Speech
at NATO Summit 2014
Prime Minister David Cameron
Newport, South Wales
5 September 2014
When NATO last met here in the UK
in 1990, many would have hoped that its core aim would soon have been
fulfilled. After the long years of the Cold War, the vision of a Europe whole,
free and at peace seemed within our grasp. Yet today the protection and
security that NATO provides is as vital to our future as it has ever been in
our past.
We face new and evolving dangers.
To the East, Russia is ripping up the rulebook with its annexation of Crimea
and its troops on sovereign soil in Ukraine. To the South, an arc of
instability bends from North Africa to the Middle East.
Last night we discussed the
threat posed by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in Iraq and Syria.
So our message is clear. We are
united in our condemnation of these barbaric and despicable acts. They should
be very clear, these terrorists: their threats will only harden our resolve to
stand up for our values and to defeat them.
To do so - and to deal with all
the threats we face - our great alliance must now evolve and refocus on the new
capabilities that we need to keep our people safe. And I hope that in these
sessions today we can agree the changes that are needed. For me there are 3.
First, as Russia tramples illegally
over Ukraine we must reassure our Eastern European members that we will always
uphold our Article 5 commitments to collective self-defence. So we must be able
to act more swiftly.
In 2002, NATO stood down its high
readiness force. So I hope we can agree a multi-national spearhead force
deployable anywhere in the world in just 2 to 5 days.
This would be part of a reformed
NATO Response Force with Headquarters in Poland, forward units in the Eastern
Allies, and pre-positioned equipment and infrastructure to allow more exercises
and if necessary rapid reinforcement. If we can agree this, the UK will
contribute 3,500 personnel to this multi-national force. And we must scale up
our readiness to respond to any threat they face.
Second, as the Secretary General
has said, we must increase our capacity. I hope today we can reaffirm our
public commitment to spend 2% of our GDP on defence and 20% of that money on
equipment. This would send a strong message to those who threaten us, that our
collective resolve is as strong as ever.
This issue of equipment is as
important as the overall amount of money. What matters most of all is what are
we able to do, what are we able to deploy, what enables us to respond rapidly
and together collectively to the threats we face? Those are the questions we
must answer with our increases in capability.
Third, we must extend our
partnerships and build a more effective security network that fosters stability
around the world.
To do this NATO must become not
just an organisation that has capability but an exporter of capability. I hope
we can agree to use our expertise to provide training and mentoring of forces
in Jordan and Georgia. And also in Iraq when the new Government has been
established.
These can be the first steps in a
long-term commitment to help our friends and allies around the world. This
commitment is vital for our own security. By standing up for our values around
the world we keep our own people safe. |
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