NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calls for even closer cooperation between NATO and the European Union. “I am firmly convinced that we can further strengthen our cooperation,” said the Norwegian on Tuesday on the sidelines of a visit to the EU Commission. This is possible, for example, in the area of ​​cyber defense.

Desire and reality EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed similar. The European Commission and NATO are good partners, she said. But more can be done. It is currently unlikely, however, that cooperation between NATO and the EU will be expanded significantly. One of the reasons for this is the new sanctions that the EU recently initiated against NATO country Turkey for unauthorized gas explorations off Cyprus.

There In NATO all decisions are made on the basis of the consensus principle, the government in Ankara could block plans for closer cooperation with the EU with a simple veto.

Stoltenberg was the first NATO Secretary General to take part in a meeting of the EU Commission on Tuesday. Among other things, this wanted to adopt a new strategy for more cybersecurity. The strategy is to be officially presented this Wednesday and ensure that only secure hardware is used when setting up new communication networks.

(kbe)