Brussels, 22 January 2025 (MIA) - EU defence is, of course, of great importance to Europe and to European security. But it is also of great importance to NATO, because it is really inextricably linked to transatlantic security, said NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska at the Annual Conference of the European Defence Agency (EDA) held in Brussels.

“As someone coming from North Macedonia – and therefore not an EU insider – you might wonder whether I am best placed to talk about NATO-EU cooperation. But especially having in mind my national background, I do believe that my country shows precisely how important, how valuable and how beneficial could NATO and EU cooperation be,” Shekerinska said.

According to her, our close partnership is invaluable, not least when it comes to supporting Ukraine, rebuilding the transatlantic defence industrial base and boosting our resilience.

“Getting both organisations to work even more closely together is something that I will strive for in my job as NATO Deputy Secretary General. And this is why I am here with you today. To send this message and to say that this NATO-EU partnership is of great importance to Secretary General Mark Rutte. He is in regular contact with his counterparts across the EU institutions,” she added.

She noted that the political dialogue between our two organizations is strong, and at this dangerous time for our security, stepping up our cooperation is essential, and this should be our joint goal. This is becoming even more important as we are dealing with fierce competitors that are challenging both our security but also our way of life. 

“There’s Russia, which is clearly on a war footing. And just this year, Russia plans to spend a third, a third of its national budget on defence – and this is really a record high. Its war industry is churning out weapons around the clock. There’s also China, which is substantially building up its forces. It is investing heavily in munition and disruptive technologies, and expanding its nuclear arsenal – no transparency, no limitations and no clear intentions. Meanwhile, many other dangers still persist: from terrorism to nuclear proliferation but also climate change,” Shekerinska said.

We are witnessing more and more destabilisation campaign against countries in Europe, including cyber-attacks, acts of sabotage and disinformation, she noted.

“So, with all this, with all this complicated security environment around us, NATO and the European Union have every reason to work even more closely together. Transatlantic cooperation makes us all stronger,” Shekerinska said.

She noted that as a priority, we all need to invest more and better in defence, we need to accelerate production of essential defence capabilities. 

“NATO Allies have increased defence spending in recent years. So, two-thirds of all members of NATO are now spending at least 2% of GDP on defence. And this is definitely good news. But the bad news is that 2% is not nearly enough anymore. Allies will need to spend a lot more than 2% to rebuild our stocks, to get the necessary long-range weapons and air-defence systems, and integrate advanced technologies into our armed forces. We need all of that, and more, to stay safe in the years ahead,” she said.

According to Shekerinska, what is even more dangerous is that these things, if they don’t change, if we are not faster, if we are not better, if we don't spend more and better, we risk lagging behind Russia. Therefore, we need to do better. And we need to do it fast. The EU is playing its part. You are redoubling efforts to increase European defence readiness, address military shortfalls and also enhance Europe’s defence industrial base.

“Going forward, it is essential that we work in tandem – so a collaborate effort. We must avoid duplicating existing structures and creating new barriers between Allies. It will only increase costs, complicate production and hamper innovation. That’s not in our interest, especially when Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are increasing their defence industrial cooperation to really unprecedented levels,” Shekerinska said.

Photo: NATO