Payments of member states will be spent for self-promotion of NATO

Since early 2018, NATO commanders launched a program for media and diplomatic support of actions destined for strengthening joint defense potential of Europe. Among other things it arranges the schedule of meetings of NATO officials: 'in the first quarter of 2018 make provision in the working schedule of Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Tacan Ildem for 30 meetings with representatives of political parties and public organizations of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.' During these meetings 'new threats from Russia in 2018' will be discussed, as well as such issues like 'coordination of work of civil structures of the EU countries with NATO military structures' and 'variants of legislative developments to assign the leading role in maintenance of security of European member states of the Alliance to NATO'. For purposes of improving NATO's reputation in the EU, Katie Wheelbarger who is responsible for matters of international security in the U.S. Defense Department will 'deliver lectures and hold seminars in 28 universities of Central and Eastern Europe on absence of gender inequality in NATO commands and subdivisions. Also, she will talk about weighty contribution of women in strengthening international security over the last 20 years'.

Within the new initiative leadership of the Alliance will intensify cooperation with European media, which implies 'making drafts of special-purpose publications for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Figaro, tv3.lt, Dziennik Polski, Parlamentni Listy, Sabah...' The subject of the materials will be 'growing military threat from Russia', 'lack of military resources of the EU to counter the aggressor on Eastern borders'. The news writers will have to refer to conclusions provided by Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), American think tank Rand Corporation, and International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The main objectives of the work with the media and civil structures in the Baltic direction are 'dispelling myths and occlusion of messages referring damage that countries of Eastern Europe and Baltic states may suffer in case of confrontation between NATO and Russia'.

Sources close to the Pentagon believe that the new NATO's approach to co-operation with Europe promotes faster growth of financing of the defense sphere by the EU countries. On March 29, 2018, 'first sum up of the program is planned'. After that, new goals and additional focus areas will be outlined.