Welcome

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s 2021 Spring Session was due to be held in Stockholm, Sweden. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the NATO PA Standing Committee decided to hold this meeting online.

From 14 to 17 May, all 269 members of parliament from the 30 NATO members and about 100 members from some 30 partner countries and parliamentary bodies will have the opportunity to gather and discuss the key issues affecting the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. 

Importantly, the Assembly’s five Committees will discuss the first drafts of fifteen in-depth policy Reports. Moreover, the Assembly's President, Gerald E. Connolly, senior representatives of the government of Sweden – the original host –, and NATO's Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoană, will address the Session’s Plenary Sittings.

As NATO prepares for an important Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will shape the Alliance’s future adaption, the Assembly’s Members of parliament will discuss the following priorities:

• the NATO 2030 reflection process, expectations for the NATO Summit and for the update of NATO’s Strategic Concept
• renewed transatlantic relations
• Russia’s multifaceted and heightened challenge to Euro-Atlantic security
• the implications of China’s rise and military modernisation
• societal and democratic resilience, including to disinformation
• NATO’s and partners' ongoing drawdown in Afghanistan
• ongoing instability across the Middle East and Africa
• security in the High North
• the economic impact of the pandemic, and how to maintain defence spending and work towards fairer burden sharing
• arms control and non proliferation challenges, including the Iranian nuclear challenge
• new developments in space
• NATO’s partnerships, particularly in Asia
   

Download the Spring Session programme.