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Defence & Security News - CEE
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| Central and Eastern European states vow to strengthen NATO's eastern flank | |||
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The leaders of Central and Eastern European states (CEE) agreed Wednesday in a declaration to strengthen NATO's eastern flank and to commit to allot 2 percent of GDP for defense. The summit was presided over by Romanian and Polish presidents Klaus Iohannis and Andrzej Duda in the presence of CEE members states leaders and NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow.
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The meeting was also attended by presidents of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as Deputies' Chamber speaker of Czech Republic.
Iohannis said they "expressed with a single voice the vision of participating countries regarding the security challenges NATO is facing from the East, as well as from the South." According to him, the joint declaration stipulates courses of action such as strengthening solidarity and indivisibility of Allied security. This includes strengthening NATO and continuing the adaptation process to answer long-term risks from the Eastern and Southern neighborhoods. "By adopting this document we are sending a strong message of unity and acknowledgment of the need for coherence in our external actions. It is, at the same time, about our contribution to the preparation of the 2016 Warsaw NATO Summit," Iohannis said. "We will unite our efforts to secure, where it is necessary, a robust, credible, and sustainable allied military presence in our region," the joint CEE declaration said. The nine countries made a commitment to allot 2 percent of the GDP to defense and to continue the open-door policy of NATO. Leaders also agreed to promote an intensified cooperation with NATO partners, especially with those in the vicinity. |
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