On May 23 Lithuania for the first time hosted a meeting of the Ministers of Defence of the Norther Group. Ministers of Defence of the twelve European countries and their representatives discussed security situation in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic regions, assistance to Ukraine and the agenda of the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington.
Ministers congratulated Sweden which attended the meeting as a NATO Ally for the first time. ”We welcome the Swedish NATO membership because it brings in a significant security enhancement not just to the region but also the whole Alliance,” Minister of National Defence L. Kasčiūnas said.
Ministers unanimously agrees that all the Northern Group countries were united by the mutual threat: Russia. Therefore, collective defence had to be strengthened and more investment in building capabilities was needed. L. Kasčiūnas lauded the unanimous support across the Northern Group to the commitment made in Vilnius to increase defence spending to the minimum of 2% of GDP.
The beginning of NATO deterrence and defence lies with the assistance to Ukraine. According to L. Kasčiūnas, the Northern Group countries are committed to continue working to ensure that Ukraine is able to defend its sovereignty and prevent Russia’s aggression in the future. Another point agreed on was to continue the long-term comprehensive assistance to Ukraine to facilitate its achievement of the strategic goal: NATO and EU memberships.
“Critical infrastructure of the Baltic Sea region plays an important role and cyber-attacks against it cause immense damage, therefore stronger practical cooperation in the area of cyber security is needed in defence and protection of the critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea,” noted Minister L. Kasčiūnas to the Northern Group Ministers of Defence and their representatives.
The Northern Group is a format established in 2012 and headed by the United Kingdom. It comprises 12 members: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The Northern Group serves as a forum for consultations on issues of European security, NATO-EU cooperation, and other topics of relevance to the region.
Participation in the Northern Group complements Lithuania’s membership in other formats of bilateral and multilateral defence cooperation.
Denmark is the next country to assume chairmanship of the Northern Group.
Joint Statement by the Ministers of Defence of the Northern Group
Palanga, Lithuania, 23 May, 2024
Today, Ministers of Defence of the Northern Group – comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom – met in Palanga and gave the following statement:
- We, along with our other NATO Allies, will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Alliance at the upcoming Summit in Washington. We will welcome Sweden to its first NATO Summit as a fully-fledged member.
- At the Summit we will reiterate our commitment to contribute to the collective deterrence and defence of the NATO Alliance, including the integration of our newest Allies Finland and Sweden. We will strive to ensure that tangible progress is made to resource, enable and exercise the new Defence Plans.
- As European Allies we will continue to assume greater responsibility for security and defence in Europe and contributing to fair burden sharing within the Alliance. We underline the importance of close NATO-EU cooperation.
- We recognize that fully resourcing the Defence Plans will require us to spend at least 2 percent of GDP. We will aim to rapidly address critical shortfalls and advocate for a faster delivery on the requirements stemming from the Defence Plans to ensure fair burden share among the Allies.
- We will aim to deliver a comprehensive package on Integrated Air and Missile Defence at the Washington Summit, given its essential role for credible deterrence and collective defence. We will take collective actions to increase our capabilities, capacities and preparedness.
- We emphasize the need to prioritise cooperation to enhance resilience against cyber aggression and to safeguard critical infrastructure in our countries.
- The security of Ukraine is of great importance to Allies and the Alliance. We will stay committed to ensure that Ukraine can defend its sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression. We are dedicated to continuing our long-term, comprehensive support to Ukraine, and we will continue to extend political and practical support to help Ukraine achieve its strategic goal of NATO and EU membership.
- We acknowledge that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions is interconnected. We are committed to developing dialogue and security cooperation with our like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Photo credits: K. Kavolėlis /MoD
