The most important NATO summit since the end of the Cold War kicks
off today in Madrid
.
To give the line of what will be the Alliance of the future, in the midst of the ongoing crisis due to the war in Moscow against Ukraine, was yesterday the general secretary Jens Stoltenberg, who put pen to paper the entity of the '' urgent
strengthening of the east flank
, in turmoil after the invasion of Ukraine decided by Moscow: as
many as 300 thousand units for the rapid intervention forces at the disposal of the supreme command
(code name: Saceur).
That is a sevenfold increase compared to the current state.
But it is not just the numbers that count, but the modification of the entire posture of defense and deterrence.
That is, how NATO intends to use men and means to guarantee the safety of its allies.
The keystone, allied sources explain, is
the "new module".
In fact, the classification will take place on all five domains (land, air, sea, space and cyber) and
will be characterized by "flexibility".
For the Strategic Concept to last over time - the ten-year compass document second in importance only to the Washington Treaty, the Magna Carta of the Alliance - it must not become a straitjacket, but adapt to the need.
This is why, despite the exceptional pressures of Eastern countries, Poland and the Baltics in the lead, NATO has decided not to opt for permanent 'boots on the ground' to guard the eastern borders.
The battalions will be brought to brigade level (about 5 thousand men) but the majority of the additional personnel will not be located in the various countries, but will rotate - to contain costs and to be more "reactive" in the long term.
And for the NATO of the future, "new investments" are needed.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was crystal clear and the issue of military spending will be of great importance at the Madrid summit.
Meanwhile, the NATO budget should almost double
.
Then there is the question of the promises of individual allies regarding their defense budgets: they are increasing but, as Stoltenberg pointed out, 2% of GDP must be seen more and more as "a starting point" and not as a "point of arrival".
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace is determined to take the opportunity of the tensions sparked by the Russian military attack in Ukraine to urge a boost in UK military spending to 2.5% by 2028. the media reported citing his speech today at a forum of the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank near the military-industrial complex.
Wallace also appears to have written
a "confidential" letter to Boris Johnson in which he urges the premier to ask for the same commitment from all the leaders of the NATO countries
in the alliance summit that is about to begin in Madrid
Meanwhile, China is on the attack
: according to Beijing, NATO, "as a product of the Cold War and of the largest military alliance in the world, has long adhered to obsolete security concepts and has long since become a tool for individual countries to maintain hegemony ".
This is the comment made by the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian, on the eve of the Madrid summit.
"NATO's so-called new strategic document is nothing more than 'old wine in a new bottle'. Basically
it does not change the Cold War mentality of creating imaginary enemies and engaging in battle on the ground."