The NATO summit that has just concluded in Madrid has aroused a great deal of expectation. Without going so far as to claim - time will tell - that Madrid was the scene of a historic event, it can be said that the summit was not just one of those that Atlantic Alliance leaders routinely hold.

First, because it has come at a difficult time for Euro-Atlantic security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has served as an impetus to revitalise NATO. Also, because diplomacy has been able to forge a agreement between Turkey, Sweden and Finland that clears the way for the latter two to become full plenary session of the Executive Council members of the Alliance. Finally, because it has culminated in the publication of a new strategic document that will go down in history as the Madrid Strategic Concept 2022.

The new concept contains novel aspects. Russia occupies a central place in it. The spirit of appeasement that hung over the 2010 concept gives way to open confrontational language that defines Russia as the "most significant and direct threat" to Euro-Atlantic security. Not surprisingly, NATO emphasises collective defence over its other two tasks, crisis management and cooperative security, which now appear somewhat blurred.

The text is sample emphatic in affirming the resolve to defend 'every inch' of allied territory. This novel emphasis on territorial integrity has been read as a guarantee that the Alliance's umbrella will extend its benevolent protection over the territories of Ceuta and Melilla to protect them from potential security threats.

While this is a plausible interpretation, it should be noted that the text carefully omits any explicit accredited specialization to the two Spanish cities, not to mention the fact that article 6 of the Washington Treaty, which defines the territory protected by the collective defence clause, unequivocally leaves them outside its protective umbrella. It is worth asking why the Madrid summit did not undertake the modification of the aforementioned article 6 to include them, similar to what was done in 1951 when Turkey joined the Alliance.

The references in NATO's new strategy to the application of the concept of "360° security" and to issues such as terrorism and the fragility and instability in the Middle East and North Africa are to be seen as very positive. They reflect the concerns of allies closer to the southern shores of the Mediterranean, who see with concern an imbalance in favour of the clear and present threat posed by Russia and demand treatment that provides a similar level of security to the South. The test of the concept will, however, be in its application internship.

The immediacy of the challenge posed by Putin's war does not obscure other threats in the document, with China emerging as the most important. This is another new element in the new strategy document. As Europeans generally want, the Madrid concept holds out its hand to China for constructive cooperation wherever possible. However, taking the US perspective, NATO is unequivocal about the People's Republic of China, whose ambition it defines as a "challenge to Alliance interests, security and values". 

With this new contribution, NATO is opening up to the Indo-Pacific area. With it, the Atlantic Alliance assumes that its security, and not only that of the United States, is also at stake in this broad arena, where it must go hand in hand with the democracies of the region, who, not by chance, were present at the summit and with whom closer cooperation is called for.

A strategic concept, at final, which introduces a revitalised Atlantic Alliance into a demanding strategic scenario in which threats and risks are multiplying - the document contains the now customary references to cyberspace, disarmament, proliferation and climate change - and in which NATO is actively committed to guaranteeing the security of all all allies. An important challenge that will require NATO members to invest material and financial resources far beyond what they have been accustomed to so far. Will the allies be up to the challenge?