“Europe faces the threat of an increasingly unstable neighbourhood”

taketonews

06/28/2022 at 17:06

EST


The King highlights the value of NATO as a “beacon of freedom” during a public forum organized within the framework of the Madrid summit

King Felipe VI has highlighted this Tuesday the threat posed to Europe by the instability from neighbors to the east and south andn a global context where events are increasingly unpredictable.

during his intervention in the Public Forum organized in the context of the NATO Summit held in Madrid by four leading institutes of international civil society (Elcano Royal Institute, the German Marshall Fundthe Munich Security Conference and the Atlantic Council) the monarch has also stressed that the war in Ukraine has questioned many of the assumptions that have marked international relations in recent decades.

“Today, while Europe tries to achieve the political stability, economic prosperity and social welfarethe continent faces the threat of an increasingly unstable neighbourhood, both in the east and in the south, and the complex challenge of an unpredictable world& rdquor ;, he stressed.

After pointing out that the war in Ukraine is questioning many of the assumptions that have prevailed in Europe and in the West for more than three decades, he encouraged the Madrid summit that starts tomorrow to be an opportunity to reflect on the future of the Alliance, “at what appears to be a turning point in history”.

“Just twenty years ago, we congratulated ourselves on the fact that Europe had never been so safe, prosperous or free. Since then, however, many of our post-Cold War ideas or predictions seem to have evaporated. And many of our hopes have been, for the time being, relegated to the realm of somewhat utopian ideals & rdquor ;, she underlined.

Along the same lines, he has highlighted that “the ancient world struggle between tyranny and democracy is more relevant than ever”. “Competition between the great powers is ubiquitous. The war continues. All of this should remind us of the fundamental need to preserve the Atlantic Alliance, a family of nations that Spain joined 40 years ago.”

The current context underlines, in his opinion, the relevance of NATO as “an alliance that offers a credible deterrence against any threat to the safety of its members, in Europe and North America, wherever it comes from & rdquor ;. Also the importance of military force in general and of NATO as a vehicle for military and technological innovation, one of the basic foundations of our security.

The current difficult context also reminds us, continued Felipe VI, that NATO is a “political community”. “More than ever, the Alliance is proving its value as a beacon of freedom for all of our friends and partners beyond Europe and North America.” Thus, although it is essentially a Euro-Atlantic organisation, its values ​​are universally “widely shared”.

“unity and freedom they are valuable strategic assets in a world marked by the return of great power competition and a renewed struggle between democracy and autocracy; trends that are not limited to the Euro-Atlantic space & rdquor ;, he has added.

In this context, while the Euro-Atlantic region will continue to be one of NATO’s main concerns, the world Economic Growth, the military race and technological rivalry shifts the focus to the Indo-Pacific region.



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