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Dark envoy sacrosanct4/3/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() People rush to Article 5, which is of course fundamental, it's sacrosanct, it's the very foundation, it's the musketeer pledge to each other, for defending each other. Because when you read the Washington Treaty, you have to start from the beginning of the Treaty. And this comes basically to the very foundation of what we call today the Political West, the of civilisations, the values that painfully, over history, developed towards what we think today is the democratic free society, are the values that basically we believe are, and are the foundation of this very Alliance. Because of course we speak about North America and Europe, we speak about security, defence, deterrence, political cooperation, deterrence and defence, missions, operations, our military, our leaders' vision for the future, but in fact I think it's something that we have to reflect a little bit, on the far more profound source of this commonality. I have nothing to add that to that, but I would argue that in fact there is a bond that is basically far more profound and far more important and far more far-reaching than the traditional description of a transatlantic relationship. Let me start with something that is not necessarily the transatlantic bond like some of you before me described so well. It's something that one nurtures, one believes in, and I think the time for leadership, value-based leadership, is more important today than ever, because in uncertain times you see, you know, some of the taboos that we believed are unshakable becoming contested, and that’s a period of great, great competition. I love to be described like an established, experienced leader, seems like a sort of a segregation alongside the age, but let me tell you something that I strongly believe in there is no age for leadership. Congratulations for your new position and thank you all for starting this great initiative, I'm fully behind it. But Ambassador Geoană, we were hoping you could start us off by sharing about your vision for the future of the Alliance, especially as NATO undergoes its forward looking Reflection Process, to help best position NATO looking to 2030. And to all of you tuning in here via Zoom, I'm told that the chat function is open, so if you would like to pose a question at any point, please type it and submit it there, and I'll try to incorporate some of those toward the end, as time allows. Mr Deputy Secretary General, it's a privilege to have you with us today at a forum like this, to speak with the leaders of tomorrow, some of whom I would argue are already serving as leaders today. He's been a relentless advocate for transatlantic cooperation and really an inspirational voice for his home region and beyond. He is President and Founder of Aspen Institute Romania and he's worked closely with the OSCE as well. Across his distinguished diplomatic and political career, he's served as Romanian Ambassador to the United States, Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Romanian Senate, and a presidential candidate for Romania. Ambassador Geoană took up his current role in October 2019 as the first Deputy Secretary General from any of the countries that joined the Alliance after the end of the Cold War. And to discuss this further, I am honoured to have the opportunity to kick off today's keynote conversation with NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoană. And while nothing is certain these days, one thing is for sure and that’s that none of us can go it alone, so our future will certainly demand stronger cooperation from allies and partners and especially through our NATO Alliance. And as my colleagues have sort of outlined, you know, as we look around us, we're facing an increasingly contested world, with unprecedented challenges, and this demands changes from our political leaders, our security institutions and our publics. So, I'm coming to you from Washington DC today and I'm thrilled to be a part of this event, focused on the future of the transatlantic relationship. ![]() ![]() As Mika just said, I am Lauren Speranza, Director for Transatlantic Defence and Security at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, or CEPA for short. Lauren Speranza: Good morning Ambassador. ![]()
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