NATO military chiefs met on Wednesday to plan for the July leaders’ summit in the Lithuanian city of Vilnius.
The officials will examine new regional plans that “provide a much more precise requirement for what is needed to help transform our militaries,” according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in his opening remarks.
“Allies will know exactly what forces and capabilities are needed, including where, what, and how to deploy,” he continued, referring to the new arrangements that are anticipated to be ratified by NATO leaders in July.
According to Adm. Rob Bauer, leader of the NATO Military Committee, these “geographically specific plans describe how we will defend key and relevant places in our alliance against” the challenges of Russia and terrorism.
“For the first time since the end of the Cold War, we will have objective, threat-based capability targets to offer nations,” Bauer added.
Stoltenberg expressed hope that NATO leaders will show “political courage” in adopting reforms at the Vilnius summit, as the alliance must “redouble” its efforts to keep its 1 billion citizens safe and uphold the rules-based international order as it prepares for a “more dangerous future.”
“High-intensity warfare is back in Europe; global competition is rising, authoritarian regimes are challenging our values, interests, and security,” he said, adding that climate change and terrorism are also big challenges.
To tackle new challenges, NATO leaders should agree on a new defense investment pledge that includes a minimum investment of 2% of GDP, according to Stoltenberg.
Furthermore, he stated that he wants leaders to “endorse the new NATO defense production action plan” in order to increase investment and manufacturing capacity in the allied countries.