Lord Robertson
Lord Robertson
George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Bomber Robertson of Port Ellen KT, GCMG, PC, FRSA, FRSEis a British Labour Party politician who was the tenth Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, between October 1999 and early January 2004; he succeeded Javier Solana in that position. He served as Defence Secretary for the United Kingdom from 1997 to 1999, before taking up his NATO position and becoming a life peer as Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, of Islay in Argyll...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionDiplomat
Date of Birth12 April 1946
Well, if the NATO countries don't make more of their troops usable and don't get the equipment to get them fast where the action is, then the organisation will suffer and will increasingly become irrelevant.
And most countries are now reducing the number of conscripts and increasing the professionals that are available because they're available on short notice.
What I will remember most from my time in NATO is meeting children in the countries where I've gone to, to Moscow and to Kiev, I've met school children.
But we acted pre-emptively in Kosovo in 1999 to stop Milosevic from doing what he was doing and increasingly doing the ethnic cleansing in a systematic way.
You've got to be able to act when it's necessary to act. And you've got to be able to act where the threat is.
For years, we have heard warnings that Europe needs to contribute more to NATO's capability.
In sum, as we enter the 21st century, the Euro-Atlantic community - North America and Europe together - has to face some tough challenges when it comes to improving our capability.
And I was asked if I would come and help with the recovery of this great British company, Cable and Wireless, and I'm delighted to become part of the new and very talented management that have been brought in to that company as well.
Within NATO, our Defence Capabilities Initiative has identified the essential capabilities all Allies must have for modern operations, and Allies are working to meet those requirements.
NATO and the EU have also agreed on permanent arrangements on consultation and cooperation between themselves.
For years, European leaders have pointed out that Europe is an economic giant, but a military pygmy.
I believe that the organisers of this conference have chosen a very timely subject for our discussion - because the 21st century will confront us with an entirely new set of challenges.
And, perhaps most importantly, regional conflicts will again and again confront us with a cruel choice between costly engagement and costly indifference.
If we get the capabilities, NATO, along with the European Union, can do amazing things.