Joint press conference

Thank you so much Prime Minister, dear Mark,

It’s great to be back in Den Haag and it’s always great to meet you.

And we just finished good discussions on a wide range of different issues but let me start by thanking you and the Netherlands for the many contributions you are making to our shared security and to our collective defence.

More than two hundred and fifty Dutch soldiers are part of the NATO battlegroup in Lithuania.

And next year, you will together with Germany and Norway lead our Very High Readiness Joint Task Force.

We also welcome the many contributions you are making to help NATO project stability beyond our borders, not least in Afghanistan where you continue to support our train, advice and assist mission.

Mission in Afghanistan. 

Thank you also very much for what you do in Iraq, where Dutch instructors help to train Iraqi forces, help them to stabilize their own country and to fight Daesh.

And in Iraq, as well, your contribution to our training effort is greatly appreciated.

I would also like to commend you for the strong focus that the Netherlands always have had on issues related to how our Alliance is working, on transparency, the 

effectiveness and accountability of the Alliance.

And last but not least I would like to mention the strong support of your government to stronger NATO-EU cooperation. And on that we have made a lot of progress over the last years.

Today we discussed how the Alliance shall continue to adapt to a more demanding security environment, with a more assertive Russia, but also with all the turmoil and violence that we see to the South of the Alliance.

And the strength of NATO is that we have been able to change when the world is changing and at our Summit in July we will make decisions that make sure that NATO continues to adapt when the world is changing. That’s about strengthening our collective defence and deterrence, it’s about projecting stability beyond our borders, and it’s about further strengthening [inaudible].

We are facing the biggest security challenges in a generation. We have to keep our nations safe and that means investing in our defence.

I welcome that the Netherlands are investing in high-end capabilities such as F-35 aircraft, as well as new warships and submarines.

At the NATO Summit in 2014, all Allies agreed to stop the cuts, gradually increase and move towards spending 2% of GDP on defence.

The Netherlands is increasing defence spending but it is necessary to do more.

There is a clear expectation that all Allies should reach the 2% target, this is about the credibility of our Alliance, and it is about fair burden sharing between Allies.

As you mentioned we also discussed Syria.

We cannot accept the normalisation of the use of chemical weapons.

We condemn their use. 

And we must do everything we can to ensure that the international ban on chemical weapons is upheld, not undermined.

NATO has expressed its support for the action carried out by 3 NATO Allies, the US, the UK and France in response to the use of chemical weapons.

And NATO strongly supports the efforts by the United Nations to achieve a lasting political solution to the conflict in Syria.

So once again, thank you for hosting me. And thank you for your strong personal commitment to the Alliance.

Thank you.