Member countries of the military alliance discuss strengthening the organization and the war in Ukraine; The event runs until Wednesday (July 12)
The heads of state and government of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) meet this Tuesday (July 11, 2023) in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, for the fourth summit of the military alliance since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The aim of the meeting is to discuss, among other things, Ukraine’s candidacy, Sweden’s accession and the strengthening of the military alliance. The event lasts 2 days and ends on Wednesday (July 12).
The central theme of the summit should be the definition of NATOUkraine relations amid repeated calls by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the Eastern European country to receive an invitation to join the alliance in Vilnius. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg clarified that Kiev would not become a member during the war, but said the summit should serve to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.
US President Joe Biden, who will attend the summit, also said on Sunday (July 9) before his trip to Europe that Ukraine was not ready to join NATO. He said the war must end before the organization could consider taking over the country under Zelenskyy’s leadership.
The American fears the alliance could be “pulled” into a war with Russia due to the organization’s mutual defense pact. Ukrainians applied for membership in September 2022, when the war was already raging.
SWEDISH MEMBERSHIP
The meeting of the military alliance in Lithuania will also discuss the accession of Sweden to the Union, which submitted an application for membership in May 2022. First, Sweden’s membership in the organization was opposed by both Hungary and Turkey, which are already on the list of 31 member countries Alliance. In order to accept new members into the organisation, it is necessary that all member countries agree to the candidacy.
On Monday (July 10) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed down and said he would vote for Sweden if the EU (European Union) agrees to Turkey’s entry into the economic bloc. “First we must pave the way for Turkey’s membership of the European Union. Then we will pave the way for Sweden like we paved the way for Finland,” he said.
Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s membership is linked to the admission of members of militant groups, most notably the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which accuses Erdogan of organizing demonstrations and funding terrorist groups. Ankara agreed to agree to Sweden’s accession but backed down, accusing it of failing to deliver on its promise to extradite Kurdish separatists.
Also on Monday (July 10), after meetings with Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, the Turkish President agreed to submit the Swedish proposal to the Turkish parliament. The European Union also agreed to speed up the accession of the Turks to the economic bloc.
MEMBER STATES
Also known as the Atlantic Alliance, NATO was formed in 1949 with the aim of impeding Soviet expansion in Europe after World War II. The 12 founding members of the Alliance are: United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.
Today the organization consists of 31 countries, with Finland becoming the 31st member to establish the military organization as of April this year. A total of twelve countries have joined NATO in the last two decades. Montenegro and North Macedonia are among the most recent additions they joined in 2017 and 2020 respectively.
NATO’s socalled opendoor policy, as set out in Article 10 of the treaty, allows membership of any European country that can “enhance and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region”. Currently, three countries are considered “candidates”, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is the second conflict in 15 years against the background of NATO expansion in Eastern Europe. In 2008, signs that Georgia might join the military alliance prompted the country to launch offensives in the breakaway region of South Ossetia on humanitarian grounds. Georgia formally applied for membership in 2022.
DEFENSE COSTS
NATO allies are expected to endorse a defense production action plan to increase the organization’s military capability and make a stronger commitment to investing at least 2% of gross domestic product annually in military spending.
In 2014, NATO stipulated that member countries must invest at least 2% of GDP in defense by 2024. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted European countries to reconsider the level of resources allocated to national protection.
The military alliance’s estimate shows that in 2023 only 11 of the organization’s 31 members will reach the goal. The allies that manage to meet the 2% minimum requirement are the US, UK, Poland, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia.
In Vilnius, leaders will review defense plans drawn up by the Alliance during the Cold War and detail how NATO would respond to a possible Russian attack. In addition to regional defense plans, the alliance will also support member states in improving their military and logistical strengths.
Allies are also expected to show how they intend to implement the NATO goal agreed at the 2022 Madrid Summit to have more than 300,000 troops on alert to confront Russia if necessary.
The heads of state and government of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the European Union will also take part in the Vilnius summit.