NEWS
Prime Minister at the NATO Summit in Wales
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Ms Alenka Bratušek, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence, attended the two-day NATO summit in Wales. As the summit took place at a time of important security challenges in Europe and beyond, the attention of heads of state was focused particularly on the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan; they also adopted a strengthened commitment in respect of investments in defence.
Upon their arrival to Newport, state leaders were welcomed by the Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron; this was followed by the meeting of the heads of states and governments that contribute their forces to the NATO operation in Afghanistan. Next on the agenda was the session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, followed by the working dinner of heads of states and governments that included the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy. Prime Minister Bratušek said that Slovenia actively participates at the summit as a responsible member of the Alliance, taking part in discussions about topical security issues.
In her press release, Ms Bratušek said that the first session was devoted to Afghanistan and the progress of the peace process in this country. “Probably the most important topics of the summit are the current situation in Ukraine and the relations between Ukraine and Russia. The situation in Ukraine is truly concerning and I am certain that the only solution to the present conditions is political. Any further military escalation of the situation would bring extremely adverse consequences both for the economic and the political stability of the European continent,” stressed the Prime Minister. The leaders re-affirmed their solidarity with Ukraine and their willingness to provide continued financial and material assistance to the country in its efforts to preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty, democracy and respect for human rights. In this context, Slovenia will offer an active support in the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers.
In the context of the two-day summit, heads of states and governments also met at the meeting of the North Atlantic Council, where their attention was focused on the structure and level of defence expenditure of the member states. They adopted a strengthened commitment in respect of investments in defence, as the change in the security environment made the slowing down of the negative trend of declining defence expenditure even more important. The heads of states and governments pointed out that the defence expenditure should be increased and targeted at building priority capacities of NATO for achieving the goal of NATO forces 2020. This commitment is also in the context of strengthening the transatlantic ties and taking a larger share of burdens and responsibilities for ensuring security by Europe.