Deputy Secretary General Geoană addresses the European Defence Agency Annual Conference

Speaking at the European Defence Agency Annual Conference on 4 December, the NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said that sustaining European defence is very important for NATO because European defence is “inextricably linked to transatlantic defence”.

“In recent years, the level of NATO-EU cooperation has reached unprecedented levels. We are working together on so many issues. From improving military mobility and countering hybrid and cyber threats and countering disinformation together – we have done this during the pandemic very successfully – to coordinating our exercises or improving our strategic communications”, he said.

Stressing that NATO and the European Union should work “even closer together”, Mr. Geoană noted that NATO is already delivering on the Emerging and Disruptive Technology Implementation Roadmap that NATO leaders agreed in London, when they last met in December 2019.

“I think we can do and should do more when it comes to new technologies and the way in which these technologies are affecting, not only defence and security, but also the way of life. Because the definition of security is becoming far more multifaceted. The line between traditional threats and non-traditional threats is becoming more blurred”, he said.

Highlighting the importance of “a very close and complimentary cooperation between NATO and the EU”, he said that “It is good that EU is becoming more ambitious on defence and security”. He noted that today 80% of defence spending in NATO is done by non-EU countries and that 90% of the population of the EU is also population of NATO countries. “So we are, in a way, obliged to work together”, he said.