Brussels, 15 January 2025
Today and tomorrow, 15 – 16 January 2025, NATO’s highest Military Authority, the Military Committee, meets in Chiefs of Defence format at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The meeting focuses on further strengthening deterrence and defence of the Alliance, strengthening NATO’s Partnerships around the world as well as supporting Ukraine in its resistance against Russia’s unprovoked aggression. Across both days, Allied Chiefs of Defence will meet with Military Authorities from NATO Partner countries to discuss how to best tackle pervasive instability around the globe together.
In his opening remarks, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte conveyed, “to prevent war, we need to prepare for it. It is time to shift to a wartime mindset.” Furthermore, he stressed that this entails increasing defence spending, continuing to support Ukraine, and strengthening cooperation with NATO Partners across the globe.
The Chair of the Military Committee expressed in his opening remarks that support for Ukraine is more paramount than ever. Admiral Bauer emphasised that, “Our support is not charity. It is in the political and military interests of the Alliance to do so. We need to show the world that democracy can and will win. And that democracy is worth fighting for.” The Chair stressed that for Ukraine, “sovereignty is not an abstract term.”
On the agenda for the meeting:
- NATO’s readiness to deter and defend the Euro-Atlantic area, ongoing missions and operations
- NATO’s Defence Planning Process and the implementation path for a multi domain-enabled Alliance by 2030.
- How NATO can support Partners in an era of pervasive global instability
- NATO standardization and interoperability with Partners
Tomorrow, 16 January at 17:30, there will be a joint press conference from Admiral Bauer, Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Cavoli, and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Admiral Vandier. The press conference will be livestreamed on the NATO website.
Audio
ENGLISH – Opening remarks by the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the meeting of the Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence – 15 Jan. 2025
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FRENCH – Opening remarks by the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the meeting of the Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence 15 Jan. 2025
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Opening remarks
by the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the meeting of the Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence
(As delivered)
Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer
Secretary General, Admirals, Generals, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning.
Mesdames et Messieurs, bienvenue à la cent quatre-vingt-douzième session du Comité militaire des chefs d’état-major de la défense.
Welcome to this 192nd Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session.
Mr Secretary General, dear Mark, we highly value your presence at this meeting.
We are all grateful to have such an experienced leader at the political helm of the Alliance. Just like one of your predecessors, Joseph Luns, you display a profound knowledge of world affairs, a deep interest in what drives the people you are dealing with, and steadfast political leadership.
Your presence here at this meeting demonstrates the close cooperation between NATO’s political and military leadership.
The tasks at hand are herculean. But not insurmountable.
Our tasks are to strengthen the deterrence and defence of the Alliance and at the same time support Ukraine in its resistance against Russia’s unprovoked aggression.
As Mr Luns once said: NATO is the most important organisation for peace the world has ever known. And Machiavelli taught us that the best way to do that… is to prepare for war.
Not because war is inevitable. But because being better prepared for war strengthens our deterrence. Which in turn minimises the chance of war being fought on Allied soil.
Mr Secretary General, in your landmark speech at Carnegie Europe last month, you called on Allies to shift to a wartime mindset and turbo charge our defence production and defence spending.
You stated that in order to prevent war, NATO must invest more. And you stated that we need to be better prepared for what is coming our way in four to five years. On behalf of the NATO Military Authorities, I would like to thank you for this strong political statement.
This political push is highly necessary to make sure the conditions are in place to have the readiness that is required to implement NATO’s new defence plans. Not only now, but also 5 years from now.
Around this table, we have gathered one thousand years of military experience. I say that not to make us all feel terribly old… but to emphasise the broad range of military expertise that this Alliance brings together. This is truly unique in the world.
Please allow me to welcome for the first time in their new capacity as Chief of Defence:
- General Luciano Portolano, Chief of Defence for Italy
- and General Michael Claesson, Chief of Defence from Sweden.
Let me also welcome for the first time, our new Supreme Allied Commander Transformation: Admiral Pierre Vandier.
We are very happy to have you on board!
You are flanked by our Supreme (and superb) Allied Commander Europe, General Chris Cavoli.
We are proud to count on both of you for your strategic vision, as we work together on strengthening the military power of the Alliance. Over the next two days, we will discuss NATO’s readiness to deter and defend the Euro-Atlantic area and to safeguard the region’s one billion inhabitants.
We will discuss NATO’s ongoing missions and operations; the NATO Defence Planning Process, and the implementation path for a multi domain-enabled Alliance by 2030.
A key topic on our agenda is our support to Ukraine.
This includes the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), which has begun to assume responsibilities.
And the Joint Analysis Training and Education Centre (JATEC), where we work on fostering long-term interoperability with NATO.
Today is the 1057th day of what Russia thought would be a 3-day war. We see the 3-year mark next month.
In his New Year speech, President Putin stated that his only regret was that Russia had not invaded Ukraine sooner.
