Opening remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the Atlantic Council of the United States’ Future Leaders Summit in Newport, Wales, 4 September 2014.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends, Kolinda,
Thank you very much indeed for that very kind, and also in a way a bit surprising, introduction. I didn’t know that we met at Alpe d’Huez. But surely I do remember climbing Alpe d’Huez : the 21 curves really represent a challenge. But I think for a Secretary General that’s really a quite good, or a future Secretary General, that is a quite good preparation, because it takes perseverance, also a bit of patience, to climb Alpe D’Huez but though it’s uphill, finally we succeed. And that is exactly how I see the work within NATO. It can be a challenge to get 28 nations to agree, but at the end of the day, there is a strong consensual spirit. And thanks to that spirit of solidarity, we succeed in making important decisions.
So, we are now starting one of the most important Summits in the history of our Alliance, and it is indeed a great pleasure to also welcome you to our NATO Summit here in Wales.
Let me also thank wholeheartedly the Atlantic Council for once again organizing the Future Leaders Summit. We really appreciate all your work to create the right framework for engaging the next generation in our important work and I attach great importance to involving you in our work to strengthen the transatlantic bond, and I would also, right from the outset, thank you warmly for your contributions, your input, earlier this year to strengthening our transatlantic bond. It has been a great inspiration for us in the preparations for our Summit.
Growing up in Denmark in the 1960’s, I came of age in a Europe that was divided and dangerous. When everything could end in the flash of a nuclear exchange. Your experience has been very different. You came of age after the fall of the Berlin Wall in a Europe where conflict had been contained. Where dividing lines were being erased. And where freedom, stability and prosperity appeared to be the natural state of affairs.
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been a wake-up call. It has reminded us, reminded all of us, that our freedom, security and prosperity cannot be taken for granted.
That some are trying to redraw dividing lines in Europe with force and in blood. So a Europe whole, free and at peace remains a work in progress.
NATO has stood firm in the face of this challenge. We have suspended our cooperation with Russia. We have boosted our cooperation with our partner Ukraine. We have strengthened our collective defence. And we have left no doubt that we will do whatever it takes to defend ourselves.
But Russia’s aggressive behaviour is not the only challenge we face.
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