Page 42 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine November 2024

42 I Eastern Europe bne November 2024
Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte takes over as the new Nato Secretary General and has thrown his weight behind supporting Ukraine, but has high- lighted the need for Europe to rebuild its military strength. / bne IntelliNews
New Nato boss Rutte: “My first task is Ukraine”
Ben Aris in Berlin
Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte took over as the new Nato Secretary General on October
1 and said: “My first task is Ukraine.” However, in the rest of his remarks he went on to call for more investment into the European arms industry to rebuild Nato’s military strength, in keeping with his predecessor’s game plan.
"You already mentioned the priority you have been working on. And these priori- ties we will take forward in the future
– Ukraine. We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign inde- pendent democratic nation," he said at the Nato Headquarters, addressing Jens Stoltenberg, who is stepping down as Secretary General after a decade at the helm of the security alliance.
www.bne.eu
Norwegian-born Stoltenberg has been a tireless advocate for supporting Ukraine and Rutte says he will not change that, saying that the war is at the top of his list.
In his five-year term, Rutte said the top priority is to keep Nato strong and make sure that its defences remain effective and reliable against all threats. To do that, more forces with better capabilities and faster innovation are needed, which requires investment, he said at a ceremony following his handover as the fourteenth secretary general of the alliance.
These comments suggest that Rutte will support the recent analysis by former Italian Prime Minister and ex-European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi in
his report that highlighted a need for
massive investment into the European defence sector after years of the so- called peace dividend that have made the EU increasingly uncompetitive.
The war in Ukraine has run down Europe’s reserves of weapons and dem- onstrated its industrial weakness in the defence sector. Russia is embarking on a long-term military reconstitution pro- gramme aimed at restoring the losses incurred during the war. Germany,
on the other hand, formerly the most powerful military power in Europe, will not be able to return to pre-war levels of armament for decades due to years of neglect and underinvestment.
Bringing Europe’s defence sector up to speed has become increasingly impor-