Joint Statement by the Ministers of Defence of the Northern Group

Palanga, Lithuania, 23 May, 2024

Today, Ministers of Defence of the Northern Group – comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom – met in Palanga and gave the following statement:

• We, along with our other NATO Allies, will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Alliance at the upcoming Summit in Washington. We will welcome Sweden to its first NATO Summit as a fully-fledged member. 
• At the Summit we will reiterate our commitment to contribute to the collective deterrence and defence of the NATO Alliance, including the integration of our newest Allies Finland and Sweden. We will strive to ensure that tangible progress is made to resource, enable and exercise the new Defence Plans.
• As European Allies we will continue to assume greater responsibility for security and defence in Europe and contributing to fair burden sharing within the Alliance. We underline the importance of close NATO-EU cooperation.
• We recognize that fully resourcing the Defence Plans will require us to spend at least 2 percent of GDP. We will aim to rapidly address critical shortfalls and advocate for a faster delivery on the requirements stemming from the Defence Plans to ensure fair burden share among the Allies.
• We will aim to deliver a comprehensive package on Integrated Air and Missile Defence at the Washington Summit, given its essential role for credible deterrence and collective defence. We will take collective actions to increase our capabilities, capacities and preparedness.
• We emphasize the need to prioritise cooperation to enhance resilience against cyber aggression and to safeguard critical infrastructure in our countries.
• The security of Ukraine is of great importance to Allies and the Alliance. We will stay committed to ensure that Ukraine can defend its sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression. We are dedicated to continuing our long-term, comprehensive support to Ukraine, and we will continue to extend political and practical support to help Ukraine achieve its strategic goal of NATO and EU membership.
• We acknowledge that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions is interconnected. We are committed to developing dialogue and security cooperation with our like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region.