NATO Military Committee to meet and discuss strategic and security challenges

Europe, News January 8, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee is set to hold an important session on January 18-19, 2023, in Brussels, Belgium to discuss strategic issues, and address security challenges.

Chair of NATO’s highest military authority, Admiral Rob Bauer will preside over the meeting, which will be attended by the Allied Chiefs of Defense and their counterparts from Invitees Finland and Sweden, NATO’s statement read. “They will be supported by General Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), and General Philippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), who will each lead a session,” the statement added.

According to the NATO official statement, the in-person meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session (MCCS) will enable the 32 Chiefs of Defence, to meet and discuss issues of strategic importance to the Alliance.

The first session of the meeting will also be joined by NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. During the meeting, Stoltenberg will provide the latest political objectives and discuss security challenges that the Alliance is facing, particularly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The second session of the meeting will be led by NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation General Lavigne. It meeting will mainly focus on the ongoing war in Ukraine, and “the acceleration of the implementation of the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept and the Warfare Development Agenda”, the statement read.

NATO Chiefs of Defense will discuss the Alliance’s “military capacity and capability” to protect NATO members from ongoing and future challenges and hold discussions on multi-domain operations, digital transformation, and interoperability of the Alliance militaries.

^{Chair of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer (center) and Chief of the Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre (right) visit the Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. (Image Credit: NATO/DND-MDN Canada)}

The third session of the Military Committee meeting will be led by Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Cavoli, where he will provide an update on the “Alliance’s implementation of the Concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area.”

According to the NATO release, the “deter and defense strategy provides a common framework for military activity in peace, crisis, and conflict. It closely interlinks national plans with NATO military plans and takes into account threats and challenges specific to particular regions, domains, and functional areas.”

The fourth session of the meeting will mainly focus on the “capability development, military stockpiles, and logistics” of the NATO Alliance, and the participants will discuss NATO military forces’ readiness and sustainment.

^{Incoming Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Christopher Cavoli speaks during a change of command ceremony at SHAPE on July 4, 2022. (Image Credit: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brett Dodge/NATO)}

On the second day of the meeting, the participants will be joined by NATO’s Kosovo Force operational partners, including Armenia, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Moldova, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine. During the meeting, they will discuss the on-ground situation, Kosovo Force missions, and the overall security environment.

The NATO Military Committee will also hold discussions on Alliance’s non-combat and capacity-building mission in Iraq with their operational partners Sweden, Finland, and Australia. During the discussions, the military chiefs will focus on the NATO mission’s ongoing efforts “to assist Iraq in promoting greater stability, building its security and defense institutions, and eradicating terrorism.”

During the final session of the Military Committee, NATO Chiefs of Defense will discuss NATO’s ongoing support to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion of the country.