Meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels

NATO Defense Ministers meet in Brussels, Belgium, on 3-4 October, to discuss progress made in implementing decisions taken at the July Summit.

Agenda includes fairer burden-sharing within the Alliance, strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense, adaptation of the NATO Command Structure and two new commands to improve the movement of troops across the Atlantic, and Europe. Development on the eastern flank of the Alliance will also be discussed.

On Thursday, Ministers will discuss NATO’s deterrence and defense posture in response to instability in the Middle East and Africa and a more assertive Russia. Ministers will review progress on adapting NATO’s Command Structure. With more than 1,200 additional personnel and two new commands, the adapted Command Structure “will ensure we can have the right forces in the right place at the right time”, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, according to a NATO-HQ press release.

Defense Ministers will also discuss about setting up a new Cyber Operations Centre, which will help strengthen NATO's defense against a real and present threat, as Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of the meeting.

Among highlights is the Black Sea security, a region of strategic importance, Stoltenberg added.

Romania is represented by Minister of National Defense Mihai Fifor, who has scheduled a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts from Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Turkey, as well as with General Curtis Scaparrotti, United States Army, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Source:RRA, NATO