Status: 06/29/2022 2:59 p.m
The NATO countries have decided on a new strategic concept – among other things, a significant reinforcement of the eastern flank was approved. In addition, the process of admitting Finland and Sweden has officially started.
At their summit in Madrid, the heads of state and government of the 30 NATO countries decided on a new strategic concept for the military alliance. This was confirmed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the first working session. In the basic document for political and military planning, Russia is described as the “greatest and most immediate threat to the security of the allies and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area”, China as a challenge.
The new strategic concept replaces the previous version from 2010. At that time, the Allies had still hoped that the time of great tensions with Russia was over and banked on a “real strategic partnership” with the country.
Decided to reinforce the eastern flank
According to the dpa news agency, given Russia’s war against Ukraine, it was decided to significantly strengthen the eastern flank. In addition, the heads of state and government approved a new armed forces model. It envisages keeping more than 300,000 soldiers on high operational readiness in the future. The previous rapid NATO reaction force NRF is to be replaced by the new armed forces model. It only has a size of around 40,000 soldiers.
The alliance also paved the way for Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance. The heads of state and government issued the official invitation for the two countries to join, according to the summit declaration. After weeks of negotiations, Turkey had previously given up its resistance to the alliance’s northern expansion.