''One security roof'' from Vancouver to Vladivostok
On 27 March, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Dr Madeleine Albright, who chairs the Group of Experts on NATO’s new Strategic Concept, joined a high-level panel to discuss the Alliance’s future in the face of new and unpredictable threats.
The session was part of the three-day Brussels Forum organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Dubbed “NATO's Future in an Unpredictable and Globalizing World”, the panel also featured Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov.
The panel members discussed NATO’s role in missile defence, the North Atlantic Treaty’s “Article V” on collective defence, and the balance between strategic reassurance and engagement with Russia. When speaking on missile defence, Secretary General Rasmussen said that a new system should be an opportunity to bring NATO and Russia together: “We need a missile defence system that includes not just all countries of NATO, but Russia too. One security roof, that we build together, that we support together, and that we operate together. One security roof that protects us all.”
They also discussed how NATO needs to change to stay relevant in a world where threats are constantly evolving.
In early May, Dr Albright will provide the Secretary General with the Group of Experts’ recommendations for NATO’s new Strategic Concept, which – once agreed by all Allied countries in November – will guide the Alliance’s activities in the years to come.
The Brussels Forum is an annual high-level meeting of North American and European political, corporate and intellectual leaders who gather to address key challenges facing both sides of the Atlantic.