Warsaw, Poland 16 Feb. 2006

“NATO: Defending Values and Security” speech by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the National School of Public Administration Warsaw, Poland 16 February 2006 Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, First of all allow me to thank the Rector of the National School of Public Administration for the invitation. Let me also thank the Polish Institute of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the organisation and patronage of this event. Educational establishments, think-tanks and NGOs represent the civil society and are influential opinion formers, which is why I always have an open ear for them. I am also very happy to meet the students who, I am told, are destined to assume upon graduation important responsibilities in Poland’s government structures. In my remarks today, I would like to share with you some reflections on the relationship between values and security. I will argue that any sound security policy needs to be based on values. And I will argue that NATO’s current agenda demonstrates that our values and security interests do indeed converge. I would like to start with a quick look back at where NATO has come from. Because knowing where we came from can tell us a lot about where we are going. You all know that NATO is a child of the Cold War. Through NATO, Western Europe and North America sought to counter the military and ideological challenge posed by the Soviet Union. But from the beginning, NATO was much more than a military arrangement. At its heart was the major lesson of the first half of the 20th century. The lesson that wars in Europe can only be prevented through European integration – combined with strong North American engagement. The NATO Alliance epitomised this very lesson. Not only did it provide a counter weight to Soviet military power. It also acted as a security umbrella for the European integration process. Most importantly, however, NATO helped to create a wider transatlantic community – a strong community of shared values, values such as pluralism, freedom, democracy, and tolerance; values whose viability was not dependent on the Soviet threat. From the outset, however, this community was incomplete. As long as Europe remained divided, the community of values remained a Western community only, even if everyone realised that the people of Central and Eastern Europe shared these same values. For instance Poland, that pivotal nation, was in Europe, but it could not be with Europe, nor could it be with North America. Today, of course, all this is history. Our continent is no longer divided, and Poland has long ceased to be a pawn on the chessboard of other powers. Your country has taken its rightful place, as a member of both NATO and the European Union. And the values that we fought for in the Cold War are shared across Europe. So why – one may ask – should we still be concerned about protecting these values? To me, the answer to this question is clear: We must be concerned about protecting our values, because they remain vulnerable. We saw this when, fifteen years ago, what we then called Yugoslavia descended into chaos. The values that we thought were firmly entrenched throughout Europe were crushed. What we saw instead were unspeakable atrocities. 11 September 2001 was another demonstration of how vulnerable we are. The terrorists who attacked the United States launched an attack against our values. They want none of them. In their minds, there is no room for freedom and tolerance. On the contrary, they preach hatred and worship intolerance. And since 9/11 we have seen more attacks all over the world, including on our Continent, including in Europe. It is clear, therefore, that we cannot take our values for granted. They need to be protected. But how? There is certainly no single answer. But one key tool is NATO, our Atlantic Alliance. Since the end of the Cold War, the Alliance has become a very flexible – and very creative – instrument for shaping change. It is no longer a passive organisation, geared exclusively towards deterrence. On the contrary, NATO today is an Alliance in action. Because it is only through active engagement that we can protect our values, and promote them more widely. Our operations are the most visible manifestation of our policy of engagement. It is because NATO got engaged, that the Balkans are largely at peace today, and the countries of the region on their way to an integrated Europe. NATO stopped the bloodshed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, and prevented potentially bloody conflicts in Southern Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia . NATO’s presence created the safe environment for other institutions to do their part in helping reconstruction and reconciliation. And we continue to engage all the countries of the region – by offering them advice and assistance, and keeping open the door to NATO membership. NATO has also assumed a major role in bringing back security and stability to Afghanistan in order to help the Afghan people build a democratic future, and to make sure that this country will never become a safe haven for terrorists again. NATO is now extending its presence to the South of Afghanistan, to help the Government of President Karzai to assert its authority. We know that this is a more dangerous part of the country, but we are determined to see our mission through, even under difficult circumstances. Last year we also provided security for the elections – elections that have enabled the people of Afghanistan to have a say in their own future. And to me, this is a perfect example of how our security interests and our values converge. NATO also runs a mission to train Iraqi security forces, in order to help the Iraqi authorities in providing