NATO - Jean-Yves Le Drian’s participation in the NATO summit (Brussels, 11-12 July 2018)

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Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will accompany President Macron to the NATO summit on July 11 and 12 in Brussels. This meeting should make it possible to show that NATO is a credible, effective, modern and united organization.

The Alliance’s ability to carry out its collective defense role will be strengthened, notably through the reform of its command structure, an initiative on the responsiveness of NATO forces and continued efforts in the area of cyber defense. The Alliance will also confirm the approach adopted during the Warsaw summit in 2016, combining an agile and defensive military posture with continued openness to dialogue with Russia.

NATO’s contribution to the fight against terrorism and cooperative security will continue. The heads of state and government will notably formalize the launch of a NATO training and advisory mission in Iraq, in response to a request from the Iraqi authorities.

Lastly, this summit will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the Alliance’s unity just as it is pledging to ensure a more balanced sharing of responsibilities and burdens, thanks to the efforts made by the Europeans in the area of defense spending, capability development and operational commitments. The European members of the Alliance have therefore increased their defense budgets for the fourth consecutive year. Swift and substantial progress on European defense has also significantly contributed to the security of the Alliance. At the national level, France will uphold its commitments and will gradually increase its defense budget to 2% of GDP in 2025.