 Good afternoon, everybody. You're most welcome to join us this afternoon for this IIA webinar, and we're particularly happy to welcome the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Murcia Gioana. We really appreciate your taking time, Deputy Secretary General, to talk to us this afternoon, and we look forward to your presentation and the questions and answers. The session will close at 1.05pm, and in the meantime the Deputy Secretary General will make a presentation of about 10 minutes at the beginning, and then we'll go to questions and answers. Just some administrative details, you'll be able to join the discussion using the Q&A function on Zoom, which you'll see on your screen. And please do feel free to put the questions during the course of the session as they occur to you, and we will come to them after the Deputy Secretary General's presentation. As time you can see is limited, we would very much appreciate if your questions were brief, and if you could give your name and affiliation when posing them. A reminder that today's presentation and questions and answers is on the record, and you can also feel free to join Twitter at the handle IIA. The Deputy Secretary General Gioana in his presentation and his answers to questions. He will discuss how the alliance has responded to Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, what the conflict means for NATO, and how the war has fundamentally changed the international order. So let me just formally introduce Deputy Secretary General Gioana. He became NATO Deputy Secretary General in October 2019, after a very distinguished domestic and international career. Mr Gioana is the first Deputy Secretary General from Romania, and in fact the first from any of the countries that joined the alliance after the end of the Cold War. He has served as a diplomat, including ambassador to the United States, and politician in Romania as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004, and also as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He holds a PhD in economic studies from the Academy of Bucharest, and he was made a commander of the National Order of the Star of Romania. He also has been awarded the French Lejeune Donner, and the Italian Stella Della Soledariata. That doesn't do full justice, Deputy Secretary General, to your extended CV, but let me know, I have the pleasure of handing you the floor for your introductory remarks. Thank you. Thank you, Mary. That was too much of a generous introduction. Also, please add on my formal CV, a great friend of your great nation. So it's a pleasure to join you all today and speak at such a critical time for European and global security. And the partnership between NATO and Ireland goes back almost 25 years now. In that time, we have worked together in many, many ways. Ireland has contributed to NATO's missions in Bosnia, in Afghanistan. Now it has troops as part of our mission in Kosovo. We work together to advance women, peace, and security agenda, and to increase your capacity to participate in UN and EU missions. And we work together to enhance our interoperability with the other forces. And here you have a long and proud tradition, taking part in UN peacekeeping missions for everyone in the past 65 years. That's nothing short of a record. But as I discussed quite recently with your Foreign and Defense Minister, Mihail Martin, on the margins of the Munich Secretary Conference, NATO value its partnerships and our partnership with Ireland in particular. Of course, Ireland is not a member of NATO. It is a neutral country. We respect Ireland's neutrality. The right of sovereign nations to walk their own path, to choose their own security arrangements, this is fundamental to our values. It's a key part of the UN Charter, which commits all nations to settle disputes peacefully, to respect sovereign borders, and to refrain from the threat of all the user force. But by invading Ukraine, a sovereign and independent nation, President Putin has shattered these commitments. He has declared war on the rule-based international order, as we know it, and as we cherish it. While the world has been shocked by the brutality of Putin's war, we are not surprised. This is only the latest bloody chapter in a long history of Russian aggression, from Grozny to Georgia, and from Aleppo to Crimea and the Donbas. In the months running up to the last year's invasion, NATO allies shared precise intelligence about Russia's preparation for war. We word hard right up to the last possible minute to persuade Putin to pull back from the brink. But despite our calls for peace, Putin chose to attack. And when he did, he made two big strategic mistakes. First, he underestimated the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces. And he also underestimated the resolve of our free and democratic world to stand with Ukraine. One year now, despite his many setbacks, Putin is not preparing for peace. He's committed to more war. While the fighting continues, some lessons from this war are already clear to us. First, we must support Ukraine for as long as it takes, and with whatever they need to win. NATO has been Ukraine's partner since it first gained independence over 30 years ago. We stepped up our support when Putin illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, training and equipping tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers. And