institutionalised partnerships. He also stated that integrating the gender perspective is not only a prerogative based on NATOs values, but it is a force multiplier.

Following this intervention, Ms Irene Fellin, Secretary General's Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) at NATO and Lieutenant General Andrew M. Rohling, Deputy Chair of the NATO Military Committee (DMC) made remarks to highlight Leadership Perspectives: Setting the Stage for the Future of Women, Peace and Security at NATO. Ms Fellin reflected on nearly 25 years of UNSCR1325, underlining NATOs effort to implement the global WPS Agenda by updating its WPS Policy to navigate the current complex strategic environment. Lt Gen Rohling emphasised that the efforts to implement the gender perspective must result in real action, highlighting the operational benefits of reducing barriers to female participation which leads to more effective planning and mission success.

The first panel Applying a Gender Lens for the Evolving Security Environment featured Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the United States Military Representative to NATO and Dr Juan Carlos Antunez Moreno, Socio-Cultural Analyst at NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum. NCGP Chair-Elect Lieutenant Colonel Rosa Linda Lucchesi moderated the panel. VADM Chatfield discussed the history of women in the US Navy, underlining the impact of leadership on meaningful female participation. Dr. Antunez Moreno discussed the necessity of integrating the gender perspective in conflict analysis and stressed the importance of maintaining situational awareness by understanding the different contributions of men and women in conflict.

The following panel on Deterrence and Defence: Understanding Planning with a Gender Perspective focused on the practical ways to integrate the gender perspective across NATOs core tasks. The panellists included Brigadier General Eric Laforest, ACOS J5 at NATO Allied Command Operations, Major Wilco ven den Berg, Subject Matter Expert at Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations (NCGM), and Major Stijn van den Bosch, Deputy Gender Advisor at NATO Allied Command Operations. It was moderated by Major Caroline Burger, NCGP Deputy Chair. Brig Gen Laforest explained that the human terrain is an essential component for understanding the geography of an operating area, in which gender and diversity are critical to be considered. Maj van den Bosch reiterated that the gender perspective acts as a force multiplier across the physical, moral and conceptual components of fighting power. Lastly, Maj van den Berg discussed the Gender Analysis Tool developed by NCGM, recommending that Nations operationalize gender analysis to identify vulnerabilities that adversaries can potentially exploit.

The final panel of the day Cooperative Security: WPS in Practice from Partner Perspectives discussed NATOs partnership engagement and was moderated by Lieutenant Commander Nikolai Vibe, NCGP Deputy Chair. Expertise was offered by Colonel Chirstos Gkamas, Action Officer Cooperative Security Division at NATO IMS, who stated that his Division plays its part to integrate gender perspectives in partnerships by demonstrating that gender mainstreaming is a strategic approach enhancing the effectiveness of military planning and operations. Ms Teresa Finik, Advisor Human Security Unit at NATO, stressed the role of WPS in NATOs Partnerships and its soft power nature, which increases possibilities for engagement with partners. Ms Tomoko Matsuzawa, Gender Advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Defence, encouraged NATO to include WPS as a business-as-usual topic in its strategic and tactical dialogues. Colonel Karen Such, Director of Gender, Peace and Security in the Australian Department of Defence, emphasised that mutual understanding of best practices is a fundamental pillar of partnerships, encouraging the Alliance to benefit from Australias expertise of the Indo-Pacific region.

Day two addressed the Summary of National Report (SNR), NATOs largest compilation of military gender statistics. Panellists included Dr Stefanie Von Hlatky, Professor of Political Studies at Queens University and Canada Research Chair on Gender, Security and the Armed Forces, and Dr Katharine Wright, Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University and Co-Convener of the Military, War and Security Research Group, both members of NATOs Civil Society Advisor Panel on Women, Peace and Security. Dr. von Hlatky noted that the SNR is a useful repository of data for academics facilitating research on WPS, gender diversity and the integration of the gender perspective. Dr. Wright underscored the importance of the SNR in serving as a motivating force for Nations that can track their progress and setbacks. Participants then worked in syndicates to better understand their national perspectives on the SNR and how to shape the report's effectiveness in future iterations.

The following presentation commemorated "10 years of 'Gender Training of Trainers Course' (GToT) RACVIAC Centre for Security Cooperation," which is provided to strengthen the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the security sector and enables trainers to plan and conduct education and trainings with an integrated gender perspective. Ms Zrinka Smeh Martinovic, the Activity Manager for the Security Sector Governance Pillar at RACVIAC, stated that the GToT is now a network of over 200 gender instructors who present their own training for assessment before training third parties.

