By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- On Wednesday, at a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, both announced a boost in their partnership with their agreement to form a joint task force on “resilience and critical infrastructure protection.” The purpose of the force will be making “our critical infrastructure, technology and supply chains more resilient to potential threats and to take action to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.” Stoltenberg commented. Stoltenberg added that NATO and EU support has made a real difference to Ukraine in their fight against Russia and said that they “should do even more at this critical juncture of the war.”
Von der Leyen highlighted the fact that NATO and EU cooperation “has only deepened and grown…(and)we are now taking our partnership to a next level.” Von der Leyen further remarked: “Of course, this happens against the backdrop of an increasing geopolitical competition. We know that our adversaries and our competitors are using all possible tools to challenge us and to undermine our security.” She added: “This is why it is so important that we stand together and strengthen our resilience overall.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, both NATO and EU signed the joint declaration then in a joint press conference with European Council President Charles Michel, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, commented how the declaration emphasizes how both NATO and the EU have grown deeper in sync since the start of the war in Ukraine last February. The declaration not only is cognizant of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine but threats from China as well. Von der Leyen said: “We are aware of the challenge. But we are able to stand up against it,” referring to European security being under threat as she referred to Sweden and Finland’s decision to join the NATO alliance prompted by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. She also referred to China’s “increasing attempts to reshape the global order to its benefit.” Stoltenberg added that the joint declaration “recognizes the value of a more capable European defense that contributes positively to our security and is complementary to, and interoperable with NATO.”
Stoltenberg called on non-NATO members in the EU to support joint initiatives with NATO. The NATO chief when asked about the position Turkiye has taken on NATO bids by Finland and Sweden, he acknowledged the fact that Turkiye is under a serious and legitimate security threat from terrorism. He also pointed out that Turkiey is working closely with Finland and Sweden to resolve those concerns. The Turkish government previously expressed its deep concern over Finland and Sweden tolerating and supporting terrorist groups such as the PKK Turkiye said it was satisfied that Finland had fulfilled its responsibilities in a trilateral agreement between the three countries but recently voiced continuing concern about Sweden’s commitment to deal with individuals the Turkish government views as terrorists. In a recent press conference, the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reiterated that Sweden has complied with all requests Turkiye has made regarding the issue of aiding and abetting terrorists. Kristersson had added that there are some actions outside the scope of the three-way agreement that the Turkish government insists Sweden carry out but the Swedish leader said “can’t and won’t” be done.
