Feb 22, 2024 at 5:32 PM Update: an hour ago
Romania is presenting a rival candidate for NATO leadership, now that numerous countries are publicly backing Mark Rutte as the alliance’s new top executive.
Romania has informed other NATO members that it wants to nominate its president as a candidate for the post of secretary general of the defense alliance, European officials say.
According to observers, the nomination of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is complicating efforts by other allies to appoint outgoing Prime Minister Rutte.
Iohannis recently called it “inadmissible” that none of the top jobs being discussed this year will go to someone from Eastern Europe. NATO members there are said to feel “sidelined” in terms of NATO leadership.
NATO’s 31 members must decide unanimously who will succeed current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when his term expires in October. Rutte reportedly already has two-thirds of the member states behind him, but Turkey and Hungary, among others, are still said to be obstructive.
The allies want to agree in early April. Around that time, all NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels for the 75th anniversary of the alliance.
- 22 Feb 2024 at 13:54
British, Americans and Germans want Rutte to become the new NATO boss
Image: AFP
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2024-02-22 16:32:23
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