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(As delivered)
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
Madam Deputy Secretary General, you're just coming out of the North Atlantic Council. We've heard the Secretary General speak, and I'm just very curious, what was the atmosphere like in the room?
Radmila Shekerinska, NATO Deputy Secretary General
Well, first, good afternoon, and please bear with me if I'm a bit breathless, but it has been a roller coaster these last few weeks, and today was very similar. We have had a great Summit. We used to say that Summits are historic, but this is really a Summit that will go down in history as an opportunity that was seized by 32 Allies. We have had a successful Summit in which 32 leaders of Allied nations agreed that the strong transatlantic bond is as important as ever, and all 32 Allies have committed to all our responsibilities, with regards to defence spending, with regards to our defence and deterrence and with a clear, clear commitment that we will make our capability targets a reality by spending 5% of our GDP. So, if you have asked us about 5% just last year, would many of you, many of us in the room, be as optimistic? Probably not. And this is why I really believe that we have arguments when we say that this is a historic Summit, and this has been a very, very successful meeting of Allied leaders.
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
Historic Summit, the Summit declaration has just come out. I'm sure people in the room are now frantically looking at their phones trying to dissect it. Thankfully, it's a little bit shorter than it was last year, so it's not too extensive. But what should we look out for? Can you give us some pointers as we're trying to read and understand the Summit declaration?
Radmila Shekerinska, NATO Deputy Secretary General
You know, we really wanted a Summit where we will see transatlantic action and not just words. And I think that the leaders have been extremely efficient in showing this transatlantic action. We have been discussing defence spending for so long, and there were different views, but there was a very clear understanding since the beginning that we are facing unprecedented threats. I mean, the war has returned to Europe. Russian aggression is not stopping, the escalation in the Middle East, the connections and the support that Russia has been getting from North Korea, China is a key enabler, the drones coming from Iran. All this is painting a very, very dangerous picture for the global security environment, and what leaders have agreed is that this kind of a threat has to be addressed with a really very resolute action. And what we have agreed is to back up our words, that we consider the threat real, that we consider it very serious, and we are ready to do something about this with action. And this action was to create and agree on a target of 5% of GDP defence and defence related spending. This, as you have already heard, this will contain two elements. One is the 3.5% of GDP going to the capability targets, so very much core military expenditure, and the 1.5% of GDP going to issues which are equally important for our readiness, also for supporting our industrial base, and for really preparing us to meet this challenge. And there was a certain sequencing. I mean, I'm not saying that the Summit was an isolated decision made by 32 Allies. We have had a preparatory work. It was months ago when we agreed to not our plan, but our plans how to protect the Alliance, and then, based on these plans, our planners have developed the capability targets. And these targets were, from the start, very demanding, on average 30% higher than last ones. And we also had to make up for some of the lost time. And all these capability targets were already accepted by ministers of defence a few weeks ago. So this is a Summit where leaders have agreed that those capability targets will be translated into reality, because this is our goal. We need the money, but this money has to end in concrete capability targets and the right war fighting readiness that Allies need to protect the Alliance. And I think the discussions that we have had on defence spending, but also on boosting defence production, which was practically the other forum we had on industry, are equally important. This is a signal to industry, but we are also saying to the industry, we will spend more, but we will need these capabilities faster. We need to spend better, spend in a more innovative way. So, we need a combination of innovation and the typical military capabilities, and it is only this way that we can make our commitment turn into real deterrence and defence. And I think that the signal is read very clearly, not only by our industry, not only by our decision makers, but also by our adversaries, who will see that whatever it takes to make this Alliance safe and secure, whatever it takes to invest in the security of our 1 billion citizens, we are going to make it, and we are making it.
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
So, there's an agreement, but now leaders will go home and they'll take with them a shopping list. What are the top three items on that shopping list?
Radmila Shekerinska, NATO Deputy Secretary General
Well, yeah, leaders will go with a huge responsibility, but this is the responsibility that they have committed to. And of course, as the Secretary General mentioned, the list on capabilities that we need, significantly higher than what we have now, is clear and it's not short. I mean, we were already talking about five times more air and missile defence. Five times. We are talking about additional warships, additional aircrafts, a lot, millions of ammunition, and we are talking about drones. So, every nation will have capabilities that are, how can I say, rational for them, but rather ambitious. And this is the signal that they will send, also to their defence industry, but more importantly, to the transatlantic defence industry. And our goal today through the discussion was also, how do we make sure that this increase in the demand creates capabilities at scale in time. We don't want to see capabilities being scheduled for ten plus years. So, this is why our dialog with defence industry has been extremely important. And this is, in a way, a partnership that will bring dividends, because the defence industry has seen this readiness, but I think they also waited for the Summit. I mean, there were announcements, there were promises, there was optimism, but it ain't over until it's over. Well, the good thing about the Summit is that now we have the commitment of all 32 Allies that the capability targets that were agreed with a 5% defence spending are a done deal. Now, according to Secretary General, we focus on the second, equally important phase, and this is deliver, deliver, deliver. And we expect this delivery from, of course, Allies, but also from defence industry.