the world now knows just what a formidable fighting force Ukraine's military is. Since Putin ordered these tanks to cross Ukraine's border a year ago, NATO Allies have provided unprecedented support with over 100 billion euros of financial, humanitarian and military assistance, including tanks, advanced air defense systems, munitions and other military equipment. Ireland also contributes millions in euros to Ukraine through the UN, the Red Cross and other international organizations. We must support Ukraine to win this war. Because if Putin wins, he and other authoritarian leaders like him would learn a terrifying lesson, that aggression works, that brutality works, that war works. We cannot let that happen. It would make the world more dangerous and all of us more vulnerable. So supporting Ukraine is not only the morally right thing to do, it's also serving our own interests. The Republic of Moldova, a fellow neutral country, is also exposed to the full arsenal of Russia's hybrid war toolkit. The second lesson is that we must continue to strengthen our deterrence and defense. We live in a more dangerous world and can no longer afford to treat defense as optional. It is a necessity and I know I'm a political guy myself. I know it is difficult to choose between social, economic, investment programs, but also security is part of the essential things that nations have to do to defend their citizens. Security is the foundation of our freedom and prosperity. These are why NATO Allies are committed to spending 2% of GDP on defense and increasingly 2% is viewed as a flaw and not a ceiling. For Finland and Sweden, until recently, for Finland, a neutral nation since the Second World War, it formed Sweden from 1812 and they are so close to Russia. The need to strengthen their defense has led to a dramatic reconsideration of their security interests and where those security interests lie. So after many, many, many years and centuries of neutrality, both countries are applied for membership in the NATO Alliance. These were historic decisions taken freely that demonstrate the desire of free nations to stand together and to decide their own destiny. So far, it has been the fastest accession process in NATO's modern history. All NATO Allies invited the two future Allies to join at the Madrid Summit in June last year. 28 of the 30 Allies have already ratified the accession protocols and this sends already a strong message that violence and intimidation will not work and NATO's door remains firmly open and we are looking forward to receiving these two new Allies very soon amongst our ranks. The third lesson is that we need to strengthen the resilience of our societies. Military forces are necessary, but they are not enough. Modern conflict is about far more than just guns and tanks. We must be every bit as concerned with the protection of our critical infrastructures, supply chains, cyberspace or space assets. Resilient societies are our first line of defense. They are better able to deter, to resist and bounce back from attack, be them physical or digital. Even here in Ireland, far from the frontline, Russia's presence is felt. Last year Russia planned an naval exercise in Ireland's exclusive economic zone and following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, the security of undersea cables connecting Ireland to North America, the UK and Europe has come into sharp focus. So NATO Allies recently decided to establish a new critical undersea infrastructure coordination cell It will engage with industry and bring key military and civilian stakeholders together to boost the security of our undersea infrastructure. As an advanced knowledge-based economy with thriving technology, pharmaceutical, biotech, financial sectors, ensuring Ireland's resilience would be critical in years ahead. And this is where I believe our partnership could be put to work. The war against Ukraine has also demonstrated the danger of relying on authoritarian regimes. Russia's dependency on Russia's oil and gas made all of us vulnerable. We cannot make the same mistake with China or other authoritarian regimes on things like rare earth materials or vital, so vital for the transition away from fossil fuels. And I know for countries that are so trade oriented and open societies and open economies like Ireland, keeping the international trade system and making it work is vital for your own interest. But the reality that we see a fragmentation of supply chains, we see economic resilience and a connection between security and economy becoming ever more present. And this is a fact and I think all of us have to adjust to this new reality. So resilience requires close cooperation between allies and partner countries including Ireland, other organizations and I have to say our number one partner which is European Union. So we are stepping up our cooperation with the EU, including through the new NATO-EU joint declaration and a new joint task force on resilience and critical infrastructure. Resilience is a team sport, civilian and military, public and private sector and empowered citizens who are essential to strong societies. So in the last past year the world has changed fundamentally. We are living through the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War. We are also living through the most transformative technological revolution ever. So our freedom does not come for