Opening remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

And I am very happy that we both took part in the opening of this NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence earlier today.

This centre shows your commitment to developing expertise in the important field of energy security. And to sharing that expertise with Allies.

This is a model for the NATO of the future: Building skills. Working together. Making sure we are ready to deal with the full range of security challenges.

That is the spirit of this centre. And it is the spirit of the exercise we will hold later this year in the Baltic region.

Exercise ‘Steadfast Jazz’ will make sure that NATO’s rapid reaction force is ready to defend any Ally, deploy anywhere and deal with any threat. And it will make sure that troops from across the Alliance are ready to work together instantly, and seamlessly, in our hour of need.

Madam President, I thank you for your strong personal commitment to this exercise.

I also congratulate you on Lithuania’s first presidency of the European Union.

And I welcome your emphasis on strengthening cooperation between the Euroepan Union and NATO during your presidency.

Our organisations share values. We share strategic interests. And we share three quarters of our members. So it makes sense for us to work together. So that every euro, dollar or litas that we spend is well spent.

That is even more important as we continue to tackle the consequences of the economic crisis.

I know that Lithuania has suffered deeply from the crisis. I know the tough decisions you have had to make.

So I strongly welcome the commitment of your political parties to return defence spending to a healthy level, the agreed NATO level of 2 per cent of economic output, as the economy recovers. And I count on all parties to implement that commitment.

With that, I am ready to take your questions.