Joint press point

Thank you, Deputy Prime Minister Siemoniak.

It is great to be back. My first visit as Secretary General was to Poland last October. And we have come a long way since then.

We are delivering on our decisions.

This exercise shows that we can deploy forces anywhere on NATO territory within days, if a crisis breaks out or Allies are threatened.

Our Spearhead Force is up and running. It is fast, flexible and strong.

NATO is here. And NATO is ready to defend all Allies against any threat.

I was very impressed to see our forces in action this morning. And to meet some of them last night.

They include paratroopers, special forces, infantry, and helicopter crews.

They come from nine different NATO countries. But they work as one.

I would like to thank all of them for their great professionalism. We can all be proud of them.

And I would like to thank all the nations who have made this important exercise a success.

Our host Poland, and the Polish people for their strong commitment to our Alliance.

Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, who are playing a key role in testing and developing the Spearhead Force this year.

And all the other European Allies who will be taking the lead of this very rapid reaction force over the coming years.

Collective defence is NATO’s core commitment. And we stand united in that commitment.

The world is changing, with rising challenges to the east and to the south. And NATO must adapt to meet those challenges.

The Spearhead Force is the centerpiece of the greatest reinforcement of our collective defence since the Cold War. But it is not the only piece in our plan.

We are more than doubling the size of the NATO Response Force.

We are setting up a network of six small headquarters in the eastern part of our Alliance. Including here in Poland.

We have reinforced our air policing and maritime patrols.

We are conducting around 300 NATO and Allied exercises this year. We are speeding up our decision-making, updating our planning, and strengthening our defences against cyber and hybrid attacks.

Everything that we do is defensive. Proportionate to the threats that we face. And fully in line with our international commitments.

This is just the start of our adaptation. We still have work to do.

As the threats continue to change, NATO will continue to change.

We will live up to our commitments enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. We will ensure that our territory is defended, and our nations are safe.

All for one, and one for all.