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Thank you, Wladyslaw, for not only organising this in a beautiful city, which some of us have seen, but some of us are arriving for the first time, but also choosing this really very inspiring environment for our meeting.

The transatlantic Alliance is the bedrock of our security in Europe.

It remains essential on both sides of the Atlantic, and we are working together to ensure that we remain strong and we remain capable.

From ammunition to artillery, from drones to deep precision strikes, we need to produce much more to prepare for a less certain future, and this definitely begins by investing more.

And we have already made the decision to invest 5% of our GDP in defence.

And I think it is now clear that the stronger each Ally becomes, the stronger NATO will be.

What we have seen today by the five big spenders in that respect, is also extraordinary; that everyone is increasing defence spending and defence investment.

But it was also clear last week when we met all Defence Ministers of NATO Allies in Brussels, and Secretary General made a reference of this very visible mindset shift throughout Europe.

There was a shift in the mindset in how Europe and Europeans are thinking about our Alliance and about our security.

And what we have seen is European Allies and Canada really stepping up their defence investment, but also taking more responsibility and sharing the burden. And this is very much what we need in order to make our Alliance stronger.

So, the E5 countries that met today have a key role in making this commitment a reality, and it was really a pleasure to be here and to join these discussions.

We have mentioned this in Brussels. I will mention this here in Krakow. Let me commend Poland really for leading the way in this defence investment, and for also making the case in front of all European Allies that we need to do more to bolster our collective defence and to strengthen the Alliance as a whole.

We have discussed also how do we make our Alliance more proactive, how do we increase and strengthen our deterrence and defence.

Ours is a defensive Alliance, and we have all made reference to this.

But there should be no doubt of our ability or our resolve.

We remain vigilant, we remain ready to respond to any threat and to any adversary.

And I think that in the last year, it was very visible, this power, this strength, but also this ability to engage in very, very speedy time frames.

Just look at our three vigilance activities. First, the Baltic Sentry, the Eastern Sentry and Arctic Sentry. They have shown the ability of the Alliance to perform in challenging times and with the speed of relevance.

We also continue to stand with Ukraine. This was very much the focus on our discussions today, but also our focus at the UDCG [Ukraine Defence Contact Group] last week in Brussels.

We have heard in the course of last week also that Russia, the army that was counting and expecting to be in Kyiv in three days, is losing historically high number of soldiers. 35,000 in December. 30,000 this January.

And what we have heard today, also from Ukrainian Minister of Defence, is a very clear plan for Ukrainian defences.

Our role is to support this effort, to continue supporting Ukraine, so that they can defend themselves today, so that they can stand strong as the negotiations continue, but also to deter any future aggression, and this is very much our goal.

I have been, of course, a bit inspired by the academic weight in this building, and you have mentioned, also after Krakow, Bologna, I'll go back a bit more in history, and I will quote an ancient philosopher who said that the clear definition of virtue is about giving. Giving to the right people, for the right cause, in the right amount, and with the right timing.

And I think that we know that this is the right cause to commit to. This is definitely a nation that has deserved our support.

But I will finish by saying that timing is essential, and it was really remarkable to see at the UDCG this urgency on behalf of Allies.

And thank you very much Boris for the initiative to support more directly, not only through all the different avenues that we have, but very urgently the air defence needs of Ukraine.

And thank you very much, Wladyslaw for and others for supporting this. This is how we make peace feasible, and this is how we make our deterrence and defence stronger.

Thank you.

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