Keynote speech

by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the NATO Parliamentary

Assembly in Bucharest, Romania

Mr. Presidents, Excellencies, Ministers, Distinguished Members of Parliament, Ladies and Gentlemen,It is always a great pleasure to speak to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Like most of you, I am a politician.I had the privilege of being a parliamentarian for more than thirty years. I recognize some familiar faces in theaudience.Colleagues I have known for many years. And many new faces. All together, we have more than 50 delegationsfrom Allied and partner countries across the world.We Parliamentarians often face difficult choices. One of the hardest is whether to send our young men andwomen in uniform to dangerous and often far-away places.In fact, my first security decision as Prime Minister was to deploy Danish soldiers to Afghanistan after the 9/11attacks. It was a difficult decision. But it was the right one.Our host country made a similar choice. Even before becoming an Ally, Romania contributed troops to our ISAFoperation in Afghanistan – a coalition whose members now include one quarter of the world’s countries.Today, Romania continues to deploy nearly 2,000 ISAF soldiers, many of whom act as trainers and mentorswhile embedded with the Afghan National Army. In this and many other ways, Romania has been an exemplaryAlly.Such choices are never easy. Earlier this year, NATO decided to implement the mandate of the United NationsSecurity Council to protect civilians in Libya. We had a lively debate among the Allies. But we took the decisionin just 6 days – and it was the right decision.You may have seen some of the comments from Libyans on NATO’s Facebook page expressing appreciation forour operation in that country. Among others, Farid Ahmed wrote, “We Libyans threw Qadhafi into the dustbin ofhistory. Tripoli is celebrating. Thank you NATO”.NATO and our partners helped ensure the end of Qadhafi’s rule. The Libya operation showed that when thecause is just – when the legal base is strong – and when the regional support is clear, NATO is still theindispensable alliance.We conducted Operation Unified Protector successfully against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. Thatcrisis is unlikely to go away by the time we meet at the Chicago summit in May next year. Our economies andour security are intimately linked. Huge deficits and growing debt make countries vulnerable.For that reason, sound fiscal policies are also sound security policies. Both require that we get the most out ofwhat we spend on defence and security.

So today I would like to give you my ideas about how we can maintain an Alliance that provides the bestsecurity for a cost we can afford – despite these hard economic times. To do that, we need to focus on threeissues. Capabilities, Connectivity, and Commitment.First, Capabilities. For more than a generation, we have recognized the need to improve burden sharingbetween members. But during that same period, we have seen that, while Europe still has powerful militaries,the gap between the United States and the Allies has grown ever larger.In Libya, European Allies and Canada, together with our partners, provided most of the assets. But the successof our operation depended on capabilities that only the United States could offer. Drones, surveillance andintelligence assets. All Allies need these critical capabilities. But most do not have the means to gain them.In my view, the way forward lies not in spending more, but in spending better. The idea is simple: Prioritise thecapabilities we need the most. Specialise in what we do best. And seek multinational solutions to commonproblems. This is shared defence. It is efficient defence. I call it Smart Defence. And it is the key to improvingour capabilities and distributing the defence burden more fairly.In a sense, prioritization, specialization, and multinational cooperation have always been at the heart of theAlliance’s mission. Let me give you some examples.Allied air forces now police the air space of our Baltic members. So instead of spending large amounts of moneyon expensive aircraft, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been able to focus on more deployable troops forAfghanistan.In this case, Allies prioritised, they specialised, and they did so through a process of careful and coordinatedconsultation. They chose Smart Defence.Another good example is strategic airlift. Ten Allies, including Romania, and two partners have together boughtthree C17 transport planes. Alone, they could not have afforded even one.And in 2004, in Denmark, we decided to phase out our independent submarine fleet. This was not an easydecision. But it was the right one. And we were able to focus our investment in other capabilities that weneeded, and that the Alliance needed.Let me be clear. ‘Smart Defence’ can only work if it is done together. It is not an excuse for decreasing defencebudgets. Because that’s not burden ‘sharing’. That’s burden ‘shedding’.At the end of the day, we have to decide if we want to work together to lower costs. If we do, then SmartDefence will give us the best capabilities at the best value for the best price. And that’s our choice: SmartDefence, or less defence. And if you think security is expensive, remember – it’s cheaper than insecurity.La deuxième priorité de l’OTAN est d’être mieux « connectée ». Connectée à ses partenaires. Connectée auxnouveaux acteurs sur la scène de la sécurité. Et connectée à la communauté internationale.Ces efforts sont déjà en cours. Depuis des années, l’OTAN bâtit des relations dans le domaine de la sécuritéavec différents pays de la Méditerranée, du Proche-Orient et de la région du Golfe. De ce fait, lorsque le Conseilde sécurité de l’ONU a donné mandat de protéger les civils en Libye, l’OTAN n’a pas dû partir de zéro pour

construire des relations régionales. Au contraire, l’opération Unified Protector a bénéficié, dès le tout début, dusoutien politique et opérationnel de nos partenaires de la région.L’Alliance doit également développer ses relations avec d’autres pays intéressés, où qu’ils se situent sur la cartedu monde. Avec l’Afghanistan, où nous devons renforcer notre partenariat à long terme. Avec nos partenairesmondiaux qui sont l’Australie, le Japon, la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Corée du Sud. Avec des pays émergents clés.Et nous continuerons de promouvoir l’intégration euro-atlantique des pays des Balkans occidentaux et plus àl’Est.Et, bien entendu, l’Alliance devrait avoir un partenariat authentique et stratégique avec la Russie. La Russie etl’OTAN travaillent déjà ensemble sur de nombreuses questions, dont l’Afghanistan, la lutte contre le terrorismeet la lutte contre la piraterie. Et je me réjouis à la perspective d’un avenir où nous coopérerons davantageencore pour faire face à des défis communs tels que la prolifération des missiles.Finally, NATO must be committed.Committed to the enduring values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Committed to the purposes andprinciples of the United Nations Charter. And committed to solidarity and consensus through consultation anddebate.This must be an Alliance where North America and Europe are bound together in mutual security. An Alliancewhose values we embrace. An Alliance that is the cornerstone not only of transatlantic security, but of globalsecurity.Capabilities, Connectivity, and Commitment. Three features that are essential to keeping the Allianceindispensable. And three features that we must enhance when we meet for our Summit in Chicago next May.Let me share with you my key goals for that Summit.In Chicago, we should agree a strategic plan with Afghanistan for our partnership that will last through 2014and beyond.We should endorse a package of capability improvements that all Allies need.We should declare an interim operational capability for a NATO territorial missile defence system – and I hopewe can also take forward cooperation with Russia on missile defence.We should reaffirm the Alliance’s commitment to the Euro-Atlantic integration of our partners on this continent.And we should also send a strong signal to countries in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Gulf thatwe continue to share an interest in the region’s stability and security.And I hope that by Chicago, a new and democratic Libya will be among our partners.These goals are ambitious but realistic. I hope that you share them. And that you will support them.Ladies and gentlemen,