On October 29th, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in their first official meeting since Rutte assumed his NATO role.
The leaders discussed strengthening the strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union in response to increasing global instability.
The two highlighted Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine as the foremost threat to European peace, pointing to the recent deployment of North Korean soldiers in support of Russian forces as an alarming escalation.
“The deployment of North Korean soldiers in support of Russia’s war of aggression represents a significant escalation of the war against Ukraine and a serious threat to European security and global peace,” the two leaders stressed in a joint statement.
Rutte and von der Leyen also examined the growing influence of authoritarian regimes, which they stated are actively challenging democratic values through various means, including political, economic, and military tactics.
They underscored the importance of defending these shared principles in an increasingly volatile international landscape.
To address these mounting threats, Rutte and von der Leyen announced plans to establish a high-level task force to bolster cooperation between NATO and the EU. Preparations for the task force’s inaugural meeting are set to begin in the coming weeks, with both leaders speaking of coordinated efforts which they say are crucial to safeguarding “peace, freedom, and prosperity on the European continent and beyond.”