NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg set out his priorities for the upcoming Madrid Summit during a speech on Wednesday (22 June 2022). Speaking at an event organised by Politico, Mr Stoltenberg said: “We will take decisions to strengthen our Alliance, and keep it agile in this more dangerous world.”
The Secretary General explained that NATO would strengthen its defences, agree a new Strategic Concept, and strengthen its support to Ukraine and other partners at risk. On Sweden and Finland’s historic decisions to apply for NATO membership, Mr Stoltenberg said: “We are now working actively on the next steps in the accession process of both Finland and Sweden and addressing Türkiye’s security concerns, including in the fight against terrorism. My aim is to find a common way forward so that both countries can join our Alliance as soon as possible.”
Mr Stoltenberg said that in Madrid, Allies would recommit to the pledge made in 2014 to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence. He highlighted the progress that had been made with greater burden-sharing across the whole Alliance: “We must continue to invest more. And invest more together in NATO.”