International Romania gives up: Dutchman Rutte can become NATO Secretary General
The way has been cleared for the appointment of Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of NATO after months of deadlock. On Thursday, Romania was the last alliance state to announce that it would drop its opposition to the outgoing Dutch head of government being appointed to the top post.
20.06.2024, 14:05
SDA
Romania's President Klaus Iohannis withdrew his own candidacy, as the presidential chancellery announced in Bucharest on Thursday. At the same time, Romania now supports Rutte's candidacy, it added. This decision was made by the country's Supreme Defense Council (CSAT), which is chaired by Iohannis.
Hungary, Slovakia and Turkey had already taken this step recently. For a long time, these three countries, together with Romania, were the only NATO states that were still blocking the appointment of 57-year-old Rutte as Jens Stoltenberg's successor.
Hungary finally gave up its resistance after Rutte agreed to Hungarian demands. Among other things, Hungary wanted to be sure that it would not be pressured into participating in a planned NATO mission to coordinate arms deliveries for Ukraine. Orban's government fears that the project could drive the alliance into a direct confrontation with Russia.
Until recently, Romania had its own candidate for the top job in President Iohannis. However, it was suspected in Alliance circles that Iohannis was primarily interested in being offered some other top international post as an alternative. The Romanian's second term of office ends in the fall and he will not be able to run again in Romania.
The current contract of the current NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg runs until October 1. He had already announced several times in the past that he wanted to give up the post. Last summer, however, attempts by the member states to agree on a successor failed again. At that time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the then British Defense Minister Ben Wallace were among the possible candidates for Stoltenberg's successor.
Stoltenberg has now held the top job for almost ten years. This makes him the second-longest serving Secretary-General in the history of the Alliance. The Dutchman Joseph Luns has been the Alliance's highest international official for the longest time. He was in office from 1971 to 1984.
The appointment of a new Secretary General requires a consensus within the defense alliance. This means that none of the current 32 NATO states may raise an objection to the candidate. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already publicly backed Rutte in February. Further support also came from the USA and Great Britain at the time. Alliance circles said on Thursday that it was very likely that Rutte could now be officially presented as Stoltenberg's successor as early as next week.
Rutte is regarded as an extremely experienced foreign politician. He was most recently head of government of the Netherlands for almost 14 years, longer than anyone before him and therefore also one of the longest-serving in the EU.