The conference proceeded with NATO Executive Development Programme (NEDP): Findings from the Development of NATOs first Gender-Resilience Wargame presented by four members of the project team, MS Eleanor Haevens, Director of Finance at NATO Allied Maritime Command, Ms Erida Lice, Information Manager at NATO BICES Group Executive, Mr Filipe Osorio, Strategy Management Officer at NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum and Mr Mark van der Goorbergh from NATO Joint Force Command Brunssum. Ms. Lice explained that the wargame aimed to understand the nexus between resilience and gender. Ms. Haevens outlined the wargame process, which included introducing gender-related shocks into a scenario based on Baltic States societies. The project revealed two main conclusions: first, the importance of considering the second- and third-order effects of gender-related shocks, and second, the importance of having participants with diverse backgrounds.

Lieutenant Colonel Lauranne Bureau, Gender Advisor at NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT), presented ACTs publication with Dr Jody Neathery-Castro, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement and Professor of Political Science, and Dr Lana Obradovic, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska. The panellists discussed the findings from their research on Integrating Gender Perspective in Cognitive Warfare, including the identification of false sex-based stereotypes which are operationally weaponised in disinformation and misinformation campaigns. Dr. Neathery-Castro and Dr. Obradovic underlined the importance of gender-based cognitive warfare tactics used by adversaries to influence our own societies. Dr. Neathery-Castro and Dr. Obradovic concluded by applying their analytical framework to Russia that has operationalized misinformation in its cognitive warfare by portraying itself as an aggressive masculine entity against a gendered effeminate NATO to sow division in democratic societies of the Alliance. To read the full report, please follow this link.

The final panel The Gender Dimensions of the Fight for Influence and Advantage in the Information Environment, explored the gender perspective in cognitive warfare and the role of strategic communications in the operational environment. Ms Nataliia Kalmykova, Ukraines Deputy Minister of Defence, discussed debunking gender stereotypes about female participation in the military giving an overview of Ukraines STRATCOM goals in Russias current war. Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, Strategic Communications Analyst, spoke next, sharing her personal experience with gender in strategic communications against Russia. Mr Benjamin Patterson, Analyst J10 Information Environment Assessment Team at NATO Allied Command Operations, concluded the panel by reflecting on the vast resources directed toward our adversaries goal of causing social division in democratic societies.

The final day consisted of closed sessions in which Allied Nations discussed the way ahead for the NCGP through their Programme of Work and made recommendations to be delivered to the NATO Military Committee.

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The 48th Annual Conference for the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives focused on Military Planning and ... - NATO HQ

On 16 May, the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session took place at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The 32 Allied Chiefs of Defence focused on the executability of the Alliances new defence plans, NATOs warfighting transformation and NATOs continued support to Ukraine. The Chiefs of Defence also met in the NATO-Ukraine Council format with the Ukrainian military leadership.

Opening the NATO Military Committee session alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Chair of the Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer stressed that, NATO is stronger and readier than it has ever been. And its growing stronger by the day. We have it within ourselves to build on the ground-breaking work that has already been done. The integration of NATO and national military planning will enable us to do exactly what the NATO flag symbolises: all Allies will follow the same compass.

The first session focused on warfighting transformation saw the Chiefs of Defence meet with General Philippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT). This session focused on the future of multi domain operations, the adaptation of NATOs Command and Control and the NATO Defence Planning Process.

This was followed by the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Chiefs of Defence format. The Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Major General Anatoliy Barhylevych, briefed the NATO Chiefs of Defence on the situation on the ground. The Chiefs of Defence reaffirmed their firm and continued support to Ukraine, emphasising the bravery and sacrifice of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Admiral Bauer stated that Ukraine has demonstrated the world that it has the ability to achieve unprecedented success on the battlefield. There is nothing they cannot do. All they need is our help.

The afternoon saw General Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe - SACEUR, brief on the executability of the DDA Family of Plans and the way ahead regarding NATOs deterrence and defence posture. Allies are actively working on making the new defence plans fully executable.

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NATO Chiefs of Defence discuss the strengthening of NATO's defence plans - NATO HQ

The skies near Jnkping, Sweden were full of NATOs airborne forces as they descended under parachutes for exercise Swift Response 2024.

Airborne forces from Hungary, Italy, Spain and the United States were dropped at an auxiliary airstrip by US Air Force C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. After landing, the forces secured the airfield and prepared to conduct an air assault with US Army Reserve helicopters.

