Delivering on the Promise of Europe Whole, Free and at Peace: NATO 20 Years After Enlargement and Beyond
The year 2019 marks the anniversaries of two events that were decisive for preserving peace in Europe: the foundation of NATO in 1949 and its historical enlargement in 1999. Seventy years after putting a halt to Soviet expansion into Western Europe, and 20 years after finally breaking the Iron Curtain by the accession of three former Warsaw Pact countries, NATO still epitomizes the pursuit of the dream of Europe whole, free and at peace.
Yet today, as probably never before, the mission of the alliance is simultaneously critically important and endangered. Not only does NATO face an unprecedented and rapidly evolving mix of military, asymmetric and non-military threats, but it is also confronted with a growing tension in the transatlantic relations. More and more questions are asked about the viability of the bond between the United States and Europe, and the limits of NATO’s ability to safeguard the core security interests of its member states.
To discuss where NATO comes from and where it might be heading to in the years to come, the Polish Institute of International Affairs and the German Marshall Fund of the United States, with the support of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, would like to invite you to join high-level discussions during a one-day event held in Warsaw on March 8.
The conference “Delivering on the Promise of Europe Whole, Free and at Peace: NATO 20 Years After Enlargement and Beyond” will bring up topics regarding the experiences of past events connected to the historic enlargement of NATO 20 years ago, and it will take a deeper look at the limits and prospects of the alliance’s adaptation to the threats coming from various geographical directions, different actors and varied domains.
Some key decision-makers, who spearheaded the political process of bringing new member states to the Alliance Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former president of Poland, and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former U.K. Defence Secretary and Foreign Secretary – will share their thoughts on lessons learned from these critical developments of the past. We will also ask the current leaders of the alliance – Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister of Defence, Germany, Tacan Ildem, Assistant Secretary General of NATO – about how they see the upcoming challenges and the requirement for further adaptation. These crucial questions will be also addressed by the leading experts in the field of security and transatlantic relations: Derek Chollet, German Marshall Fund of the United States, Benoit d’Aboville, Fondation pour la recherche stratégique, Réka Szemerkényi, Center for European Policy Analysis.
The event will be held in English with available simultaneous translation for all participants.
Agenda
8:00–8:45 | Registration and Welcome Coffee |
8:45–8:50 | Welcoming Remarks |
Michał Baranowski, Director, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Warsaw Office | |
Sławomir Dębski, Director, The Polish Institute of International Affairs | |
8:50–9:00 | Letter from Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland |
Delivered by Krzysztof Szczerski, Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland | |
9:00–9:05 | Word from Georgette Mosbacher, Ambassador of the United States to Poland |
9:05–10:15 | Session I |
70 Years of NATO as a Community of Values and Interests: Record and Prospects | |
Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State of the United States 1997–2001 | |
Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Minister of Defence of Poland 1997–2000, President of the Management Board, Euro Atlantic Association | |
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, UK Defence Secretary 1992–1995, Foreign Secretary 1995–1997 | |
Krzysztof Szczerski, Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland | |
Moderated by Michał Baranowski, Director, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Warsaw Office | |
10:15–10:30 | A Message from NATO |
Delivered by Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General, NATO | |
10:30–10:45 | European Security in the Making: 20 Years of Poland’s Membership in NATO |
Delivered by Jacek Czaputowicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Poland | |
10:45–11:15 | Coffee Break |
11:15–12:15 | Ministerial Conversation Including: |
Jacek Czaputowicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Poland | |
Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister of Defence, Germany | |
Moderated by Sławomir Dębski, Director, The Polish Institute of International Affairs | |
12:15–13:00 | Lunch |
13:00–14:15 | Session II |
NATO Adaptation: Putting the 360-degrees Principle to Practice | |
Derek Chollet, Executive Vice President, The German Marshall Fund of the United States | |
Tacan Ildem, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy | |
Witold Waszczykowski, Member of Parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland 2015-2018 | |
Moderated by Justyna Gotkowska, Project Coordinator Security and Defence in Northern Europe Programme, Centre for Eastern Studies | |
14:15–14:45 | Coffee Break |
14:45–16:00 | Session III |
The Transatlantic Bond in the Multipolar World: The Future Role of NATO | |
Benoit d’Aboville, Vice-president of Board, Fondation pour la recherche stratégique | |
Bogdan Klich, Senator, Minister of Defence of Poland 2007–2011 | |
Ulrich Speck, Senior Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States | |
Réka Szemerkényi, Executive Vice President, Center for European Policy Analysis | |
Moderated by Wojciech Lorenz, Senior Analyst, The Polish Institute of International Affairs | |
16:00–16:30 | Session IV |
20 Years in NATO—Poland’s Perspective Forward | |
Conversation with Tomasz Szatkowski, Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defence, Republic of Poland | |
Moderated by Sławomir Dębski, Director, The Polish Institute of International Affairs and Michał Baranowski, Director, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Warsaw Office | |
16:30 | Closing Remarks |