President of the Atlantic Council of Croatia Prof. Radovan Vukadinovic PhD participated in the NATO’s Summit in Warsaw, during which decisions to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defence were reached as well as plans to project stability in the wider neighbourhood.
Joint Declaration especially stressed partnership between NATO and the European Union to an ambitious new level. The Declaration sets out areas where NATO and the EU will step up cooperation – including maritime security and countering hybrid threats.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO is committed to delivering on its plans, adding ”NATO remains a fundamental source of security for our people, and stability for the wider world”. One of the main points was to strengthen the Alliance’s military presence in the east, with four battalions in Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on a rotational basis, as well as to develop a tailored forward presence in the south-eastern part of the Alliance.
Leaders also decided that NATO AWACS surveillance planes will provide information to the Global Coalition to counter ISIL, and agreed to an expanded maritime presence in the Mediterranean Sea. Concerning the NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, leaders agreed to continue it beyond 2016, while confirming funding commitments for the Afghan forces until 2020. NATO leaders agreed to step up support for Ukraine and expressed support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing their non-recognition of Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. The Secretary General stressed that “an independent, sovereign and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security,” and that “NATO is committed to helping Ukraine achieve that goal.”
For the first time, as future NATO member, Montenegro participated in the Summit of the Alliance. Prime Minister Đukanović supported the ally’s efforts towards further strengthening defence capabilities of the Alliance.
