At the NATO summit in Ankara this summer, eleven European countries and Canada announced that they would work more closely together on security in the North Atlantic, the Arctic and the Baltic Sea. Poland is now set to join the initiative as well.
This was announced by Defence Ministers Tore O. Sandvik and Władysław Marcin Kosiniak-Kamysz following a bilateral meeting held as part of the Warsaw Security Forum.
“It is very positive that Poland is joining the initiative to strengthen maritime security in the North Atlantic and the High North. European countries and Canada are stepping up their commitment and taking on greater responsibility for the security of the Alliance’s territory,” said Sandvik.
The countries participating in the initiative are Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Measures under the initiative are being co-ordinated with the US.
“Through this initiative, Europe and Canada are making a significant contribution to strengthening security in the North Atlantic and the High North. This is a direct response to the US’s calls for other countries to take on more responsibility for the security of the Alliance area,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
NATO seeks to improve maritime security
As part of the initiative launched in Ankara, Europe and Canada have decided to work more closely together. “We will further intensify our cooperation in the areas of intelligence sharing amongst Alliance partners, defence, maritime command and control in the northern seas, freedom of navigation and secure communications links. This will also strengthen the security of the US. The northern maritime areas are not only important for Europe, but are also of crucial importance for the defence of North America,” said Støre.
At the meeting of NATO defence ministers in June, Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom also announced that they would cooperate more closely on anti-submarine warfare.
“These two initiatives demonstrate that Europe and Canada are taking on greater responsibility for maritime security and contributing to a fairer burden-sharing within NATO. The result will be a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO,” said Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik.
