Opening remarks
by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Foreign Ministers session
(As delivered)
Good morning and welcome to this second day of our meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers. And it is a pleasure to have the EU High Representative with us today. A warm welcome, dear Kaja.
The European Union is stepping up its efforts on defence in a major way, and I think we all welcome that.
The EU's new White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030 was a major milestone, and we now look forward to further close cooperation in its implementation. The EU is also aiming to play a bigger role in supporting Ukraine. In a more dangerous world, we must all do our fair share.
At the same time, continued US commitment to our strong transatlantic Alliance remains the bedrock of our security. So today, I look forward to discussing how we can further strengthen the bond between Europe and North America and make NATO into a stronger, fairer and more lethal Alliance at our Summit in the Hague.
Thank you to the media for joining us. We will now continue our discussions in just a moment.