An informal meeting of Europe’s ministers for foreign affairs - Gymnich - took place on Sept. 6-7 in Vilnius, where discussions centered on preparations for the December European Council on Defense Issues and items related to the Eastern Partnership and southern neighborhood policy, reports ELTA. READ MORE

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen thanked Italy for its significant contributions to the Alliance during talks with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in Rome on Thursday (25 July 2013). “Italy has been a staunch member of our Alliance since its creation and continues to demonstrate strong commitment to NATO every day in many different ways,” the Secretary General said. READ MORE

Back in 2011 the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a public warning, noting that the aggregate reductions in military spending in Europe totaled USD 45 billion, which is jeopardizing the viability of the Alliance and the US-European relations. Since then, bogged down in the Afghan war and faced with the economic downturn and the need to reduce budget deficits, military spending of the EU countries decreased even more. The U.S. share of total expenditures NATO has grown from 63% in 2001 to almost 75% today. Military budgets of the Alliance from 2009 to 2013 declined by about 8.5%, and tend to decrease in the future. If in 2009 the total level of defense spending in Europe amounted to USD 256 billion, in 2013 - USD 234,3 billion of the 28 NATO countries only the United States, Britain and Greece held its own requirements on the amount of military spending at 2% of GDP. Even Britain and France were forced to go on ways to reduce defense appropriations. As a result, last year for the first time Asian military spending exceeded European. READ MORE

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed cooperation prospects at the meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. READ MORE