Date: 23 February 2009
 
Speaker: H.E. Kurt Volker, Ambassador of the US to NATO
Chair: Michael Emerson, CEPS Senior Reserach Fellow & Head of the Neighbourhood Policy Unit
 
Kurt Volker commented on NATO affairs in what is a particularly challenging time for the Alliance. As a career diplomat with a solid working experience at NATO, and as Ambassador to this organisation since July 2008, Volker outlined the main tasks ahead. His arguments were based on two assumptions. Firstly, despite the fact that the Cold War is over, security challenges still exist; they are merely different. Secondly, the US and Europe have to deal with the new security environment today. The past several years have been informed by differences between the Allies and this fact led Kurt Volker to identify the main task faced by NATO internally now: to rebuild a sense of community, including shared values, the rule of law, democracy, market economies. This need for reengagement between the US and Europe is linked to the necessity to tackle security challenges together. Among the top priorities for the US and NATO agenda are: Afghanistan and Europe’s Eastern region. The other set of priorities includes the Balkans. Challenges that NATO is not yet well-equipped to address include terrorism, proliferation, failed states, energy security, cyber attacks, etc.
 
During the debate the Ambassador addressed questions from the audience on a wide range of current topics. He commented on the link between military and civilian operations and underlined the need to resort to both, namely in Afghanistan, and the utility of EU-NATO relations in combining the two approaches. He specified his understanding of a ‘global NATO’ that is rooted in the transatlantic character while, at the same time, building partnerships on a global scale. On the subject of increased numbers of forces in Afghanistan, he emphasised that this is meant to address the immediate deterioration of the security environment, especially ahead of the August elections. Nonetheless, he acknowledged the short term impact of this measure and the need to rethink substantial commitments in this country. On the relations with Russia, he stressed that the US will seek cooperation on missile defence and that the Medvedev proposal for new security architecture in Europe needs to be further clarified. He stated that the “fundamentals” are widely shared in Europe and that the already existing framework of institutions is a sound basis for cooperative security.