Documentation Speech of NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană

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(Ed/hb, Paris) On 4th December 2020, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană held a key note speech at the European Defence Agency’s annual conference in Brussels.

The key points of his speech (excerpts): Shared Values: “We should never forget that what really bonds our two organisation are our common values. And I think this is another incentive to further strengthen our strategic partnership between NATO and the EU. (…) in recent years, NATO-EU cooperation has reached unprecedented levels. We are working together on so many issues, from improving military mobility, countering hybrid and cyber threats, and countering disinformation together, we have done this during the pandemic very successfully, to coordinating our exercises or improving our strategic communications. (…) With the pandemic, that we are still in the eye of the storm, we have seen our cooperation accelerate.”

Cyber: “Cyber is one of the examples that the EU has developed tremendous instruments and a specific toolbox. NATO is also very advanced in cyber. We have declared five years ago, at the Warsaw NATO summit, that cyber is an operational domain. (…) This is where we are and we should work even closer together.”

Emerging and disruptive technologies: “I think we can do, and should do, more when it comes to new technologies and the way in which these are affecting not only defence and security, but also the way of life. Because the definition of security is becoming far more multifaceted. The line between traditional threats and non-traditional threats is becoming more blurred” (…) Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Biotechnology, are all topics that are in turbulent transformation and that are impacting on our security. We have to work and do things together (...)”.

photo: © NATO

Strategic cooperation: “Recently NATO has established in Ramstein, Germany, a Space Subcommand for military operations, and we are establishing in Toulouse, France, a Space Centre of Excellence, while the EU has a Space Agency. So I think we can do things together.”

China as a global player: “We must not fool ourselves, China is becoming a dominant global player. And we have to coordinate the way in which our two organisations are looking into China.”

Russian missile systems: “(...) they have developed, and are developing as we speak, super-advanced missile systems that are posing a threat to us, to all of us, and mainly to the European territory, and that is something that we have to work together because this is not something that we should try take lightly.”

Shifting the balance: “It is not only burden-sharing (...), it is also about the quality of the investment in our defence. We are still very vulnerable, and the way in which international security is developing is putting our societies, our national interests and our organisations under tremendous stress. And this is where we have to do much more together. It is also shifting the balance.”

Strategic partnership: “90% of the population of the EU is also population of NATO. So we are, in a way, obliged to work together. And if there is evolution like NATO 2030, the potential revisiting of our Strategic Concept in the next period of time, and as EU, naturally and positively is looking through his strategic compass and his vision about the future, I think we have to make sure that we work together and we keep the synergies in place. I am a great proponent of the strategic partnership between NATO and the EU. I think that if there will be high level meetings next year we have to think how we can really inject a new generation of fresh ideas in what to do together. Because as we enter in this very turbulent period of human history we need each other more than ever, we need to do more, we need to do better. And we have to make sure we keep the integrity of our values and our interests intact in a period which is complicated.”

web: Full Speech: https://bit.ly/37m8346