6 December NATO HQ, Brussels

”Today and tomorrow, NATO’s Foreign Ministers will address some of the security challenges we are all facing and we will do that by addressing a wide range of the issues but at the core of the meeting is the importance of the transatlantic bond, the bond between Europe and North America, – said Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General, ahead of the meeting of NATO’s Foreign ministers.

“One way of strengthening the bond between North America and Europe is by strengthening the cooperation between NATO and EU. And we have a momentum now when it comes to NATO-EU cooperation. In July, I signed a Joint Declaration with Presidents Tusk and Juncker and at the meeting today we will decide how we turn that declaration into concrete action.

So this afternoon, we will meet with EU High Representative/Vice President Federica Mogherini and all Allies will endorse over 40 proposals to deepen our cooperation in seven key areas. These include agreements to do more on land, at sea, and in cyberspace – including to counter hybrid threats.

We will also commit to working more closely to support our partners in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Our proposals are pragmatic, but ambitious and we will continue to work in this spirit.

Later today, we will focus on NATO’s efforts to project stability beyond our borders – to the south and to the east. We have made progress since the Warsaw Summit. Our AWACS surveillance planes have started to provide information to the Counter-ISIL Coalition. We have trained many Iraqi officers and are now expanding that training. And our new operation Sea Guardian is now supporting EU’s Operation Sophia in the Central Mediterranean. We will also address NATO’s support for the Western Balkans, which requires our continued attention and effort.

Tomorrow, we will begin with a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. Underscoring the Alliance’s enduring support for Ukraine. We will take stock of NATO’s support, and of the government’s reforms.

The ministerial will close with a meeting on Afghanistan and our Resolute Support mission. We will reconfirm our strong commitment to Afghanistan’s security and we will get an update on the government’s reform agenda, which is essential for Afghanistan’s long-term stability and prosperity”. (source NATO press service)