Keynote speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Prague on 12 November
by Nigel Chamberlain, NATO Watch
This was a big speech, almost Churchillian in its call to stand up and be counted. It is very resonant of "We will fight them on the beaches...........”. Rasmussen called not just for everyone to pull together and make resources stretch further, he made every individual parliamentarian in the room responsible for going home and evangelising for ‘Smart Defence’. Inspirational or a sign of desperation? What do you think? Please contact us at NATO Watch with your thoughts.
An edited transcript of the speech follows below. The full speech is available here
(Also see - NATO Watch Comment: Secretary General offers industry maximum transparency in NATO Smart Defence planning but what about parliamentary and public scrutiny?)
Preamble
Ten year ago, the slogan for the Prague summit was ‘new members, new capabilities, and new partnerships’. Since then, the Alliance has continued to reform and adapt and at the Lisbon Summit two years ago a new Strategic Concept was adopted. Collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security became the three fundamental tasks for NATO and at the Chicago Summit this year, decisions were taken to enable NATO to implement them.
More spending needed
The decline in defence spending across the Alliance needs to be stopped and reversed. This will require commitment and active support from NATO’s leaders and NATO’s parliamentarians in order to avoid a security crisis. The stark facts undermine the Alliance principle of solidarity:
- Total Allied defence expenditure in 2011 declined by over 56 billion US dollars in real terms since 2009. Six European Allies marginally increased defence spending last year compared with 2009 but it was outweighed by the deep cuts made by the other nineteen Allies.
- Only two European Allies spent more than 2% of their Gross Domestic Product on defence last year. Four devoted less than 1%. The United States, too, has started to reduce its defence spending with more cuts are to follow.
- Since 1991, the non-US share of NATO’s defence spending has fallen from 35% to 23% today. This growing transatlantic gap is unsustainable.
- Estimated defence spending in Asia has doubled in the last decade and this year it will overtake defence spending in NATO’s European Allies for the first time.
- By 2015, China will outspend the eight major NATO European Allies combined. Russia intends to double its defence budget from 3% to 6% of Gross Domestic Product within the next 10 years.
Multiple threats
Be under no illusion, our safety and security will be challenged. Crises will arise. Failed states will continue to host terrorist organisations that threaten us. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the missile systems to deliver them, will not go away. And our sea lanes and other vital transport and communication systems will still need to be protected.
Mind the gaps
- Deep cuts in European defence budgets will create a gap within Europe itself. Many Allies here will find it increasingly difficult to acquire the necessary defence capabilities required to be able to act collectively.
- The growing gap in transatlantic defence spending risks weakening United States support for the Alliance. There is already a worrying perception on the other side of the Atlantic that Europeans are free-loaders.
- The rise of emerging powers will create a gap between their ability to act, and ours. If we continue to reduce defence spending, we will diminish our influence on the international stage.
The way forward
At the Chicago Summit, we set ourselves the goal of ‘NATO Forces 2020’ – forces that are more capable, more compatible, and more complementary. And we can get there through Smart Defence and the Connected Forces Initiative – if we back them up with the necessary political willpower.
- Smart Defence is all about greater prioritisation, specialisation and, most importantly, multinational cooperation. By joining together to acquire capabilities, nations will be able to afford what they cannot do alone. It is about greater resource efficiency. Drones will give us a NATO-owned and operated intelligence and surveillance system. Our missile defence system to protect our populations and territories is now operational. The Multinational Logistics Coordination Centre is based in Prague and it will enable Allies to work together more effectively.
- The Connected Forces Initiative is focussed on our operational effectiveness. Combined NATO forces are operating in Afghanistan, in Kosovo and off the coast of Somalia. They have also working with partners from outside the Alliance. There is considerable scope for making our training and education more multinational and for boosting multinational contributions to our exercise programme, especially with the NATO Response Force.
NATO needs you
As members of your national parliaments, you have considerable responsibilities and have to make the difficult choices about protecting our security, our prosperity, and the sovereignty of our nations. You also have considerable responsibilities as members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly you need to continue explaining to your colleagues in parliament, and to your voters at home, why investment in defence and security remains essential to protecting the values that underpin our way of life.
NATO needs you – the decision-makers -- to look for the multinational solutions so that Smart Defence and the Connected Forces Initiative are fully implemented to help us through these difficult economic times. And, most importantly, NATO needs you to help hold the line on defence spending, to avoid the risks that would be created through further cuts. We need you to increase defence spending as soon as the economic situation allows.