On Wednesday (19 February 2025), Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol and the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Joergensen, to the NATO Headquarters for a meeting with the North Atlantic Council.
The Secretary General noted the critical importance of energy to our economies, our security and our defence. There has been an increase in cyber-attacks and the targeting of critical infrastructure, including undersea cables, across the Alliance. In this respect, NATO is strengthening the security of critical infrastructure to prevent sabotage, including through a recently launched initiative, Baltic Sentry.
Mr Rutte also noted that NATO's collective defence, and efforts by Allies to ramp up defence industrial production depend on reliable and affordable energy. He emphasised the need to shift to a wartime mindset, specifically in the energy sector, to ensure supplies for Allied military forces and defence industries. In this regard, NATO has to step up its engagement with the energy industry and energy decision-makers, including the International Energy Agency and the EU. NATO is also boosting its effort on innovative energy solutions for defence applications, to maintain its edge over adversaries and strategic competitors.