An annual US-led exercise, Swift Response helps NATO Allies practise the complex art of multinational airborne operations, ensuring their readiness to respond in the event of a crisis. This is one of the first exercises Sweden has hosted since becoming a full NATO member in March 2024.

Swift Response 2024 is part of Steadfast Defender 2024, NATOs largest collective defence drills in decades, featuring the participation of around 90,000 troops contributed by all 32 NATO Allies.

Footage includes shots of paratroopers jumping out of aircraft, landing in Sweden, and preparing to move out with US Army Reserve helicopters, as well as interviews with Swedish and US officers. Transcript ---SHOTLIST (00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS US AIR FORCE C-17 GLOBEMASTER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT DROPPING PARATROOPERS NEAR JNKPING, SWEDEN (00:14) VARIOUS SHOTS PARATROOPERS DESCENDING AND LANDING (00:35) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS (MUTE) C-17 DROPPING TROOPS (00:52) MEDIUM SHOT ITALIAN PARATROOPER STOWING PARACHUTE WITH US PARATROOPER IN BACKGROUND (00:57) MEDIUM SHOT SPANISH PARATROOPER STOWING PARACHUTE (01:01) VARIOUS SHOTS US PARATROOPER STOWING PARACHUTE (01:16) SLOW-MO SHOT (MUTE) US SOLDIERS MARCHING (01:23) VARIOUS SHOTS US PARATROOPERS MARCHING (01:54) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS US PARATROOPERS MARCHING (02:17) MEDUM SHOT US PARATROOPER MARCHING (02:22) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS: US PARATROOPERS MOVING OUT (02:33) VARIOUS SHOTS US PARATROOPERS PREPARING TO MOVE OUT (02:59) VARIOUS SHOTS ITALIAN PARATROOPERS PREPARE TO MOVE OUT (03:34) SLOW-MO SHOT (MUTE) ITALIAN PARATROOPERS (03:41) VARIOUS SHOTS (MUTE) SPANISH SOLIDERS EAT RATIONS BEFORE AIR ASSAULT TRAINING (04:07) VARIOUS SHOTS US SOLDIERS TRAIN FOR AIR ASSUALT (04:57) MEDIUM SHOT US SOLDIERS BOARD HELICOPTERS BEFORE CONDUCTING AIR ASSAULT (05:03) SOUNDBITE (English) US Air Force Major General James Kriesel, US European Command Certainly, it sends a message of coherence and capability to our NATO Allies and partners, so one, within. Two, outwardly, certainly a capability that few can do, right? So thats a message to any chronic threat that we do have this particular capability, among many, many others. (05:29) SOUNDBITE (English) Swedish Army Major General Michael Cherinet For us in the Swedish Armed Forces, this exercise is very much about host nation support. Something that is pretty new to us, but is also very important, of course. Being able to execute this exercise only two months as newcomers in NATO, I think, sends at least a strong message about the strength and the possibilities coming with us being part of the Alliance. (05:53) SOUNDBITE (English) US Army Major Joseph Morse, Executive Officer, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment So, during this operation, called Swift Response 24, we have been planning since roughly around, as a battalion, with the 1-503rd, we have been planning since I would say around September. From there, a series of meetings, a series of working with our coalition allies and partners to make this operation happen. Theres a lot of logistics, a lot of pre-training to go into, and then a lot of coordination, not only with the host nation of Sweden, but also with our unit as well, moving out from Aviano. (06:22) SOUNDBITE (English) US Army Major Joseph Morse, Executive Officer, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment What we are demonstrating is not only our capability, one, working with our allies and partners, and two, is to show that we are ready to deploy at a moments notice.

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NATO airborne forces train together in exercise Swift Response 2024 - b-roll - 17 May 2024 - DVIDS

Today, 16 May 2024, NATOs highest Military Authority, the Military Committee, meets in Chiefs of Defence format at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The meeting will focus on strengthening the executability of the Alliances new defence plans and warfighting transformation to ensure Allies are fully prepared to face current and future threats.

Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg jointly opened the meeting of the Military Committee.

In his opening remarks, the Secretary General conveyed that he was shocked and appalled by the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico. This violates every idea of democracy. In democracies we can disagree, we can have different opinions, but violence is absolutely unacceptable.

The Chair of the Military Committee marked the 813th day of Russias large-scale invasion in Ukraine. Admiral Bauer emphasised the urgency of continued Allied support to Ukraine. Alluding to the greater geostrategic impact of the war against Ukraine, Admiral Rob Bauer added: The world is on a historical crossroads, not only between democracy and autocracy. This is very much also about impunity versus accountability.

