Remarks

ROSE GOTTEMOELER: [NATO Deputy Secretary General]: Thank you very much, Symeon, for that very kind introduction.  It's a huge honour to be here today with Mr President and with the entire community of the Delphi Forum.  It's particularly pleasing for me to be here for the third of these historic forums, in this historic place.

You may be surprised to hear that Delphi has long had a place in my working life.  I started working in the Rand Corporation in 1978 and when I was there, I found out about the development of something called The Delphi Method which, to my mind, was a precursor of the efforts we have afoot today, to undertake better decision- making based on the expert opinion that can be gathered together and collated.  And so, in my work at Rand, I made use of the Delphi Method that had been invented at Rand in the 1950s, but again taking its inspiration from this historic place.

I am also delighted to be here in Delphi, which for many centuries played a central role in the Amphictyonic League.  The League was an alliance of town states, literally a union of neighbours.  It began with 12 members, just as NATO began with 12 members, joined together to protect what they treasured most.  For the League, this meant the temples of Apollo and Demeter, deities symbolising security and prosperity.  For NATO too, it is our security and prosperity that are important and lend themselves as the foundation stone of our freedom.

What we know of the League and what we have experienced in NATO affirms the importance of like-minded friends and neighbours coming together in common cause.  The essential idea is that we are much stronger and much more secure standing together than we would be if we were standing alone.

For almost 70 years, NATO Allies have stood together as one, helping to keep Europe secure.  And this extended era of peace and security has, in turn, provided the foundation, the precondition, for economic growth and prosperity.  Put simply, the security guaranteed by NATO has been good for business and investment, good for innovation and progress, here in Greece and throughout the NATO Alliance.  In turn, of course, the business community, in Greece and in other Allied countries, helps to generate the economic activity that supports the welfare of all our people, educational and scientific achievements, and the necessary defence investments that keep all of us safe.

There is an excellent word, of Greek origin, naturally, symbiosis, that describes very well the relationship between peace and prosperity.  Symbiosis means living together, and I think we all have to live together and we have learned how to do so in the NATO Alliance, in some very difficult circumstances.

This is a mutually beneficial, mutually advantageous relationship and I want to thank the business community, well represented here today, for the contribution that you have been making, invaluable contributions to peace and security, as well as economic prosperity.

This is important to our security, because when we are prosperous and more stable, we are more secure.  The same goes for our neighbours.  The alternative, of course, can have the opposite effect.  You know this very well here in Greece.  When our neighbours are less stable, we often feel the direct consequences.  I want to say a few words specifically about the role that Greece has played in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, helping NATO to respond to the refugee and migrant crisis.  Since 2016, NATO’s deployment in the Aegean Sea has helped to curb illegal and dangerous human trafficking.  Working together with Greece, along with Turkey and the EU’s border agency, Frontex, we have seen important progress.  Thanks to the information collected by our ships, Greece, Turkey and Frontex are taking effective action in breaking the business model of human traffickers in the Aegean.  This saves lives.  UN figures show that the number of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea declined significantly when NATO ships began their patrols, and that number has remained low.  This shows that international efforts are having an impact.

So, NATO has made and continues to make an important contribution to stability in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean regions.  And Greece in this is playing a critical role.

As we look ahead to our Summit meeting in Brussels in July, we will make decisions to enhance our efforts to project stability overall.  This will mean working closely with partners, including the European Union.  NATO and the EU are natural partners.  We share common values and challenges, as well as many of the same people.  More than 90% of EU citizens also live in a NATO country.  The relationship between NATO and the EU has never been closer.  Over the past 18 months, we have made unprecedented progress in our cooperation.  We have been working together in areas such as counter-terrorism, military mobility, intelligence sharing, cyber and countering hybrid warfare.  NATO’s maritime operation, Sea Guardian, provides critical support to the EU’s Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean.

At the Summit meeting in Brussels, NATO leaders will make important decisions on deterrence and defence, and also in the continuous modernisation of the Alliance.  In particular, they will consider and make decisions about the adaptation of the NATO Command Structure, to make it fit for purpose in this modern era.  On resources, NATO leaders will consider the issue of burden-sharing.

In order to ensure that we can do all that we have set out to do, it is important to consider how much the Allies invest in defence, what defence capabilities they support, and the contributions they make to NATO operations and missions.  At the Summit meeting, NATO leaders will review national plans in all three areas:  that is cash, capabilities and contributions - those are The Three Cs, as we call them, to see how Allies intend to move toward investing 2% of GDP on defence.  At this point, I really want to stop and thank Greece for the terrific contribution you have been making over time to defence burden-sharing in the Alliance and particularly under, what I know have been, very straightened economic circumstances, your focus on keeping your investment in defence at 2%, or above 2%, of GDP.  In fact, Greece has often exceeded that 2% guideline.  This is an important signal, investing to ensure that NATO remains a strong and capable Alliance.  It illustrates a commitment to burden- sharing and to the overall transatlantic bond that has been so vital to European peace and security since 1949.

Now, before I leave this topic, I wanted to stress that defence burden-sharing is an area where NATO and the EU also cooperate in vital ways.  We are working ever more closely together.  As we see it, a strong EU commitment to defence is vital, as long as EU efforts complement and do not duplicate NATO efforts, as long as EU assets are available for NATO missions and operations, and as long as non-EU NATO Allies have a place at the table and are able to participate.

While the security environment has changed dramatically, NATO has demonstrated the value of what we have built up over the past 70 years.  We are the most successful Alliance in history, with the good company of course of the Delphic Amphictyonic League.  We are successful because we have been able to adapt as the world has changed.  Today, NATO is a faster, stronger and smarter Alliance, in part because of the partnership that we have forged with the business community.  And so I say again, thank you, to those gathered here from that business community.  You make a great difference to security and stability, as well as to prosperity, every day of the year.

Even as NATO has adapted over the years however, some things must never change.  We must continue to uphold our enduring values: democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.  I take great pride in underscoring the importance of our democratic values here in Greece, which is the birthplace of democracy.  I am confident that NATO, united by these values, will continue to serve its citizens well for years to come.  I thank you for your attention and I look forward to further participating in this conference.  Thank you very much indeed.