NATO 3.0: How Mark Rutte and Nicușor Dan see the future of the North Atlantic Alliance

At the end of the B9 Summit held at the Cotroceni Palace, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Romania's President Nicușor Dan, and Poland's President Karol Nawrocki delivered a joint message regarding the future of the North Atlantic Alliance and the concept called "NATO 3.0". The leaders rejected the idea that reorganizing NATO would imply a reduction of the United States' presence or involvement in Europe.

Mark Rutte explained that "NATO 3.0 means a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO together with the USA, both nuclear and conventional, but Europeans must take on more responsibilities for conventional defense." He emphasized that Russia remains the "direct threat" to Euro-Atlantic security, and member states must invest more in defense and in modernizing their armies.

Nicușor Dan stated that strengthening European capabilities should not be interpreted as a distancing from Washington, but as a strengthening of the strategic partnership between Europe and the USA. The President of Romania insisted on the need for coordination among the states on the eastern flank and on the continuation of support for Ukraine.

For his part, Karol Nawrocki delivered a firm message regarding the unity of the alliance, stating that "there is no NATO without the USA" and that the Alliance must be prepared to defend "every inch" of its territory. The Polish official highlighted the essential role of the American military presence in Central and Eastern Europe, in the context of the tensions generated by the war in Ukraine.