Admiral Bauer concluded his remarks in stating that the success of Exercise Steadfast Defender demonstrates that: NATO is stronger and readier than it has ever been. And its growing stronger by the day. We have it within ourselves to build on the ground-breaking work that has already been done. The integration of NATO and national military planning will enable us to do exactly what the NATO flag symbolises: all Allies will follow the same compass.

At 18h00 there will be a joint press conference by Admiral Bauer and Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Cavoli. The joint press conference will be livestreamed on the NATO website.

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Allied Chiefs of Defence meet with NATO Secretary General - NATO HQ

On 14 May 2024, NATO hosted military staff talks with the Republic of Korea, at NATO HQ in Brussels. Discussions focused on the ongoing partnership, resilience building and future opportunities for cooperation. The meeting took place under the auspices of the NATO Cooperative Security Division.

NATOs delegation of experts from both International Staff and International Military Staff led by Major General Dacian-Tiberiu erban, the Director of the NATO Cooperative Security Division, met with their Korean counterparts headed by Rear Admiral Dong Goo Kang, Director of the Strategy and Plans Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Republic of Korea is a longstanding Partner of NATO. The signature of the renewed Individual Tailored Partnership Program and the subsequent military implementation plan underlines the strong commitment of both NATO and Korea to support each other. - stressed Major General erban in his opening remarks. NATO's engagement with global Partners is increasingly relevant in a complex security environment, where many of the challenges the Alliance faces are global and no longer bound by geography. he added.

The one-day visit provided a chance to reaffirm NATO's ongoing dedication to its partnership with the Republic of Korea. This collaboration, initiated in 2005, involves joint efforts in several various fields including cybersecurity, capability development, new technologies and countering hybrid threats. This years conversations primarily addressed topics like the partnership program evaluation, defence against terrorism, resilience building and its implications for the military as well as NATOs relations with the partners in the wider Indo-Pacific framework.

We seek to strengthen our engagement with our Indo-Pacific Partners. It ensures that NATO and our Partners can enhance their mutual situational awareness of security developments in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions, including the impact of Russias war on Ukraine, the shift in the global balance of power, and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. summarized Major General erban.

The last military staff talks with the Republic of Korea took place on 13- 14 February 2023 in Seoul. All delegations of Indo-Pacific Partners met with NATO Chiefs of Defence in January 2024 and NATO Military Representatives in December 2023.

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NATO and the Republic of Korea discuss cooperation at the military staff talks - NATO HQ

Since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, NATOs credibility is most at stake on Europes eastern flank. Reinforcing NATO members in this region through increased military presence and bolstering defense and deterrence posture are the top priorities for most political and military leaders in Europe.

In April, a team from the Atlantic Councils Europe Center took a research trip to Romania and Estonia, alongside the French military and saw firsthand how Western and Eastern European countries, along with US forces, are working together to adapt to the Russian threat just miles way.

We found that European commitments to the eastern flank are substantial and geared for the long term. However, using the force structure they have today to address the needs of conventional deterrence will require new adaptations. Even so, the advances in cooperation between Western and Eastern European troops on the eastern flank in the past two years represent tangible, significant European contributions to the Alliance that should move the debate around burden sharing past a singular focus on defense spending metrics.

As Moscow reconstitutes its forces, there is a real possibility that Russia will test European and NATO resolve in the Alliances east. Each of those countries has specific geographic factors and threats, which the tailored approach to the eight battlegroups spread throughout the region are designed to defend. One of the major challenges is convincing Russia that the Alliance can operate as a united front from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. The accession of Sweden and Finland better allows for such unity. Broadly speaking, however, the region is still in the process of becoming integrated militarily, and there is still competition for attention due to resource limitations and a lack of harmonization due to national specificities.

Located on the Black Sea and bordering Ukraine, Romania is but a few hundred kilometers from the wars frontlines. The Russian military is operating in such close proximity to the country that Russian drones have repeatedly entered Romanian airspace and there have even been incidents of Russian drones landing in Romanian territory, most recently on Brila Island in March 2024.

Looking north, Estonia sees itself in a critical window to improve its defensive positions while the Russian units normally garrisoned across its border are deployed to Ukraine, and before those units reconstitute, now battle-hardened from years of full-scale war. In the event Russia decides to seriously test NATOs resolve, Estonia could be the first line of incursion. This is why at the 2023 Vilnius summit, NATO adopted new plans to defend every inch of the Alliances territory, including an enhanced presence in the Baltics meant to prevent an incursion in the region. This marked a shift away from a posture that was more focused on regaining territory that would likely be occupied in the initial stages of an invasion. Its also why, beyond national resolve, the enduring presence of US, British, and French boots on the ground is crucial for Estonia: Each of those three nations has nuclear capabilities to back conventional forces, affecting Russias calculus.

