NATO Defence Ministers convened in Brussels on 26 and 27 October at the Alliance’s Headquarters on the occasion of the Defence Ministers Meetings, three months after key decisions were taken at the Warsaw Summit in July. The Italian Minister of Defence Roberta Pinotti and Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero took part in the event.
During the first day, a number of Allies confirmed their contribution, as from 2017, to the Framework Nations (United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and United States) which will lead the four multinational battalions deployed on the Eastern flank of the Alliance (in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland), in order to enhance deterrence and defence capabilities. Allies also discussed progress in strengthening NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region, namely through a Romanian-led multinational brigade on land.
On NATO-EU cooperation, in the presence of the High Representative of the Union Federica Mogherini, Ministers agreed to pursue activities to stop human trafficking in the Aegean Sea in support of Greece, Turkey and FRONTEX. Furthermore, the NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg confirmed that the new Alliance operation, Sea Guardian, will assist EU Operation Sophia in Central Mediterranean in order to increase EU’s situational awareness and provide logistical support.
More specifically, Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti underlined that NATO Joint Force Command in Naples should become a hub for all the operations of the Alliance in the Mediterranean, a decision which had already been agreed upon at the level of Chiefs of Defence Staff.
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