There Born has a new general secretary. He will be the outgoing prime minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte who will replace the former prime minister of Norway Jens Stoltenbergexpiring after 10 years. Rutte, 57, will take up the post from October 1st. “It is a great honor – he said – The Alliance is and will remain there cornerstone of our collective security.”
Vetos fallen – Rutte’s appointment also came thanks to the moves of Hungary And Slovakia, who have abandoned their contrary positions. For Viktor Orban the guarantee that Hungary will not have to provide was decisive financing to Ukraine or send staff in the war-ravaged country. “With the secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg we have agreed that no Hungarian personnel will take part in the Alliance’s activities in Ukraine and no Hungarian funds will be used to support them. Our next step this week was to ensure this agreement can stand the test of time.” Rutte confirmed this commitment. Then followed closely the Yes from the Slovakia: “After consulting both candidates (Rutte and the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, ed), the Slovak Republic can imagine supporting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as head of the Alliance,” the new president said recently Peter Pellegrini.
The new challenges – Rutte, a liberal who is active in the group Renew, the European political family created by Macron, will have to manage the hottest cases immediately. Beyond the disputes over Russian-Ukrainian warwill have the task of making NATO a little less American and a little more European regardless of the hypothetical return of Donald Trump at the White House. The tycoon, in fact, has repeatedly reiterated the excessive expenses of the United States for the organization, at least from his point of view, and threatened to go out by the Alliance calling it “obsolete”. Then, Rutte will also have to deal with resources: to date, counting Sweden, 24 out of 32 allies spend over 2% of GDP on defense, but important countries such as the CanadaThe BelgiumL’Italy and the Spain. One challenge will be to find a way to make people spend more, not less. Going further there are relations with Asian allies (Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) in key anti China.
Hospitality – “I know I’m leaving NATO in good hands. Mark is a true ‘transatlanticist’, a strong leader and a consensus builder. I wish him success as we continue to strengthen NATO,” Stoltenberg commented upon the announcement of his successor. The US president is of the same opinion Joe Biden: “He is convinced that Mark Rutte will be a great secretary general of NATO”, reported the spokesperson of the American Security Council John Kirby. Congratulations also arrived from Italy through the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto: “Let’s work together to build paths to peace. Current scenarios require a community of intent and sharing of views. Italy will continue to commit with determination to address the complex international situation.” However, as predicted, the reaction was colder Russia: “Hardly can change something in the general line of the Alliance. Both as independent member states under the direct leadership of the United States and together as an Alliance they are working to inflict a strategic defeat to Russia,” declared Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri Peskov.