After Russias invasion, Western Europeans turned their attention toward NATOs eastern flank. For France, which is present in both countries we visited, the war in Ukraine is the first major test of the countrys concrete commitment to the Alliance since it reintegrated into NATOs military command structure in 2009.

However, military ties between Western and Eastern Europe also rest on the strengthening of bilateral relationships among NATO members, especially between host countries and the framework nations for NATOs multinational battalionsfor instance, Britain is the framework nation in Estonia, Germany in Lithuania, and France in Romania. All have strengthened mutual ties since the start of the war in Ukraine. For example, Frances strategic partnership with Romania has deepened and intensified since it committed to becoming a framework nation in Romania in February 2022. These exchanges at the political and military level played a role in the growing convergence of views between the two countries on the nature of the threat Russia poses to the rest of Europe beyond Ukraine.

In the French-led Mission Aigle, European troops train and plan together in Cincu, Romania, ready to respond to potential threats on NATOs eastern flank. Although US troops are present in other parts of Romania, they are not present in Cincu, giving Europeans a chance to build up their own efforts independent of US contributions. French troops rotate on a four-month basis, which allows a high number of soldiers to cycle through. The plan is to build Cincu into a brigade-sized (around four thousand troops) presence by 2025. Within the 117 square kilometers of Cincu, the French, Belgian, and Luxembourgian forces (soon to be joined by a company of Spanish troops) are a model for interoperability and commitment; They represent burden-sharing in action.

These troops are also presented with challenges. For decades, Western armies have been tailored for counterinsurgency warfare, such as in various African theaters and the NATO mission in Afghanistan. They simply arent prepared for the whats old is new style of warfare that Russias invasion of Ukraine has reintroduced into the modern battlefield. As such, France and its partner nations are studying Russias playbook in Ukraine, which includes practicing trench warfare and referencing tactical manuals from World War I to help inform their strategy. One of the French forces aims in Romania is to demonstrate to Russia that they are ready to fight. French military leaders are working with their Romanian counterparts to navigate some of the challenges of conducting deterrence and defensive missions in the country, as local laws have not yet evolved to enable effective training due to stringent peacetime rules.

Similar developments are taking place in Estonia. Britain, France, and the United States have all committed forces to Estonia to match and complement Estonian investment in its own defense. The French commitment is built around one company within the British-led NATO battlegroup. Since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Britain has doubled its presence in Estonia. Based on six-month deployments, more than ten thousand British soldiers have already rotated through Tapa, Estonia. The British Army continues to evolve its armored infantry presence in the NATO mission and has committed to have additional postured forces on high alert in the United Kingdom to be able to create a full brigade during a crisis.

Estonian, British, and French leaders recognize that the current arrangements also face challenges. There is a scarcity of some critical enablers in Estonia, with a strong desire to increase intelligence and surveillance capabilities, expand long-range fires, and embed army aviation units in Estonia. The deployment of follow-on forces has yet to be thoroughly tested, although exercises are planned in the coming years to stress test national and NATO military mobility capabilities.

The increase of Western European states commitment to the eastern flank is not a panacea for enduring capability gaps in Alliance defenses. The United States continues to be the only nation able to supply key enablers at scale sufficient for effective deterrence for the foreseeable future. European land force leaders we spoke to worry that US key enablers based in Europe, such as long-range fires, air defense, and attack aviation, are likely postured to predominantly support US forces under US command. Without additional enablers brought in from the United States or provided by European nations, NATO land forces will be unlikely to train with and, if necessary, conduct combat operations with the full toolbox of capabilities.

To mitigate concerns among allies, the United States should consider increasing integration training opportunities within NATO, as well as battlegroups and associated higher echelons with those key enablers, to familiarize these units with key enabling capabilities while acquisition of long-term permanent solutions progresses. US stakeholders should be involved in national or European Union (EU) initiatives to improve mobility, interoperability, and command-and-control to ensure that proposed solutions benefit all Alliance members. This means investing in the development of EU-NATO cooperation as well as in the European pillar within NATO. Policymakers in Washington need to expand the conversation on burden sharing so that it accurately captures the steps Europeans are taking without the United States within and outside of NATO.

