The General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations, Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos, participated in the NATO Defence Policy Directors’ Meeting, which took place in Brussels on 15-16 September 2021. The main lines of the debate were the development of the new defence policy direction, NATO-EU cooperation, the new Strategic Doctrine, and countering terrorism, following the latest developments in Afghanistan.
As part of his intervention on the new defence policy direction, Dr. Balomenos highlighted the need not to reduce the Level of Ambition in this respect, while stressing the importance of taking due account of all the risks facing the Alliance, including migration flows to the South.
At the joint EU-NATO working dinner, Dr. Balomenos acknowledged the persistently constructive cooperation between the two organisations, with multiple benefits expected in areas of common interest, such as countering terrorism and hybrid threats, and managing climate change. He pointed out that political dialogue between the two organisations has been more generally positive, while respecting the autonomy of decision-making of each organisation.
With regard to the Alliance’s new Strategic Doctrine, the General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations expressed the assessment that this should incorporate the conclusions of the “NATO 2030” process, taking into consideration the new concerns of the Southern Allies, such as the problem of massive migration flows. He noted that this strategic framework needs to take into account the areas of innovative military applications, such as cyber warfare and space applications, as well as the need for cooperation between Member States on the resilience of critical infrastructure.
In addition, with regard to developments in Afghanistan, Dr. Balomenos made it clear to his counterparts that there should be a common Allied policy in order to avoid that this country becomes again a terrorist refuge and to halt the emerging humanitarian crisis.
Finally, the General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations held bilateral meetings in the margins of the Summit with the Head of the Permanent Representation of Greece to the Alliance, Ambassador Spyros Lambridis, as well as with our country’s Military Representative to NATO, Vice-Admiral Ioannis G. Pavlopoulos H.N. (Honorary Chief of the Fleet), with whom he discussed issues of national interest.
