Stoltenberg’s last hurrah as NATO chief

Support to Ukraine, revamping the club's collective defence mechanisms and spending increases remain key highlights of Jens Stoltenberg's ten years at the head of NATO, as on Tuesday (1 October), he handed over the reins to Mark Rutte.

"NATO has changed as the world has changed," Stoltenberg said in his last remarks to the press on Tuesday (1 October).

He noted several notable developments that occurred during his tenure, including implementing "the biggest reinforcement of NATO, our collective defence in a generation, with a high readiness, more troops in the eastern part of the alliance", the increase in defence spending, and the welcoming of new members in the "family".

He also noted, "The fact we have gone from only providing moderate support to Ukraine, to massive support to Ukraine with NATO coordinating the support".

The man known for his stoicism and steady hands took over just a few months before NATO's main threat and neighbour, Russia, attacked Ukraine in the Donbas, Donestk and annexed Crimea in 2014.

It was followed by more troubled times, with Turkey stirring waters in the Eastern Mediterranean and French President Emmanuel Macron calling the military alliance "brain-dead."

Concerns about the alliance's future escalated when US President Donald Trump publicly called out all his colleagues for underspending on defence.  Tensions then eased, and now 23 members spend more than 2% of their GDP on defence expenditures and are even considering raising the target to 3%.

The darkest point in his tenure might be the fall of Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban and the speedy withdrawal from the US and other forces after years on the ground, leaving local colleagues uncared for, a couple of diplomats told Euractiv.

In an open letter published on the NATO website on his last work day, Stoltenberg examined the future of the military alliance he was leaving. Stoltenberg advised considering dependencies with China through the same lens as those with Russia: "We must not make the same mistake with China."

"We need to better protect our critical infrastructure, avoid exporting technologies that can be used against us, and reduce our dependence on critical materials from strategic competitors," the Norwegian wrote.

Under his watch, the club got bigger. The last two additions - Finland and Sweden - doubled the size of the Eastern border with Russia, after long negotiations with Turkey. But in the past years, North Macedonia and Montenegro also joined, enlarging the military alliance in the Balkans.

Ukraine applied, and despite receiving only lukewarm political signals for a swift accession, NATO is supporting the modernisation of the armed forces while it is at war with Russia.

The Norwegian is now off to chair the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the annual rendezvous for security and defence.

[Edited by Alice Taylor-Braçe]