NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation : Continually adapting to a changing world - Lecture by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Centro Superior de Estudios de la Defensa Nacional in Madrid

Defence Minister,
General,
Ladies and gentlemen,

For almost 70 years, the nations of Europe and North America…
Nations with shared values and shared interests…
Have come together to keep our nations safe through the NATO Alliance.

And for more than 35 years, Spain has been a key NATO Ally.
So I am delighted to be here in Madrid with you all today.

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought unprecedented freedom, democracy and prosperity to Europe.

But in recent years, Europe's security landscape has changed significantly.
From Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.
To the turmoil and violence across North Africa and the Middle East.

Instability and uncertainty has spread throughout our neighbourhood.

We see cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns.
Dramatic increases in migration.
And significant terrorist attacks in many NATO countries.

Not least here in Spain, with the Madrid train bombings.
And last year's barbaric attack in Barcelona.

As a result of this changed security environment,
NATO Allies have responded with strength and determination.

At our summit in Brussels in July, NATO leaders will agree the next steps for our Alliance.

The five themes of the Brussels Summit will be:

• Further strengthening our deterrence and defence
• Stepping up efforts to project stability in our neighbourhood, including the fight against terrorism
• Making the partnership between NATO and the EU even stronger
• Continuing to modernise our Alliance.
• And ensuring fairer burden sharing.

I'd like to spend a few moments on each of those themes.

First, deterrence and defence.

Since 2014, NATO has transformed its ability to respond to a crisis…
From any direction…
On land, at sea, in the air, or from cyber-space.

Our forces have increased their ability to move quickly to where they are needed.
And we have deployed multinational troops and equipment in the east of our Alliance.
To deter any aggressive action.

Spain is one of the leading contributors to NATO missions and operations.
And I would like to thank you for your ongoing commitment to the Alliance.

In 2016, Spain led the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force.
A Spanish Patriot missile battery helps to defend Turkey's southern border.
And 300 Spanish troops are currently deployed as part of the forward presence in the east.
I was pleased to meet many of them when I visited Latvia last summer.

Much of our work so far has focussed on our land forces.
But a large part of the Euro-Atlantic area is covered by water.

Individually, Allies, such as Spain, have considerable maritime power.
But together, we can do so much more to reinforce our maritime posture.

NATO's actions respond to a more unpredictable world.
They are defensive, proportionate, and in line with our international commitments.

NATO does not want a new Cold War.
Nor do we want a new arms race.
Our aim is to prevent a conflict, not to provoke one.

That is why we maintain a dual-track approach towards Russia: defence and dialogue.
This remains the right approach.

In the two years following Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, no meetings of the NATO-Russia Council were held.

But in the last two years we have met six times.
To improve transparency and to reduce risks.
This dialogue is difficult.
But that is why it is important.
The second Summit theme will be projecting stability, including the fight against terrorism.

Spain knows better than most the challenges coming from the South.

We must do all we can to maintain and increase stability in our neighbourhood.
Because when our neighbours are more stable, we are more secure.
And training and advising local forces is one of the best tools we have.

In Iraq, NATO has already started a wide range of support and training for the armed forces.
I thank Spain for its contribution to NATO's training to counter Improvised Explosive Devices.
Enabling Iraq troops to more effectively stabilise their own country and counter terrorism.
Your leadership and expertise, as the hosts of the Centre of Excellence for counter-IEDs, has been crucial for our progress in Iraq.

I also want to commend Spain's long and unwavering commitment to Afghanistan.
Our Resolute Support Mission remains a priority.
Providing support to the government and enabling the armed forces to bring stability to their country.
I welcome Spain's increased contribution to this important NATO mission in 2018.

Countering terrorism is important for all NATO Allies.

We are stepping up our efforts to help our partners build their counter-terrorism capacity.
As part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
And to support Allies in need.

NATO can bring its unique expertise.
But terrorism is a foe that must be fought on many fronts.
It requires a diverse toolset.

That means working with others, especially with the European Union.

And this brings me to our third Summit theme: NATO-EU cooperation.

More than 90% of EU citizens are protected by NATO. So it is only natural that we should be close partners

In 2016, in Warsaw, President Juncker, President Tusk and I signed a Joint Declaration.
Since then, we have made unprecedented progress.
The partnership between NATO and the EU is now stronger than ever.

We cooperate on a range of issues.
Including on cyber, exercises, terrorism and military mobility.
And we have been working hard to implement them.

NATO's maritime operation Sea Guardian provides critical support to the EU's Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean.
On cyber, NATO and the EU exchange warnings about cyber-attacks and malware in real time.
The EU recently participated in NATO's Cyber Coalition exercise, one of the biggest in the world.
And last year I opened the Centre of Excellence on countering hybrid threats in Helsinki together with EU High Representative, Vice President Federica Mogherini.

So I am a strong supporter of EU efforts on defence.

It means more spending, more European capabilities, a fairer sharing of the transatlantic burden.
And, as a result, a stronger NATO.

It has the potential to be a win-win for the EU, for NATO, and for the transatlantic relationship more broadly.

But to realise this potential we need coherence between NATO and EU efforts on capability development.
Nations should not be presented with conflicting requirements and priorities.

We must also ensure that forces and capabilities generated through EU initiatives are available for NATO commitments.
We cannot have two sets of forces - one for NATO and one for the EU.

Remember that after Brexit, as much as 80% of NATO defence spending will come from non-EU Allies.
And three of the four battle groups deployed in the East will then be led by non-EU Allies.
The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

So we need complementarity, not competition.

***

The fourth theme of the Summit will be the continuous modernisation of the Alliance.

To underpin everything I have spoken about, our policies, our processes, and our use of resources must be as effective and as efficient as possible.

A fundamental element is the adaptation of the NATO Command Structure.

The Command Structure is the backbone of the Alliance.
It is what allows our nations to plan, prepare and, if necessary, to fight - together as one.

After the Cold War, the Command Structure was dramatically reduced.
Tensions had eased, so that was the right thing to do.
But now that tensions are high, we need to build it up once more.

The new Command Structure must be able to support all Allies, all of the time, now and in the future.

Among other things, we are looking to establish a new Command for the Atlantic.
To ensure that sea lines of communication between Europe and North America remain free and secure.
We are planning to establish a new Command to improve the movement of military forces across Europe.
And we are planning to set up a new Cyber Operations Centre.

Finally, the fifth theme of the Brussels Summit…
Which is essential to all of the others…
Is burden sharing.

At the next meeting of Defence Ministers in February,
Allies will report on their specific defence investment plans.
Covering cash, capabilities and contributions.

In other words, how they intend to move towards spending 2 percent of GDP on defence.
How they will invest additional funding in key military capabilities.
And how they are contributing to NATO missions and operations.

This will set the scene for the Summit.
Where we will review the progress we have made in implementing the most substantial increase in our collective defence in a generation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We face greater and more complex challenges than we have for decades.
But there is a Spanish proverb that goes:

'En la union, está la fuerza.'

It is the union of the 29 nations of the NATO Alliance that makes us strong.

As we head toward the Brussels Summit, there is much still to do.
And there will be more yet in the years ahead.

But when we look back to what we have achieved together.
To the unity and solidarity we have demonstrated.
Then I am confident that the NATO Alliance will continue to protect the almost one billion citizens who rely on it for their security.

Thank you.