NATO Does Not Need to Reinvent Itself, Says Ine Eriksen Søreide

Does NATO need to take new roles and missions, in order to avoid that the Alliance becomes irrelevant?

“I do not agree — NATO does not need to reinvent itself”, writes PN Member Ine Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Defense of Norway in her contribution for the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum Views. The collection of 20 short essays addresses the interconnectedness of today's world and the vulnerability of various aspects.

“Instead of reinvention, we should recognize that we stand on firm ground when it comes to our future ambitions,” argues Ine Eriksen Søreide.

At the same time, she suggests three specific developments to consider in order to prepare NATO for the future:

• First, the Alliance would profit from the resumption of operational planning in a generic manner for future contingencies, taking into account the full spectrum of NATO missions.
• Second, to ensure interoperability, NATO needs to strengthen training and exercise. These activities will provide a venue for developing the competence within the NATO Command Structure, and exercising allied operational plans. Norway will continue to offer to host allied training and exercises.
• Third, we need to establish mechanisms whereby we can develop and maintain high-end deployable capabilities that are made available for NATO operations. We should meet critical shortfalls, and establish mechanisms for ensuring the implementation of relevant capabilities.

To read the entire Ine Eriksen Søreide’s entire essay, please click here.

To read the full Brussels Forum Views, please click here.

Photo by Secretary of Defense.

PN member Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide has been Member of the Storting for Oslo County since 2005. After the parliamentary elections in September 2013, she became Minister of Defense.