NATO Defence Ministers' Meeting - Policy Brief

EXTRAORDINARY
NATO DEFENCE
MINISTERS’ MEETING,
15 APRIL 2020
Policy Brief
079 SPE 20 E | Original: English | 16 April 2020
This Policy Brief is presented for information only and does not
represent the official view of the Assembly.
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I. NATO’S RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
• Defence ministers a) reviewed current actions and b) decided on next steps.
DECISIONS
• Ministers agreed on a set of recommendations to strengthen resilience – a responsibility
under Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
• NATO will:
o update baseline requirements for civil preparedness (see below) and
o cooperate ever closer with international partners.
THE SEVEN BASELINE REQUIREMENTS FOR CIVIL PREPAREDNESS
1. Assured continuity of government and critical government services: for instance the ability to make
decisions, communicate them and enforce them in a crisis;
2. Resilient energy supplies: back-up plans and power grids, internally and across borders;
3. Ability to deal effectively with uncontrolled movement of people, and to de-conflict these movements from
NATO’s military deployments;
4. Resilient food and water resources: ensuring these supplies are safe from disruption or sabotage;
5. Ability to deal with mass casualties: ensuring that civilian health systems can cope and that sufficient medical
supplies are stocked and secure;
6. Resilient civil communications systems: ensuring that telecommunications and cyber networks function even
under crisis conditions, with sufficient back-up capacity.
(This requirement was updated in November 2019 by NATO Defence Ministers, who stressed the need for reliable
communications systems including 5G, robust options to restore these systems, priority access to national
authorities in times of crisis, and the thorough assessments of all risks to communications systems.); and
7. Resilient transport systems: ensuring that NATO forces can move across Alliance territory rapidly and that
civilian services can rely on transportation networks, even in a crisis.
(agreed by Allied Heads of State and Government at the Warsaw Summit in 2016)
For more information on these, see NATO’s dedicated webpage: Resilience and Article 3
EXTRAORDINARY NATO DEFENCE MINISTERS’ MEETING, 15 APRIL 2020:
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Only item on the agenda: NATO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
NATO Defence Ministers agreed on:
• update of baseline requirements for civil preparedness
• closer cooperation with international partners
Discussion themes:
• contribution of Allied armed forces
• maintaining deterrence and defence in times of pandemic
• countering disinformation
lessons learned and medium and long-term implications
Notable points:
• This was an extraordinary meeting of Defence Ministers called explicitly to review
NATO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and take next steps.
• This was the first Defence Ministers’ meeting with North Macedonia as an Ally.
• NATO Ministers were joined by Defence Ministers from partners Finland and Sweden as
well as EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell Fontelles.
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DISCUSSION THEMES
Contribution of Allied armed forces in the fight against COVID-19
• Armed forces play a key role in support of civilian efforts.
• Recent examples:
o 100+ missions to transport medical personnel, supplies, and treatment capabilities
o assistance in the construction of 25 field hospitals
o addition of 25,000+ treatment beds
o deployment of 4,000+ military medical personnel
• Ministers made additional offers to support coordination efforts by General Tod D. Wolters,
NATO SACEUR.
• For more information and concrete examples of bilateral and NATO assistance to Allies, see
the NATO factsheet NATO’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Deterrence and defence
• NATO remains committed to ensuring that the COVID-19 crisis does not develop into a security
crisis: Allied armed forces remain ready, vigilant, and prepared to respond any threat.
• NATO continues to implement preventive measures to minimise the risks to personnel and
of spreading the virus.
• Other security challenges remain, for example:
o potential exploitation of the current situation by state and non-state actors,
o fragile security situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places, and
o Russian military activity – which the NATO Secretary General noted was continuing
apace.
Disinformation by state and non-state actors
• Ministers discussed the countering of disinformation during this health crisis.
• NATO and Allies continue to:
o counter false narratives through facts and concrete actions and
o increase cooperation with Allies and the European Union to identify, monitor, and
expose disinformation as well as respond robustly.
• For more information, see the NATO Factsheet: Russia’s Top Five Myths about NATO &
COVID-19
Lessons learned and medium and long-term implications from the COVID-19 crisis
• Ministers had in-depth discussions, including on:
o the potentially significant geo-political effects and
o the potential for actors to use the adverse economic situation to invest in critical
industries and infrastructure which could undermine Allied and NATO’s security.
• They also discussed the issue of airlift capacity – which currently includes Allied and NATO
capabilities as well as multinational contracts with commercial airlift providers. On this point,
the Secretary General noted that the United States has made available US capabilities,
including airlift capabilities, in Europe to support European NATO Allies during this crisis.
• It is too soon to draw definite lessons learned from the crisis.
• However, several aspects must be in focus for NATO and Allies in the medium and long term:
o societal resilience,
o planning for future pandemics,
o protection of critical industries and infrastructure, and
o business continuity planning.
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• The NATO Secretary General summarised what he saw as NATO’s role in such crises in those
terms: “I don’t think that NATO should go into and be, what should I say, the first responder,
or the main responder to a health crisis. What NATO should do and what NATO is doing is
that we should support the civilian efforts to fight this health crisis.”
II. OTHER ISSUES
• Several other issues were brought up in the NATO Secretary General’s press conference.
Burden sharing / Defence Investment Pledge
• Asked whether the pledge to spend 2% GDP on defence should be relaxed, the NATO
Secretary General highlighted the essential role of the armed forces in addressing
security threats and in support of civilian authorities during the COVID-19 crisis.
Afghanistan
• The Secretary General recalled that:
o NATO has committed to reduce its force presence from 16,000 to 12,000 while making
clear that further reductions will be conditions-based;
o NATO is calling on the Taliban to respect the terms of the agreement with the United
States and engage in intra-Afghan talks;
o NATO is calling on the Afghan authorities to help resolve the current political crisis;
o To cope with the COVID-19 crisis, NATO is providing the Afghan forces with medical
equipment as well as training advice.