Summary of the day
Mark Rutte, the outgoing Dutch prime minister, has formally been selected as the next secretary-general of Nato. The defensive alliance said that “Rutte will assume his functions as Secretary General from 1 October 2024.”
Jens Stoltenberg, has praised his successor. “Mark is a true transatlanticist, a strong leader and a consensus-builder. I wish him every success as we continue to strengthen NATO. I know I am leaving NATO in good hands,” he said.
Rutte said “it is a tremendous honour to be appointed Secretary-General of NATO” and “the alliance is and will remain the cornerstone of our collective security.”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, has congratulated Rutte and thanked Stoltenberg. “We anticipate that our joint work to ensure the protection of people and freedom throughout our entire Euro-Atlantic community will continue at good pace,” he said.
Leaders from across Europe also congratulated Rutte.
Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister who is expected to become the next EU high representative for foreign affairs, said “we see threats to our common security the same way. With your experience, I’m sure NATO continues to be strong and effective against them.”
The EU’s 27 ambassadors agreed in principle on new sanctions targeting Belarus.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, has issued a statement on Russia’s decision to block a number of European media. He did so on his own after Hungary blocked a joint EU27 statement.
The US embassy in Russia issued a statement today as a court began proceedings in the case of journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia for over a year. “We have been clear from the start that Evan has done nothing wrong and never should have been arrested in the first place.”
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, has criticised a deal among three EU political families on the bloc’s top jobs, arguing that it has ignored voters’ wishes in the European elections.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has lauded the EU’s proposed leadership for the coming years as the basis for “a good European future”, reports Associated Press.
France’s government ordered the dissolution of extreme right and “radical Islamist” groups, four days before the first round of elections that may see a surge in support for political extremes.
Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands was asked to “report” to the Dutch foreign affairs ministry to explain allegations of a secret surveillance and espionage campaign by Israeli spy services against the international criminal court, it has emerged.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it has revoked the accreditation of the chief correspondent of Austria’s public broadcaster ORF, the Associated Press reported.