basic security for their people. We may once have disagreed about the wisdom of going to war against Iraq, but today all 26 NATO Allies are united. United in our desire to see a stable democratic Iraq emerge as soon as possible, and determined to play our part in making that happen. More recently, NATO has also undertaken two very different missions. We have supported the African Union in their peacekeeping effort in Darfur. And we have conducted a major humanitarian relief operation to help the victims of the earthquake that struck Pakistan last October. Of course, NATO is not a humanitarian organisation, nor should it become one. But if we are asked to help, be it by the United Nations and the African Union, or by the Pakistani Government, and if we have the means to help, then we cannot ignore such a plea. I see this as another contribution to an international order that is based on values. NATO’s operations are one important part of our values-based security policy. But they are not the only one. Because the best way to safeguard our values is by nourishing them – by upholding our values at home, and advocating them abroad. By believing in the power of open, democratic systems and liberal economic systems. By encouraging other countries – such as your neighbours to the East – to open up their societies too. And by lending them advice and assistance if they so request. NATO has acted in line with this logic, as well. Over the past fifteen years, the Alliance has built up a wide network of security relationships – all over Europe and into Central Asia. Through this network of security relationships, we have not only been able to promote our values. We have also fostered a genuine Euro-Atlantic security culture – a strong disposition to tackle common security problems by working together. And we have greatly improved our ability to cooperate in meeting such common challenges. NATO’s enlargement process is another perfect case where our values and our security interests converge. This enlargement process has enhanced our own security by extending it to others. The enlargement of the European Union has helped to stabilise Europe politically and economically. And that of NATO has extended a unique zone of security throughout our continent. Both enlargement processes, NATO and the EU have given – and continue to give – our neighbours new confidence in their own future, and a strong incentive to reform. And in so doing, they enhance prosperity and security for us all. This logic of integration through NATO enlargement remains as valid as ever. It remains particularly valid for the Balkans, where Euro-Atlantic integration offers the only feasible way forward. But it also remains valid for other parts of Europe, including Ukraine and Georgia. Last year, NATO and Ukraine started an Intensified Dialogue on possible NATO membership, and that is developing in a very promising way. In NATO, we look forward to next month’s parliamentary elections, both as an affirmation of Ukraine’s democratic credentials and an indication of her seriousness in pursuing Euro-Atlantic integration. With Georgia, we have developed an Individual Partnership Action Plan that helps Georgia to better focus its reform efforts. Let me clearly state that the NATO enlargement process is not driven by any artificial deadline. It was, is, and remains a performance-based process. But once a country has done what we expect from it, we must do our part of the deal – and open NATO’s doors. Ladies and Gentlemen, Your country, Poland, has come a long way. It has gained enormous respect for the way it has broken free from the past, and established itself as a confident nation at the heart of Europe – and at the heart of NATO. Today, Poland is making important contributions to NATO operations – in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Polish engineers have just returned from Pakistan, where they helped to bring relief to the survivors of last year’s earthquake. And Polish pilots are performing important air-policing duties over the Baltic countries on behalf of the Alliance. And I can add that Poland recently joined NATO’s AWACS programme. In addition to this operational involvement, Poland is also a strong proponent of NATO’s partnership policy, with a particular interest in building closer links with its own eastern neighbours. And Poland is also breaking new ground conceptually for NATO, for example by raising energy security as a legitimate subject for discussion among the Allies. At a time when the importance of energy security is demonstrated day by day, I too believe that NATO should indeed be looking more deeply into it. It is this firm military, political and conceptual engagement that makes Poland an important pillar under NATO’s value-based security policy – and that makes Poland a driver for NATO’s ongoing adaptation to the new security environment. In November, when NATO’s Heads of State and Government will meet for our Summit in Riga, we will take this adaptation of our Alliance another major step further. We will confirm NATO's expanding commitment to Afghanistan; we will welcome the full operational capability of our NATO Response Force, and agree on other measures to better support our operations; as far as further enlargement is concerned, we will reaffirm the logic of NATO’s open door policy; we will also look at the future of our Partnerships, including at how we can build closer ties to other countries that share our values and interests, such as Australia or Japan; and we will deepen the political dialogue among Allies about all subjects of common concern. These reforms will ensure that NATO remains an Alliance capable of protecting our security – and our values. Which is why I know that I can count on strong Polish support. Thank you.