Joint press statement

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Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General at Geilenkirchen

Good afternoon. Herr Minister-President, Lieber Hendrik. Major General Korb, dear Andreas, thank you for welcoming me to Geilenkirchen today, and it's a pleasure to be here in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Here in Geilenkirchen you host NATO's Airborne Warning and Control Force, the AWACS. The men and women of this air base are doing a crucial job. They are NATO's eyes in the sky, making sure we are prepared to face any threat that might come our way. They play a key role in enabling our deterrence and defence, and I want to thank them all for the work they are doing here.

And in North Rhine-Westphalia, you do not only host our AWACS, your state Hendrik, is also playing a wider part in ensuring NATO's defence and future readiness. You are the German home of the 1^st German-Netherlands corps, an exemplary multinational effort, and also part of NATO's high readiness forces. Every day, the soldiers there are proving how we work together to make sure that our Alliance remains safe. And you’re home to many important defence companies. Strengthening our defence industry and increasing production are top priorities for NATO.

At our historic summit in The Hague, Allies agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defence, and now we need to make sure that we deliver, spending and investing that money promptly and effectively. We are already accelerating our production. And companies in North Rhine-Westphalia are at the forefront of this effort. I want to thank you, Hendrik, for the contributions your Bundesland is making to NATO and our shared security.

And dear Major General, again, I want to express my deep gratitude for what you are doing here in Geilenkirchen to make sure that NATO always stays at least one step ahead of our adversaries.

Thank you for that.

Question from Journalist

There is a debate going on in Germany at this moment on reintroducing compulsory military service. What is your opinion on it? Is it necessary?

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General

Each country decides for themselves how to deal with the question of getting enough men and women into the military. But I'm very happy to hear that the coalition here in Germany has now agreed, as I understand it, on a way forward, and that is very important, that there is a political agreement, political ‘Einigung’, and I think you have achieved it now in the Berlin coalition. So, it's up to each nation how to deal with this. But obviously, as NATO Secretary General, I'm always happy when decisions are taken to get more people involved in our military.

Question in Dutch from Journalist

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General

Your question is about the replacement of the AWACS machines and obviously, the planes need to be replaced, that's clear. So that process is ongoing, and I will do everything to make sure that we speed up that process. It is important that we speed it up. I have the highest respect for all the technicians working here within the whole AWACS mission to make sure that these planes fly safely. They are our ears and also, let's say, our eyes when it comes to protecting NATO airspace. So my, all my admiration, for them, but we want, of course, for them to have the latest technologies, and also, for that reason, I will do everything I can to speed up that decision making process.