Germany, Norway urge NATO to protect undersea infrastructure

Germany and Norway are urging NATO to set up a center tasked with protecting undersea infrastructure such as gas pipelines and telecommunication cables. The alliance’s secretary-general welcomed the idea on Thursday. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after meeting his Norwegian counterpart this week that they would ask NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to set up such a center to coordinate protection measures. He pointed to the trans-Atlantic alliance’s “proven coordination capabilities, its maritime presence and its expertise.” He said a coordination center would also be “a clear signal (that) we take the protection of our critical infrastructure very seriously, and no one should believe that attacks would remain without consequences.”