Western European commitments to NATOs east represent tangible allied contributions to NATO deterrence and defense. Watching French soldiers in Romania practice trench warfare alongside their European counterparts might not seem like a major achievement to decision makers in Washington, but its precisely these types of side-by-side, long-term engagements, with soldiers from different countries, that makes the transatlantic partnership. Beyond big-picture questions like capabilities and acquisition and procurement, this kind of cooperation is where, in the event of a crisis, victory will be won.

Lonie Allard is a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Councils Europe Center, previously serving at the French Ministry of Armed Forces.

Andrew Bernard is a retired US Air Force Colonel and a visiting fellow in the Atlantic Councils Europe Center.

Rachel Rizzo is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Councils Europe Center.

Lisa Homel is an associate director of the Atlantic Councils Europe Center where she supports the centers work on France, Germany, the Western Balkans, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Their trip to Romania and Estonia was supported by the French Ministry forArmed Forces.

Image: April 26, 2023 -Capu Midia, Romania: French soldiers take part the NATO exercise Eagle Royal . The NATO drill took place under French supervision, with a a few soldiers from the US, the Netherlands, Romania, and Luxembourg, as a mean to improve coordination for artillery missions. Mehdi Chebil.

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Dispatch from Estonia and Romania: How NATO burden sharing works on the ground - Atlantic Council

Speaking at NATOs 2024 Cyber Defence Pledge Conference in the Hague on Friday (17 May), NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoan said that Allies "must be big on ambition" on cyber defence and called for "a new mindset" to strengthen our resilience against cyber threats.

Our adversaries are increasingly defying international norms and using cyber and hybrid operations against us Mr Geoan said, stressing that there is no peace in cyberspace. The Cyber Defence Pledge, established in 2016, is helping boost Allies cyber defences. It is also helping to strengthen national networks and infrastructures, and enhance NATOs collective resilience to cyber threats. Following the 2023 Vilnius Summit, Allies have taken further steps to develop a cyber maturity model to help focus their resources more efficiently.

Looking ahead, NATOs Deputy Secretary General stressed the importance of strengthening civil-military cooperation at all times, including through closer cooperation with the tech industry. He indicated that this will be a focus of the upcoming Washington Summit. He welcomed the participation, for the first time, of eighteen NATO partner countries in the Cyber Defence Pledge Conference. Cyber is something that our partners most request from Allies, the Deputy Secretary General said. I encourage all Allies to be open to these requests, and help all of us become stronger and more resilient in cyberspace.

The Netherlands and Romania co-hosted NATOs 2024 Cyber Defence Pledge Conference. Following his address, the Deputy Secretary General met with the Dutch Minister of Defence, Kasja Ollongren, and with students from Leiden University to discuss NATOs agenda for the Washington Summit.

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NATO Deputy Secretary General: we must be big on cyber defence ambitions - NATO HQ

On May 7, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) released a report that lays out the findings of a comprehensive and deep reflection process on the southern neighbourhood carried out by a group of independent experts. This process derives from a tasking at the 2023 Vilnius summit pushed mainly by nations from NATOs southern flank. This report comes against the backdrop of Russias aggression toward Ukraine, which has refocused NATO on its core mandatecollective defense and deterrenceand on its eastern flank. This refocusing follows three decades of postCold War soul-searching, which led to a constant expansion of the alliances missions, with an increasing emphasis on crisis management and a multiplication of out-of-area operations, with arguably mixed results and legacies. As a result, there is considerable friction, both among NATO members and between NATO and countries in its South, about the desired level of engagement in and with the southern neighborhood. The report shows a genuine and serious effort to factor in the many parameters and stakes, informed by exchanges with allies; NATO staff; and representatives, institutions, and civil society based in its southern partner states. Its recommendations are meant to guide discussions on the issue ahead of and during the July 2024 Washington summit.

Q1: What is the track record and perception of NATO in African and Middle Eastern regions?

A1: Over the years, NATO has increased institutional engagement in and with countries from what it calls its South, a vast area spanning from West Africa to Central Asia. This engagement has taken the form of institutional partnerships via the Mediterranean Dialogue launched in 1994 and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, which included four Gulf countries and was launched in 2004. NATO also established a southern hub within the Allied Joint Force Command Naples in 2017.

Nevertheless, NATOs history with its South and perception in the region remains largely marked by its military interventions in Afghanistan (20032021) and in Libya (2011). Both failed to bring stability, if not witnessing a deterioration of the local and regional security environment. The report is clear-eyed when it states that:

"The perception of NATO and Allies in the southern neighbourhoods is somewhat negative. For many in the region, NATO is perceived as adopting double standards in responding to crises and conflicts on the world stage and is perceived as using its military assets to project power and interests from the so-called Global North without fully taking into account the needs and concerns of the South."

