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Deputy Secretary General Vershbow calls for even closer NATO-EU cooperation

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

07 Apr. 2016 - 08 Apr. 2016
Last updated: 08 Apr. 2016 14:13

Visiting The Hague on Friday (8 April) Deputy NATO Secretary General Alexander Vershbow addressed the European Union Inter-Parliamentary Committee with a focus on how NATO could cooperate more closely with partners and with the European Union. He stressed that "the relationship between the European Union and NATO has rarely been closer, and it has never been as important as it is now".

Mr. Vershbow also addressed complex challenges stemming from the South: "War in Syria and the growing instability across North Africa and the Middle East pose a serious threat to our own security, stability and cohesion", he said. He added that the EU and NATO are working together to manage the humanitarian refugee crisis and that "by coordinating NATO and EU capacity-building efforts, we can have greater success in halting the spread of violent extremism and in stabilizing Europe's southern neighbourhood".

During the visit, the Deputy Secretary General also delivered a speech at a gathering organised by the Netherlands Atlantic Association and the Netherlands Atlantic Youth. Speaking about new security challenges, he said that for the first time in the Alliance's history, Allies face major threats from two strategic directions at the same time. "Preeminent among these threats are the provocative actions of a more aggressive and assertive Russia – which continues to display little regard for international law – and the highly complex challenge of an unstable Middle East and North Africa, right on NATO's doorstep", he said.

Mr. Vershbow said that at the NATO Summit in Warsaw the Alliance will not only consider the long-term implications of Russia's foreign and defence policy for NATO, but "will also take steps to address the grave situation along our southern borders".

Later in the day, Deputy Secretary General Vershbow was also meeting with the Dutch Minister of Defence Jeannine Hennis-Plasschaert.