Opening remarks

by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers’ session with EU Partners

  • 22 Oct. 2021 -
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  • Last updated: 22 Oct. 2021 10:44

(As delivered)

Welcome to this informal working session.
And a very warm welcome to our close partners from Finland, Sweden and the European Union.

We share the same values and face the same challenges. Together we make the Euro-Atlantic region more secure and more stable.

In recent years, Finland, Sweden and NATO have developed ways to make sure we can work together in a crisis. So that our forces are able to operate and communicate with each other quickly and securely. Our forces exercise together. And we conduct a regular political dialogue at all levels.

Since 2014, we have been able to lift NATO-EU cooperation to unprecedented levels.

Today, NATO and the EU are working closer together in many areas.

Sharing real-time information on cyberattacks and disinformation. Addressing illegal migration in the Aegean. Cooperating closely to bring peace and stability to the Western Balkan region.