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
And leaders will have to take along their national audiences, because sharp and difficult political decisions will have to be taken about money, about a lot of money. What's your advice to NATO's leaders when they have to translate these plans and policies into action at home?
Radmila Shekerinska, NATO Deputy Secretary General
These are all very seasoned politicians and leaders. It is sometimes difficult to come up with additional advice, but I remember my small experience in terms of budget, but percentages are equally painful for everyone. When I was elected Defence Minister of North Macedonia, we had defence spending below 1%. So, we devised a plan, and in practically less than a year, we doubled our defence spending for core military expenses, basically for our capability targets. And if a country, small and with many challenges, can do it, then others can do it as well. But I think what is necessary is leadership and commitment. And I think what worked, in case of at least my time as a Minister of Defence, and I heard many leaders mention it here, is the message that we are all sending. That we are not doing this for NATO, for Secretary General, for our leader. We are doing this because we know that the threat is real and it will not go away. And we are doing this as an investment in our security. Yes, we have lived, or many of us have lived with peace dividend for quite some time, but some of us have also lived through war. And we know that the moment when you lose peace, when you see your security go down the drain, everything becomes nothing. So, security comes sometimes with a price. Nobody wants to spend more than necessary. But we have all agreed some time ago that what has happened in 2014, what has happened in 2022, was a last alarm. And we have the responsibility to answer with commitment, with courage and with leadership, and this is what the 5% are all about.
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
Still, it will be hard. And there have been leaders that have admitted it will be difficult. How is the Secretary General, how is NATO together keeping the pressure on?
Radmila Shekerinska, NATO Deputy Secretary General
If it was easy, it would have been done already, many years ago. So, everyone knows that this is a very ambitious target. But it's realistic, as many leaders have said, it's necessary, so sometimes you don't argue with necessities. We will engage with all Allies. We will continue our regular patterns of consultation, discussions on capability targets. We will receive the reports by Allies. But what we also spoke a lot about, especially with industry and with Ministers of Defence. We have to act quickly, we have to spend more, we have to spend better. We also have to spend together, because some of these expenses and some of these capabilities will be slightly easier, and they will be more innovative in the implementation, and they will really prepare us not for the wars of yesterday, but for the wars of tomorrow and today, if we do them jointly. So doing all these things together, I think this was the big, strong message from the Summit. That 32 Allies have made decisions on difficult and important issues because they're aware of the threat, they're aware of the responsibility, and they're aware that only together, so United States, Canada, European Allies, we can continue to provide the security that we have been providing for 75 years.
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
Just a quick question on Ukraine, because we've heard the Secretary General say, Ukraine has our continued support. We stand by Ukraine on this irreversible path to membership. But then many people are also a bit disappointed, and they say there just hasn't been enough discussion on Ukraine during this Summit and with Ukraine during the Summit. How do you view this? You also were there last night when there was the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.
Radmila Shekerinska, NATO Deputy Secretary General
I have heard some of the concerns and the criticism before the Summit, but I think that the Summit has actually given the right response that the concern should not be there, and that the criticism was not justified. We had just one session at 32 leaders, at the level of leaders, and there was a lot of discussion also about Ukraine. And we have had a separate meeting yesterday, at a NUC level, with the Minister Sybiha. We have had Ukrainian President at the leader’s event yesterday with all the Allied leaders. So, at the session yesterday, we have had a very long, very open and very constructive debate on Ukraine. And I can say, based on everything that I have heard, I have chaired the meeting, there was a very strong feeling of consensus. Commitment to Ukraine, commitment to just and durable peace, which is what Ukrainians wish for and aspire for even more than anyone in this hall. There was a strong commitment to continue with the military support to Ukraine, because they need it, because Russia clearly is not interested in peace, not even in ceasefire. And we see this every night in Kyiv. We see it across Ukraine. So, we need this military assistance to continue, in order to make Ukraine stronger, in order for them to be able to negotiate from a position of strength. But also, we are making this as a long-term investment, because we want a Ukraine, sovereign, independent, that is capable of deterring Russia in the future. Only this will guarantee a just and durable peace. And as you have heard also, NATO Secretary General, actually the military support for just the first five months of this year, coming from European Allies and Canada, has exceeded 35 billion, which is more than what we did last year in the first half of the year. So, there is a commitment, and as the declaration confirms, our security is entirely, depends on Ukraine's security. And we see this as an important element when we talk about our own deterrence and defence.
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
As a final question, because unfortunately, we need to wrap up. If you were to summarise this Summit in one word, what would it be?
Radmila Shekerinska, NATO Deputy Secretary General
A success. A historic success. Secretary General would have said, a splash. Yeah, I'm just trying to go back in time, not two months, two weeks. So much scepticism was around us. Most of this coming from really well intended individuals and all of us, everyone was concerned. It's a very difficult commitment that we have made. This is why there was some concern. But it is in times like this, when the going gets tough, this Alliance gets going.
Anna van Zoest, Director of the Netherlands Atlantic Association
Madam Deputy Secretary General, thank you so much.
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