Tag Archives: NATO

Two aircraft carriers at Souda

The sighting of a group of casually dressed young men and women, speaking French and enjoying a meal in the Apostolis restaurant on the old harbour in Chania, was a clue that the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was visiting the NATO naval base at Marathi last weekend. Tied up at dock K14, which was recently enlarged and is claimed to be the only dock in the Mediterranean which can accommodate a nuclear aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French fleet and the only non-US nuclear carrier currently in operation.

Completed in the year 2000 at a cost of €3 billion, the carrier is 261.5 m long, 64.36 m wide and has a maximum speed of 27 knots (50km/h). It has a complement of 1,350 crew and can carry 30 Rafale fighter jets plus assorted reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters, which are flown and serviced by an additional 600 personnel. It can also transport 800 marines and 5,000 tonnes of ammunition.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which was docked at the NATO naval base at Marathi over the weekend. Photo: http://www.seaforces.org


Also at Souda over the weekend was the Spanish amphibious assault ship/aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I, a (slightly) smaller, conventionally powered vessel of 230.82 m length and 32 m beam, which was moored at the cruise ship dock on the other side of the bay. Commissioned in 2010 at a final cost of €462 million, the Juan Carlos is driven by a combination of diesel-electric and gas turbine power and has a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h). The complement of the ship is around 900 naval personnel, with equipment and support elements for 1,200 soldiers. Like many modern aircraft carriers, it has a “ski-jump” ramp at the bow for V/STOL (vertical or short take-off and landing) aircraft such as the second-generation Harrier and the F35. The ship can carry 30 helicopters or a mix of V/STOL Harriers and rotary wing aircraft. A derivation of the Juan Carlos’s design, constructed at the Sedef shipyard in Istanbul and expected to be commissioned in 2023, is the TCG Anadolou, the Turkish Navy’s first aircraft carrier.

Also at the naval base at Marathi were the 230 m troop-carrying ship and floating base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams, which is a regular visitor to Souda, as well as the Greek frigates Adrias and Psara.

The vessels are taking part in the Antares Mission, a NATO joint exercise which began in November and is basically a show of strength in the Mediterranean in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It currently involves five different aircraft carriers plus assorted support ships. Taking part in addition to the French and Spanish carriers are the US Navy’s USS George HW Bush (recently moored off Piraeus), the Italian Cavour, and the UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth, the latter replacing its newly-commissioned sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, which was withdrawn from service in August 2022 following a failure of one of its propeller shafts and is expected to return to service in the spring of this year.

The strong NATO presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, and particularly at Souda, has aroused vocal opposition from Greek anti-war elements. On Friday afternoon the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) organised a demonstration in front of the Agora in Chania, handing out leaflets to passers-by and shouting slogans against war, against imperialism and against NATO.

KKE demonstrators at the Agora on the evening of Friday 17th February handed out leaflets and shouted slogans against war and NATO “imperialism”. Photo: Haniotika Nea.

In a statement to the press, KKE Secretary Spiros Agrimakis said that the demonstration was being held “to declare our steadfast opposition to the mooring of NATO ships on the responsibility of the government, which is involving us ever more closely in the war in Ukraine, to conflict and to plans for war in the Southeast Mediterranean. Souda is hosting military equipment and toxic waste, vast expansion works are under way at the base, which is an important centre for NATO’s imperialist interventions in the region. It is unacceptable for our people to be targeted by the adversaries of the US (Russia and China), and for us to be embroiled in ever greater dangers.”
(Haniotika Nea, 18th February 2023)

The search for a new NATO Secretary General

According to an article in the Haniotika Nea of 11th November, quoting the Athenian-Macedonian Press Agency (APE-MPE), NATO expects to have appointed a new Secretary General by next spring, as the term of the current holder of the office, Jens Stoltenberg, comes to an end in October 2023 after three extensions and a whole decade in the post.

As discussions about his successor get under way in the NATO headquarters in Brussels, speculation is proliferating in the international press as to the names of possible candidates. The list is long and competition is expected to be fierce, since the post of NATO Secretary General has acquired new importance because of continuing crises such as the war in Ukraine, and the fact that NATO is being called upon to play a stabilising role internationally.

The candidates

According to the latest information from NATO sources, the names being heard most often in the corridors of NATO HQ, as well as in the international press are:
– former prime minister of Italy, Mario Draghi;
– Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte;
– Canadian finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland;
– British defence minister Ben Wallace;
– Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas;
– the president of Slovakia Zouzana Capoutova;
– former president of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic;
– Romanian president Klaus Iohannis.
There may also be some surprise candidates put forward by countries such as Germany and Belgium.

An article in the New York Times states that Chrystia Freeland is considered a strong contender in Washington. (The United States does not put forward an American candidate, since an American general is traditionally the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.) Freeland is of Ukrainian descent and speaks English, French, Italian, Ukrainian and Russian. Moreover, as the article says, “she has run complicated ministries; she is good at news conferences and other public appearances, and she would be the first woman and first Canadian ever to run NATO”.

Chrystia Freeland
Kaja Kallas

Among the possible candidates reportedly being mentioned to replace Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of NATO are the Canadian deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland (left), and the Estonian president Kaja Kallas. Photos: Munich Security Conference; official portrait by Renee Altrov.

However, the EU would prefer the next NATO head to be from a member country, as 21 of its current 27 states belong to the Alliance, and if Sweden and Finland are approved for NATO membership, 23 of the 32 members would belong to the EU. At the same time there are rumours at NATO HQ that Stoltenberg wants to extend his term once again, to 2024. It appears however that this is likely to meet strong opposition from a group of countries led by France.

The process

The decision-making process lies with the Permanent Representatives of the member states in the North Atlantic Council. According to the NATO website, “The North Atlantic Council (NAC) has effective political authority and powers of decision and consists of Permanent Representatives of all member countries meeting together at least once a week….The Council is the only body within the Alliance which derives its authority explicitly from the North Atlantic Treaty.”

Shortly before the end of the incumbent General Secretary’s term, the Permanent Representatives will start a series of negotiations aimed at finding the candidate preferred by the overwhelming majority. The negotiations involve frequent contacts with the capitals of the most important Allies, with Washington playing a leading role.

The conclusive date for the election of the new General Secretary is next spring, so that the name can be announced at the NATO Summit Conference at Vilnius in Lithuania in June 2023. The final choice will be made by the Council’s Permanent Representatives acting on instructions from their capitals, and their decision is expected to be unanimous, without being put to a vote.