The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding yesterday in Brussels. Then it was made up of twelve members. Now there are thirty-two. The last to enter were Sweden and Finland. And what could be number 33, Ukraine, remains waiting. The Alliance yesterday blew out the candles with the warning that it is necessary to maintain unity and with the awareness that the United States and Europe continue to need each other.
The Alliance was signed in a world different from the current one and its members expanded as the Cold War, its great reason for existing, also progressed. But the more the accusations of being an organization that no longer had direction intensified, the war in Ukraine has meant a drastic change for the organization. It has admitted two historically neutral countries bringing all of Northern Europe into the organization.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asked allies to preserve unity with the message that the United States and Europe, if they join forces, are always stronger. “European allies bring world-class militaries, vast intelligence that works, and unique diplomatic influence that multiplies American power,” he said. As a result, the United States “has more friends and more allies than any other great power.”
“I do not believe in the United States alone,” the Norwegian politician continued, “just as I do not believe in a Europe alone. I believe in the United States and Europe together in NATO, because together we are stronger and safer,” defended Stoltenberg on what will, predictably, be his last anniversary as Secretary General.
Jens Stoltenberg also recalled the role of the alliance not only in the years of the cold war, with the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 or the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He also highlighted its role during “the brutal ethnic conflicts in the Balkans”, in reference to his intervention in Serbia in 1999 to prevent a genocide in Kosovo, as was argued, but which was not always well understood. Later, with the attacks of 9/11 in 2001, Article 5 of collective defense was activated for the first time. In memory of that event, there is a piece of the twin towers in the organization's new headquarters, in Brussels.
The ceremony was held at NATO headquarters, which included a chocolate cake with the organization's logo and the original Washington Treaty, which for the first time traveled expressly from the North American capital to Brussels, escorted and heavily guarded. . It also featured music from the royal orchestras of the Belgian Air Force and the Dutch Navy, who played the Alliance anthem. Before, they paid tribute to those who died in NATO missions.
But the celebration was restrained, with a war in Europe for two years, and with the warning that this conflict represents an existential threat to the continent, there was not much room for great fanfare. Ukraine has been patiently waiting for its turn for years, hoping to have a formal invitation for which there is still no date. The lack of preparation by Alliance standards and the obvious current conflict make this difficult.
Ukraine and other nearby countries hope that this rapprochement will materialize at the July summit in Washington. The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, expressed confidence that the country “will be a member of NATO.” “Our goal is to create a bridge for their entry at the summit,” he said. The foreign ministers met yesterday at the NATO-Ukraine Council, attended by their Ukrainian counterpart, Dimitro Kuleba, who requested more Patriot (North American) missile defense systems in the face of constant attacks from Russia and the fear that a new campaign in spring. "I don't want to spoil the anniversary party, but my main message today will be: Patriots, because saving Ukrainian lives, saving the Ukrainian economy, saving Ukrainian cities, depends on the capacity of the Patriot and other air defense systems," he said. the minister
The request, as confirmed after the meeting by Kuleba and Stoltenberg himself, the allies are willing to comply with. The Norwegian advanced that countries “will look at their inventories or if there is a way they can provide more systems, in particular Patriot,” he indicated. Stoltenberg added that several allies promised that they will make “an effort to find what they can, see what else they can provide.”
Another problem is that Ukraine needs ammunition, and therefore, according to Jens Stoltenberg "we must ensure that the air defense systems already deployed have the ammunition and spare parts to function." The secretary general admitted that the situation on the battlefield is “serious” and that is why more must be done. “Ukraine needs more air defenses, more ammunition and more help,” he stressed. “Ukrainians don't lack courage, they lack ammunition,” he said.
The secretary general noted that in recent days several countries have announced new shipments to Ukraine. Among them, Germany stands out (which is at the head of the European countries that have sent the most support), with nearly 600 million euros for the Czech plan to acquire new ammunition. The United Kingdom has announced the shipment of 10,000 drones and Finland will send a new aid package of 188 million euros.
