This is a unique moment to address North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) issues, mainly because anniversaries celebrated in the course of 2009 are clearly of particular importance for both the Alliance and Poland.

In March, we had the tenth anniversary of the wave of NATO enlargement that embraced Poland. In May, five years had elapsed since Poland’s accession to the European Union. Then, at the Strasbourg/Kehl summit, the allies celebrated the 60th anniversary of NATO’s foundation. They also took the important decision to develop a new Strategic Concept. Thus, at the next meeting of heads of state and government in Lisbon, NATO may be provided with a new strategic framework, reflecting changes in the security environment and adjusting the Alliance to current requirements. The ambition of Warsaw, as with other capitals, is to actively co-shape the new document. This ambition is well illustrated by the fact that the former Polish minister of foreign affairs, Adam D. Rotfeld, is a member of the group of ‘wise men’ that is to prepare an initial draft of the new Strategic Concept.

In this anniversary year, it is fair to state that NATO’s achievements in recent years should be perceived in terms of a success story. It is beyond doubt that NATO remains the main pillar of member states’ security and defense, providing them with effective and credible security guarantees. The Alliance remains viable through the process of internal adaptation, continued enlargement and the development of relations with all partners that contribute to its efforts in key regions to ensure Euro-Atlantic security.

Over recent years, NATO has also become an important instrument for providing security and stabilization even in the remote regions of the world. It has effectively adapted to new security requirements and is preparing for threats and challenges of a less conventional nature.

During the last decade, Poland, as one of the Central European states, has significantly contributed to such changes in NATO by proving to be “a good and credible ally in fair weather or foul” and by demonstrating a proper understanding of the necessary balance of rights and obligations required from members of the organization. That is why, in the current strategic debate, Poland does not focus on the question of whether or not NATO is still needed but rather on what should be done to make it even more effective and how to keep the Alliance in good shape in the decades ahead. […]

OUTLINE

• NATO in the 21st century
• The transatlantic link
• Enlargement
• Keep Russia in

Bogdan Klich is Defense Minister of the Polish Republic.