Handover remarks

Jens Stoltenberg:

Good morning and welcome all to today’s meeting.

Before I address the Council and hand over to the new Secretary General, let me hand the floor to the Dean of the Council, Ambassador Nobilo.

[Remarks by the Dean]

Thank you so much, Mario.
Dear friends and colleagues,
Dear Mark,

When I became Minister for Industry and Energy in Norway in the early 1990s, the Prime Minister told me that I needed to be prepared for long meetings in the Parliament.

And I had to sit for hours and listen to not always very exciting debates.

But the Prime Minister also told me: “Remember that this is democracy. This is how we take care of our great nation. And how we make decisions together.”

In the same way, I have sat here in the North Atlantic Council for 10 years. For more than 1000 Council meetings. And listened to discussions that I think we all can agree were not always very exciting.

But all of them are part of how we take care of our great Alliance and how make decisions together. 

History was made in this room. Over the last decade we have achieved great things.

We have undergone the biggest transformation of NATO in a generation.

We have strengthened our defences. From having zero to eight NATO battlegroups,
with tens of thousands of combat-ready NATO soldiers on our eastern flank. We have gone from thousands to half a million troops on high readiness.

And from three to twenty-three Allies spending at least two percent of GDP on defence.

And we have strengthened NATO as an institution. Doubling our common budget to ensure we can effectively deliver.

Our family of Allies and partners has grown. Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden joined our Alliance.

And Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before. In 2014, we only provided marginal support to Ukraine. Now, our support is massive. And NATO is coordinating it through our new command in Germany.

We have also broadened our partnerships in the south.  Deepened relations with countries in the Indo Pacific. And NATO-EU cooperation has reached unprecedented levels.

Europe and North America together in a strong NATO is the only way forward.

Unity remains our greatest strength. 

It has been an honour for me to be at the helm of NATO. And to work with all your nations, and with everyone at this table and in this building.

I thank you all. Civilian and military leaders, Members of the International Staff, the International Military Staff, and representatives of national delegations.

And of course, I thank my dear Ingrid. And this time I will keep my promise, I am leaving Brussels in a few hours.

And now Mark, it is over to you! You know NATO well. And you are well-known across the Alliance. You have the perfect background and experience to become a great Secretary General of NATO.

During your many years, 14 years as Prime Minister you have demonstrated that you know how to build consensus. You have led 4 different coalition governments so you know how to make compromises. That is something which will be highly valued here at NATO.

But you have also demonstrated that you don’t compromise on our values and principles.

We see that with your personal commitment to our transatlantic bond. And your unwavering support for Ukraine.

Now is the time for me to leave, and for you to begin your term as Secretary General of NATO.
To mark the moment, I will hand you this gavel donated to NATO in 1963 by Iceland.

It is used for special meetings in NATO. The last time it was used was when we had the last ministerial meeting in the old NATO building of the road. And then we use it again today. Whether you decide to use this every day it's up to you. It's a Viking gavel.

Dear Mark, please receive this special gavel and let me invite you to take the seat of the Chair of the North Atlantic Council.

Mark Rutte:

Thank you Jens, and thank you Ambassador Nobilo, Dear Mario for your fair kind words and a good morning to all. Merci Jens, et bonjour à toutes et à tous. 

It is a great honour to be here and to take up the position of NATO Secretary General. And first of all, I want to thank all of your nations for trusting me with the responsibility of guiding the Alliance in the coming years.

It is a big job. And I have big shoes to fill! Jens, you have been an exemplary Secretary General. 
Today NATO is bigger, NATO is stronger and is more united than ever, that is in large part because of your leadership. On the one hand, you have set the bar high for your successor. But on the other, I inherit a robust Alliance. 
Jens, my dear friend, thank you!

Dear colleagues, 
I have every intention of keeping up the good work you have initiated in recent years. And I am determined to prepare NATO for the challenges of the future. 

As Secretary General I will work on three priorities.

The first is to keep NATO strong and ensure our defences remain effective and credible, against all threats. For this, we need more forces. With better capabilities. And faster innovation. 
This requires more investment. Because to do more, we must spend more.
There is no cost-free alternative if we are to rise to the challenges ahead. And keep our 1 billion people safe.

My second priority is to step up our support for Ukraine and bring it ever closer to NATO. Because there can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine. I know from personal experience, with the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, how conflict in Ukraine is not contained to the frontlines.

So, we must do our part. We must deliver on the package agreed at the Washington Summit: 
the command, the financial pledge, and Ukraine’s irreversible path to membership. And we must sustain this support into the future. Because Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.

The third priority is to strengthen our partnerships: with our unique and essential partner, the European Union and with countries around the world that share our interests and values.  
Jens, you did a great job building stronger connections with partners, especially in the Indo-Pacific. In a global and interconnected world, our security has to be a team effort. 

I look forward to working closely with all Allies. 

All of you around this table, in this building, and all across NATO. If any job could make me leave my home city of Den Haag, it is this one. 

Ambassador Petridis, dear Ariadne,
I want to thank you and your country for welcoming me here in Brussels. It is a city I have gotten to know well over the years. Thanks to the endless amount of EU Council meetings I have attended. 
It is now my home away from home. 

I am eager to roll up my sleeves, get to know every one of you and get to work together!
So, I want to thank you very much. And I believe now, the right wording is that I have to say: This meeting now stands adjourned.