This perception is unevenly shared in the region, with some specific countries having developed close partnerships with the alliance, such as Jordan (one of the four Enhanced Opportunities Partners), Mauritania, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. But it might conversely be an understatement in some areas, such as in the Sahelian states, where a dominant narrative is that the 2011 NATO-led campaign in Libya is the original cause of the regions current instability.The subsequent collapse of the Libyan state that resulted from what Africans see as NATOs aggressive action, despite the organization framing itself as a defensive alliance, led to a mass exodus of foreign fighters from Qaddafis army, with the fighters fanning out across the Sahel and carrying with them stockpiles of Libyan weapons.This dramatic event is seen locally as the starters pistol to more than a decade of violence, instability, and military coups that have plagued the region (which the United Nations today refers to as the global epicentre of terrorism) ever since. NATOs hasty retreat from Libya in the aftermath of state collapse is not unrelated to the countrys current predicament, and it has more widely created both an impression of unreliability and of an organization interested in its security even at the expense of others.

Complicating the African view of NATO even further is the organizations language that the Russian Federation is the most significant and direct threat to Allies security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. In the past two years, at least four Sahelian states have invited Russian military trainers to replace trainers from NATO member states as those countries security partner of choice. At a moment when Sahelian states are aligning more closely with Russia under the guise of asserting sovereign rights over their own security, governance, and economic futures, this has in many ways meant a broad rejection of the seemingly neo-colonial policies of traditional partners, amplified by misinformation and disinformation.

In the Middle East, the alliances actual footprint has been limited. But Washingtons war on terror and the forever wars of Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a toll, by association, on NATOs image in the region. At the same time, demonstrating its adaptability after an initial withdrawal in 2011, NATO redeployed to Iraq in 2018 amid the fight against the Islamic State, complementing the efforts of the coalition to defeat the Islamic State and providing strategic advice to the Iraqi ministries of defense and the interior. In addition, NATO has conducted several maritime security operations, such as Operation Ocean Shield in the Gulf of Aden from 2009 to 2015 and Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean, which has been active since 2016. Simultaneously, for countries that have tied their security to U.S. security guarantees, such as Jordan and the Gulf countries, NATO remains a reference model, the yardstick against which to compare their own defense relationship with the United Stateswhich they have been striving to upgrade.

Q2: Why was a report on NATOs southern flank published?

A2: This report stems from a shared concern by some southern NATO countries that the renewed focus on the eastern flank could result in less attention to the threats emanating from the southern flank, including terrorism, the weaponization of energy resources, and irregular immigration. Notably, Spain, the host country of the 2022 Madrid summit, was instrumental in ensuring that the significance of these challenges and threats was reflected in NATOs new strategic concept and was consistent with NATOs broader 360-degree approach.

Southern European countries have since maintained pressure on NATOs international staff to have clearer deliverables or actionable plans to ensure the alliances enduring interest in its southern neighbourhoods. This eventually led the North Atlantic Council to commission an independent group of experts to formulate a set of political guidelines, centered around NATO's objectives and potential roles in these neighborhoods, at the 2023 Vilnius summit. A group of 11 independent experts was appointed on October 6, 2023. The reports recommendations should be discussed ahead of the July 2024 Washington summit, during which some decisions should be made on the matter.

Q3: What are the key takeaways from the report?

A3: The experts paint a grim picture of the security environment in this broad area. They assess that the challenges of the southern flank are increasingly interconnected with those of the east, by way of Russia, and that the security of allies is closely intertwined with that of the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel, and the Gulf of Guinea region. A novel aspect of the report is its focus not only on threats and risks but also on opportunities (a term that appears 16 times).

The report suggests a change in semantics when referring to the region, and it coins the term southern neighborhoods, with a final s, to better reflect the diversity of the subregions, each with unique political landscapes requiring tailored approaches. A crucial emphasis is placed on the need to listen, engage, and better understand the southern neighborhoods. The report insists that this must be a two-way process involving political dialogue, credibility, trust, and coherence. The southern neighborhoods must also gain a deeper understanding of NATO, given the existing negative perceptions of the organization. According to the report, NATO needs to undertake internal efforts to simplify processes and enhance transparency, thereby improving its image among neighboring regions.

