Remarks

Thank you, Symeon, for that kind introduction. It is a real honor for me to be here.

I am particularly pleased to attend your third annual Delphi Economic Forum and to be here with you in this historic place.

You may be surprised to learn that Delphi has long had a place in my working life – stemming from my time at the Rand Corporation.  You see, Rand developed the Delphi Method in the 1950s as a way to make use of informed intuitive judgment to enhance long-range forecasting.  Which is another way of saying to predict the future.  

I am also delighted to be here in Delphi, which for many centuries played a central role in the Great Amphictyonic League.

The League was an alliance of town-states.  Literally a union of neighbors.

It began with 12 members – just like NATO –and its members joined together to protect what they treasured most. For the League, this meant the temples of Apollo and Demeter – deities representing security and prosperity. For NATO, too, it is our security and prosperity that give us freedom.

What we know of the League and what we have experienced in NATO affirms the importance of like-minded friends and neighbors coming together in common cause.

The essential idea is that we are much stronger and much more secure standing together than we would be standing alone.

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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 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 our people, educational and scientific achievements, and the necessary defense investments that keep us all safe.  

There is an excellent word – of Greek origin naturally – that describes very well the relationship between peace and prosperity – and that word is “symbiosis.”

Which means “living together.”

This is a mutually beneficial, mutually advantageous relationship – and I want to thank the business community for your invaluable contributions.

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This is important to our security – because when we are prospering and stable, we are more secure. The same goes for our neighbours.

The alternative, of course, can have the opposite effect. When our neighbors are less stable, we often feel the direct consequences. I want to say a few words specifically about the role Greece has played in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, helping NATO respond to the refugee and migrant crisis.

Since 2016, NATO’s deployment in the Aegean Sea has helped 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 the number has remained low. This shows that international efforts are having an effect.

So NATO has made and continues to make an important contribution to stability in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean regions. And Greece plays a critical role.

As we look ahead to our Summit in July, we will make decisions to enhance our efforts to project stability. 

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 percent of EU citizens 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 like counter-terrorism, military mobility, and intelligence sharing, along with cyber and countering hybrid warfare.

NATO’s maritime operation Sea Guardian provides critical support to the EU’s Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean.

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At the Summit in Brussels, NATO leaders will make important decisions on deterrence and defence – and also on the continuous modernization of the Alliance.  In particular, they will consider the adaptation of the NATO Command Structure. 

On resources, NATO leaders will consider the issue of burden sharing.  In order to ensure that we can do all that we set out to do, it is important to consider how much Allies invest in defense, what defense capabilities they support, and the contributions they make to NATO operations and missions.

At the Summit, NATO leaders will review national plans in all three areas, including how Allies intend to move towards investing 2% of GDP on defense.

On this point I want to thank Greece for your ongoing support for NATO operations and missions and for meeting the 2% defense investment pledge.

In fact, Greece has exceeded the 2% guideline.  This is an important signal – investing to ensure that NATO remains a strong, 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.

Before I leave this topic, I want to stress that defence burdensharing is also an area where NATO and the EU will work closely together. As we see it, a strong EU commitment to defence is vital – as long as EU efforts complement and don’t duplicate NATO’s, as long as EU assets are available for NATO operations, and as long as non-EU NATO Allies are an important part of the picture.

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While the security environment has changed dramatically, NATO has demonstrated the value of what we have built over 70 years.

We are the most successful alliance in history – with the good company of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, of course. 

We have succeeded 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 we have forged with the business community.

But even as NATO has adapted over the years, 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 – the birthplace of democracy.

And I am confident that NATO – united by these values – will continue to protect our countries and our citizens for many decades to come.