Brussels, 10 January 2023
Dear Jens, dear Charles,
I will never forget the 24 February of last year, when the three of us were standing here the day that Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine. It was a very strong signal of unity and determination. And with the same unity and determination, we are here today again for the joint statement. The eyes of the world were locked on Ukraine’s Eastern front last year when Russia started the war. But they were also looking at us here in Brussels, scrutinising our preparation and our reactions. And that day, the world saw how strongly united we were, and we still are; together, in support of the Ukrainian people but also against Russia’s imperial war. Since then, our unity and resolve have only grown stronger.
Of course, we have already been very close partners before Russia’s brutal war, so we have been testing and coordinating our crisis responses through many exercises we have had together. We have increased our cooperation against cyberattacks, for better military mobility, to fight disinformation; or by addressing the hybrid attacks against Latvia, Poland and Lithuania organised by the Lukashenko regime. I remember a joint travel to the region with you, Jens. Due to the times we are living in, we know that we have to strengthen and now deepen this more than 20-year-old partnership. Because Europe’s security is challenged and it is under threat. This is also reflected in the wish of Sweden and Finland to join NATO. We very much look forward to Sweden and Finland becoming NATO members soon. It is also reflected in Denmark’s abolishment of the opt-out clause related to EU defence. All this shows we are aware of the challenge, but we are able to stand up against it.
The Russian threats and challenges are the most immediate, but they are not the only ones. We also witness China increasingly attempting to reshape the international order to its benefits. So we must bolster our own resilience. With this new Joint Declaration, we are also taking our partnership to the next level. We will deepen our excellent cooperation and expand it to new areas. I would like to look at four of them very briefly.
The first one is that we will further intensify our work on countering hybrid threats and cyber threats as well as terrorism. We already have a close cooperation, but we want to broaden and deepen it.
The second is: We will step up cooperation on emerging and disruptive technology and space. We already do a lot together, but we can do much more.
The third domain is: We will address the looming security implication of the climate crisis. It sounds a bit far away, but we are fully aware that with the climate crisis and the extreme weather events, like droughts and floods, we see more and more the creation of instability with all the consequences of poverty, unrest, instability of entire regions. Therefore, this is also a point of focus for us together.
And the fourth point: Of course, we will strengthen our resilience. The resilience of our societies against malign foreign interference to manipulate information. And crucially, the resilience of our critical infrastructure against all types of attack. The Nord Stream sabotage has shown that we need to take more responsibility for the security of our network infrastructure. There too, we are aware that the individual countries are responsible for the security of this infrastructure. And for sure, we will not share vulnerabilities. But following best practices, experiences, this is a field where we can work closer together and where we will intensify the cooperation.
The European Union will keep doing everything in its power to support the brave people of Ukraine. We will keep the pressure on the Kremlin for as long as it takes, with a biting sanctions regime. We will extend these sanctions to those who militarily support Russia’s war such as Belarus or Iran. And we will be coming forward with new sanctions against Belarus, answering Belarus’ role in this Russian war in Ukraine. We will continue our substantial humanitarian, economic and security assistance to Ukraine as long as it is necessary. And of course, there is the topic of boosting European defence capabilities as laid out in the Strategic Compass. For that, we all know that we now need to ramp up the production capacity of our defence industry. And we need to coordinate the replenishment of military equipment.
On all these topics, I look forward to working with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. And of course, we will discuss this and much more tomorrow with you, Jens, when you will be visiting the College.
Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation, 10 January 2023
Brussels, 10 January 2023
- The NATO-EU strategic partnership is founded on our shared values, our determination to tackle common challenges and our unequivocal commitment to promote and safeguard peace, freedom and prosperity in the Euro-Atlantic area.
- Today, we are faced with the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades. Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine violates international law and the principles of the UN Charter. It undermines European and global security and stability. Russia’s war has exacerbated a food and energy crisis affecting billions of people around the world.
- We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s aggression. Russia must immediately stop this war and withdraw from Ukraine. We express our full solidarity with Ukraine and reiterate our unwavering and continued support for its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We fully support Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defence and to choose its own destiny.
- Authoritarian actors challenge our interests, values and democratic principles using multiple means – political, economic, technological and military.
- We live in an era of growing strategic competition. China’s growing assertiveness and policies present challenges that we need to address.
- Persistent conflict, fragility and instability in our European neighbourhood undermine our security and provide fertile ground for strategic competitors, as well as terrorist groups, to gain influence, destabilise societies and pose a threat to our security.
- As underlined by both the NATO Strategic Concept and the EU Strategic Compass, this is a key juncture for Euro-Atlantic security and stability, more than ever demonstrating the importance of the transatlantic bond, calling for closer EU-NATO cooperation.
- NATO remains the foundation of collective defence for its Allies and essential for Euro Atlantic security. We recognise the value of a stronger and more capable European defence that contributes positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to, and interoperable with NATO.
- Our mutually reinforcing strategic partnership contributes to strengthening security in Europe and beyond. NATO and the EU play complementary, coherent and mutually reinforcing roles in supporting international peace and security. We will further mobilize the combined set of instruments at our disposal, be they political, economic or military, to pursue our common objectives to the benefit of our one billion citizens.
- Building on the 2016 Warsaw Joint Declaration and the 2018 Brussels Joint Declaration, which significantly expanded the breadth and depth of our partnership established more than twenty years ago, we have achieved unprecedented progress across all areas of cooperation.
- We have reached tangible results in countering hybrid and cyber threats, operational cooperation including maritime issues, military mobility, defence capabilities, defence industry and research, exercises, counter terrorism, and capacity-building of partners.
- As the security threats and challenges we are confronted with are evolving in scope and magnitude, we will take our partnership to the next level on the basis of our long-standing cooperation. We will further strengthen our cooperation in existing areas, and expand and deepen our cooperation to address in particular the growing geostrategic competition, resilience issues, protection of critical infrastructures, emerging and disruptive technologies, space, the security implications of climate change, as well as foreign information manipulation and interference.
- In signing this declaration we will take the NATO-EU partnership forward in close consultation and cooperation with all NATO Allies and EU Member States, in the spirit of full mutual openness and in compliance with the decision-making autonomy of our respective organisations and without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defence policy of any of our members. In this context, we view transparency as crucial. We encourage the fullest possible involvement of the NATO Allies that are not members of the EU in its initiatives. We encourage the fullest possible involvement of the EU members that are not part of the Alliance in its initiatives.
- We will assess progress on a regular basis.
Source – EU Council