Extraordinary meeting of NATO Defence Ministers reviews alliance response to the COVID-19 crisis

16 April 2020

By Dr. Ian Davis

NATO Defence Ministers met yesterday (15 April 2020) by secure video conference to discuss the alliance’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. The ministers were joined by partners Finland and Sweden, as well as EU High Representative Josep Borrell.

NATOs Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Wolters, was tasked by foreign ministers two weeks ago to coordinate military support and during yesterday’s meeting he updated defence ministers on his efforts to ensure NATO uses its military resources most effectively. There was no publicly available statement outlining these new efforts, other than a short NATO news release that said that he is “matching requests for support with offers from allies and partners, and coordinating NATO’s unique strategic airlift capability, which is delivering hundreds of tons of urgently needed equipment to where it is needed quickly and efficiently”.

After the online meeting of alliance Defence Ministers, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a virtual press conference in which he noted the key role being played by the military in each member state in support of civilian efforts against the pandemic.

Read the attached pdf briefing to find out more.

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