40th Anniversary of Spain’s Accession to NATO

“On Monday (30 May 2022) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg took part in the solemn ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of Spain’s accession to NATO. The ceremony took place in Madrid’s Teatro Real, in the presence of His Majesty King Felipe VI, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, together with former NATO Secretaries General and former Spanish Prime Ministers.

“Secretary General Stoltenberg emphasised that throughout the past four decades, Spain has stood united with its NATO Allies in maintaining security across the Euro-Atlantic area. He praised Spain’s contributions to the Alliance, including its key role in NATO missions and operations, and applauded Prime Minister Sánchez and His Majesty King Felipe for their personal leadership and commitment to NATO. The Secretary General recalled that Spain is currently “providing critical support for Ukraine with security assistance and humanitarian aid, to uphold Ukraine’s right to self-defence enshrined in the UN Charter”.

“Looking ahead to the NATO Summit in Madrid at the end of June, the Secretary General emphasised that the Summit will be “an important opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to NATO’s values and the vital importance of Europe and North America working together in NATO.” He said that NATO will “reset our deterrence and defence for a more dangerous world” and will “deepen our cooperation with like-minded countries and organisations”.

“During his visit to Spain, Mr. Stoltenberg also met with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, members of his government and senior Spanish civilian and military officials.”