The report tackles the vast region through two angles. First, the report employs a geographic lens, offering recommendations for short-, medium-, and long-term actions in the three regions of strategic interest: North Africa, the Middle East, and the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa. Second, it examines thematic areas of cooperation such as human security; women, peace, and security; counterterrorism; maritime security; climate change; public diplomacy and strategic communications; and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

The key recommendations of the report can be broken down into three categories.

The first category includes some institutional measures, such as the appointment of a special envoy for the southern neighborhood, the convening of a special summit meeting with all of NATOs southern partners, or the establishment of NATO political representation within the African Union. It is also noteworthy that, in the context of the war in Gaza, the paper proposes that NATO invites the Palestinian Authority to observe or participate in NATOs ongoing Mediterranean Dialogue activities, in accordance with existing practices.

Second, the report makes recommendations related to concrete cooperation, notably in terms of training and capacity building, building on the experience of NM-I, which could be replicated to the benefit of other partners. The report also emphasizes the potential for maritime security cooperation and cooperation on resilience, including via the establishment of resilience advisory support teams.

Finally, special attention is given to information and communication, mutual knowledge, and civil society engagement. The report suggests setting up a Counter-FIMI Centre of Excellence and a permanent Facts for Peace initiative, as well as promoting youth engagement.

Relatively absent from the report, however, is a thorough analysis of interallied relations and dynamics regarding engagements toward the southern neighborhoods. While the report hints at risks of dispersion and duplications, it glosses over the competition and sometimes tensions among alliance members who have conflicting interests in some theatres, such as Libya, Syria, Iraq, or West Africa.

Q4: How might NATO go about implementing the reports recommendations?

A4: NATO should be careful; the Wests overreliance on security approaches to advance its own counterterror interests has been, at best, insufficient, and at worst counterproductive. For NATO to rebuild those relations, it first should demonstrate that it is genuinely interested in long-term partnerships that will deliver net benefits to African and Middle Eastern stateswhat their leaders regularly call win-win arrangements.It would do well to take a holistic approach to advancing its objectives: focusing on helping to develop state capacity and civic institutions, in close coordination with the European Union and the United Nations, which remain the best equipped in these fields.

Special attention should be given to strategic communication. In 2021, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenbergs unconcerted announcement of a troop surge for NM-I, increasing its personnel from 500 up to 4,000, sparked outrage in Iraq. This announcement, which came one year after the adoption of a resolution by the Iraqi Parliament calling for the departure of all foreign troops, was widely exploited by pro-Iranian groups. Heeding the lessons learned, NM-I has embarked on a course correction, emphasizing in its communication a steadfast commitment to Iraqi sovereignty and a close partnership with the Iraqi government, which is currently led by parties aligned with Tehran. The faux pas highlights the importance of tailoring communication strategies to local contexts and political sensitivities, in Iraq and elsewhere.

Some elements of the report show a real effort to move toward a demand-driven, cooperative approach that factors in local contexts. It notably underlines the need for navigating non-exclusivity, hinting at many partners wariness of being drawn into a geopolitical struggle and their willingness to maintain cooperation with NATOs strategic competitors. The reports emphasis on inclusivity and broader engagement with parliaments, media, civil society and youth, as well as scholars and think tankers, is certainly moving in the right direction. Ultimately, its a strong and engaged civil society that is the best antidote to Russian and other competitors meddling, terrorist recruitment, and military rule.

Mathieu Droin is a visiting fellow with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Carlota Garca Encina is a senior associate (non-resident) with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at CSIS. Cameron Hudson is a senior fellow in the Africa Program at CSIS. Selin Uysal is a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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NATO and Its South: Redefining the Terms - CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Cavoli's assessment comes from very close contact with our Ukrainian colleagues, and I'm confident that they that they will hold the line, he added.

Despite Russia pressing along the frontlines with Ukraine, and recently launching an attack near Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv, Cavoli said he was uncertain that this was Moscow's full-scale summer offensive.

What we don't see is large, large numbers of reserves being generated someplace," he said.

Cavoli added that it's difficult to know if Russia's effort has run out of gas. "Whether an offensive is stopped or not takes a little bit of time to figure out," he said.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the U.S. Congress agreeing on a $61 billion military aid package for Kyiv after months of delay, Ukrainians are right now being shipped vast amounts of ammunition, vast amounts of short range air defense systems and significant amounts of armored vehicles," he said.

Although Russia failed in its bid to overwhelm Ukraine, it should not be underestimated. In the more than two years of fighting, Russia has improved in areas such as logistics and industrial production where they are actually moving forward faster thanwe in Europe and in North America, Admiral Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said at the same press conference.

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Top NATO commander: Russia's offensive won't succeed - POLITICO Europe