Hugh Elliott*
Updated Thursday, April 4, 2024-14:36
NATO, is it still necessary?
It has been 75 years
since what has become the most successful defensive alliance in history emerged from the
ashes of World War II
: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In 1949, 12
countries in Europe and North America united
, leaving behind two terrible world wars in just 30 years, and created a political and military organization that
guaranteed the freedom and security of its members
. Currently, 32 countries are part of this alliance, including Spain and the United Kingdom.
In its more than seven decades of life, NATO has helped
defend democracy and prosperity
across the European continent. More than one billion people live protected and protected by a fundamental principle: an attack on one of the member countries is an attack on the entire alliance.
And yes:
NATO is more necessary than ever
. We have
a war on our borders
, caused by Russia's illegal, premeditated and barbaric invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. When Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he said he wanted less NATO; Well, what he has achieved is an alliance that is stronger, more united and, with the recent entry of Finland and Sweden, larger than ever.
Ukraine must prevail
The Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and security, with their rights respected and protected in accordance with the UN Charter. To achieve this goal, the
United Kingdom, Spain and the other members of this
defensive alliance have committed to
providing you with the practical support you need
. Our support will remain firm, and for as long as necessary.
Ukraine is not only defending its right to exist as a sovereign and democratic country; He is
defending the right of all nations to live in freedom
, without fear of aggression. In this sense, I am very proud of my Government's response, with clear and unwavering political support for Ukraine, backed by a military, economic and humanitarian contribution of €14 billion, including a training program for Ukrainian soldiers on British soil. which already exceeds 34,000 soldiers.
At the last annual summit of the Alliance, held last year in the capital of Lithuania, it was agreed to bring Ukraine closer to NATO. Regular meetings have already been established between the two in a Council. Because as my Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has said, Ukraine's deserved place is in the Alliance.
Challenges
We live in a complex world, with increasingly interrelated global challenges and continuous technological advances. For NATO to successfully deter its adversaries, it must continue
to transform and address the challenges
posed by cyber,
hybrid threats
, space,
artificial intelligence
, disinformation, terrorism, and interference in our societies, such as we have seen in Spain and the United Kingdom, with murders of Russian citizens.
We must also
continue to invest in defense
and strengthen our industrial capacity. In 2014, the UK pushed for the target of spending 2% of GDP on defence, and has consistently met it ever since. In this sense, it is important to highlight the intention expressed by the Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, to maintain the course towards 2%, we hope it will be as soon as possible.
At the Madrid summit, NATO gave the green light to a new deterrence model to be able to
mobilize 300,000 soldiers in the shortest possible time
. Reserves of ammunition and military material will also be increased. For all this,
a strong industrial base
is needed
. At last year's summit, NATO agreed on a
Defense Production Action Plan
. We must put this into practice, sending clear signals of demand to the industry and encouraging it to be more agile. We must invest more, faster and more creatively, and reduce barriers to cooperation. UK-led multinational sourcing initiatives offer a way to do this quickly and cost-effectively.
At the same time, NATO can only be effectively transformed if we strengthen our alliances, from those in our closest neighborhood, the Middle East, to our already close ones in the Indo-Pacific. In this more conflict-ridden and less secure world, our global network of alliances and partnerships is more important than ever.
Having provided peace and security in Europe and North America for the last 75 years, the partner countries and allies in NATO are determined and prepared to
protect our citizens for another 75 years
.
*Hugh Elliott, ambassador of the United Kingdom to Spain