And he has declared 2025 to be the “Year of the Defender of the Motherland”.
The reality is that the Kremlin has still not achieved any of its strategic objectives… whilst seven hundred thousand Russians been killed and wounded… and the entire Russian population suffers under the brunt of the war effort.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians are being faced with torture, rape, kidnapped children and adults, a complete denial of their identity, filtration camps, and mass graves.
The fight for “freedom” is not a pretentious slogan here. It is what they do every day. “Sovereignty” is not an abstract term. It is the difference between deciding your own fate or having it decreed in Moscow.
Ukraine needs and deserves our full support.
Our support is not charity. It is in the political and military interest of the Alliance to do so. We need to show the world that democracy can and will win.
And that democracy is worth fighting for. It is not a perfect system. Nor is it self-sustainable. Even in countries where it has existed for centuries. But it is worth risking our lives for. Because without choice, without freedom, without the rule of law: what is there?
How can we ever build a safe and prosperous world for our children?
This realisation has sunk in not only in NATO countries, but across the globe. That is why NATO and its Partners around the globe have strengthened ties.
I am immensely happy that we will 27 of them represented during our meetings today and tomorrow. And that we can discuss on the top military level how we can best tackle pervasive instability around the globe.
And how we can enhance our military cooperation, standardization and interoperability.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has global repercussions.
And NATO is also deeply concerned about the role that China plays in international security. There is zero transparency about its military build-up, including nuclear. It is displaying increasingly aggressive behaviour against its neighbours.
And it is a crucial enabler of Russia’s war effort. The best response to all this is to stand together firmer than ever. To be closer than ever. To be more united than ever.
And that is exactly what NATO and NATO Partners are doing. It is up to all of us to make sure that democracy triumphs over autocracy.
And that accountability triumphs over impunity.
We have it within ourselves to build on the ground-breaking work that has already been done.
With that, Mr Secretary General, I kindly invite you to provide your opening remarks.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Thank you, Admiral Bauer, dear Rob.
And good morning to all of you.
I am very honoured to be here with you today, and to address you – the military leaders of all of our NATO countries gathered in this room – and I am excited to start this important dialogue with you.
For now, still under Rob’s very capable leadership.
And soon, with Admiral Cavo Dragone as the new Chair of the Military Committee.
So thank you, Rob, for your tireless service. And welcome to Admiral Cavo Dragone.
The next NATO Summit in The Hague is six months, five and half months, away. And our objective is clear: We must continue to do all we can, all together, to keep all of our people safe.
Our future security is at stake. Russia’s war against Ukraine rages on. Russian hostile actions against our own countries are accelerating – with cyber-attacks, assassination attempts, acts of sabotage and more. We used to call this hybrid. But these are destabilisation actions and campaigns.
Russia is hard at work to try to weaken our democracies and chip away at our freedom.
And it is not alone. It has China, North Korea, and Iran by its side.
Meanwhile, many other dangers persist, from terrorism to nuclear proliferation, disinformation and climate change.
So, the security picture does not look good. But we know exactly what we need to do to protect it. We are already doing a lot.
All Allies have been increasing investments in defence. Thanks to you – our military leaders – we have robust military plans in place.
The readiness of our forces has increased. Military exercises are larger and more frequent. And this is all essential, but not sufficient to deal with the dangers coming our way in the next four to five years.
Indeed, I said this in a speech last month – which you referred to in your remarks Rob. But let me say it again: To prevent war, we need to prepare for it. It is time to shift to a wartime mindset.
And this means we need to make our defences even stronger by spending more on defence, and producing more and better defence capabilities.
We need to support Ukraine more to change the trajectory of the war. We all want it to end. But above all, we want peace to last.
We also need to work hand-in-hand with our partners across the world. I am so happy that we have an opportunity later today to speak with them.
Security is a team effort. The bigger the team, the safer we all are.
So my priority going forward, is to ensure we do what is necessary fully and fast on defence, on Ukraine and on partnerships.
For this, I count on your continued engagement and your continued support. I look forward to discussing all of this with you today and to working with you in the months and years to come.
For this moment, thank you very much.
Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer
Thank you, Mr Secretary General, thank you Mark for your inspiring words.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our sacred task is to support and enable the work of our band of 3.5 million brothers and sisters in uniform who defend our great Alliance. Let us recognise their service and sacrifice for they are defending the democratic values and the rule of law that form the fabric of our societies.
On behalf of the Military Committee, I want to express our gratitude and respect for their courage, their professionalism, and their dedication.
Our thoughts are especially with the loved ones of those men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
And with all those who are dealing with the physical and mental effects of their time in service. And who are looking for ways to continue serving, beyond their service.
We honour them. As they honour our great Alliance.
Please stand.
[Moment of Silence]
Thank you. We will now discuss with the Secretary General the current political objectives and guidance ahead of the The Hague Summit.
I would like to ask the media to depart the room.