free and cannot be taken for granted. And only working together, NATO allies, our partners around the globe, we can secure our future. We can secure our way of life. We can secure that our citizens will be free, prosperous and resilient. So these are a few thoughts from NATO headquarters in Brussels. I know that Rose Goethe-Moller, my dear friend and predecessor was in 2019 in person in Dublin for this conference. So if you and I will be able to find a good timing, I look forward to visiting Dublin. As I know, I love and respect your country and the partnership with Ireland is very much cherished here in NATO. Thank you so much and I'm looking forward to your questions. Thank you very much indeed, Deputy Secretary General, for your kind remarks and also for your presentation which has presented the situation so starkly and so clearly and so importantly. I have just one question to start with. I'm afraid we have a number of questions, but may I ask you, are you satisfied, is NATO satisfied that there is sufficient material and support for Ukraine now and will it continue? Are countries running short of ammunition? Are you satisfied that the effort will be sufficient to bolster Ukraine to continue this war? Very valid question, Mary. I think there are two components here. One is the political will for allies and partners. 50 countries around the world are in the Rammstein process in the contact group for Ukraine, working day in and day out with our Ukrainian partners just to see how can we dynamically respond to their needs as the situation on the ground evolves. So politically, I would say we are very united. I just, we just had the defense ministers in NATO two weeks back with the Rammstein group. I think politically we are fine. We are united and the will to continue to help is there. Now you touched on an important issue. For many, many years and decades in Europe, we collected the peace dividend after the fall of communism. We all did. Countries, let's say in NATO, countries in the EU, countries like Switzerland, you know, everyone, including our countries, my country, my home country of Romania and Poland and the others. We also joined NATO in the EU. All of us in a way thrived and prospered in a sort of a benign strategic environment. One of the implications of such such a relatively benign strategic reality in Europe is that we started to under invest in our defense in our stockpiles in our industrial capacity. And Ukraine is a wake up call that we have to do much more. So I'm confident that allies are ramping up production. NATO is sending a very strong demand signal to the industries. I see already contracts offered by governments to their to their industry. Also for the EU in a way, I think it's a wake up call. I'm a EU citizen. I'm coming from Romania. Also a EU member state. And I think also the huge fragmentation in the EU defense industry needs to be overcome somehow. So I think that will be spending more spending better NATO is changing our requirements for minimum stockpile levels for us. And of course, being able to continue to provide Ukraine with the amounts of support that they need. So on the first front, politically, we are very united on the second one. There is an effort that all of us need to make. Thank you. Thank you for that reply. Deputy Secretary General, you mentioned undersea cables and that certainly touches a nerve here in Ireland. And I have a number of questions from Conor Gallagher Irish Times and Conor Keith comical Keith Irish examiner about the undersea security cell. Is there something that you see that Ireland would cooperate with or will it be involved in working with with NATO on the undersea cell cooperation because of course there are such significant cables leading into the country that it's a matter of considerable worry to us here. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense and former Prime Minister in Munich. I mentioned this in my remarks. And I think there is interest for Ireland, but also I met the the Foreign Minister of Malta. Same interest. I met the Foreign Minister of Jordan. Same interest. I met the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Same interest. Because I think we touched a very sensitive and real point of concern to all of us. I remember I was chairing the North Atlantic Council when when when you invited three CEOs to brief the council on this very thing. The CEO of the Swedish electricity company. The CEO of the Norwegian oil and gas company and the lead engineer for Google, the largest, you know, owner and and and provider of undersea data transmission through fiber optics on the on the seabed. And that's a clear understanding that this is something that is at the intersection between governments. Private sector. Defense. And local authorities. So this cell we are now establishing it will be a sort of a conglomerate of this of these actors. So of course, if Ireland will be interested in our already very dynamic partnership to to find ways to cooperate also on this topic will be very open to that proposition. Thank you for that is another aspect of this war. Secretary General, in disinformation and espionage, comical Keith and a journalist is probably rife throughout the EU do individual countries do you feel need to do more about this in the context of the war overall. Are we combating Russian propaganda and disinformation in this regard sufficiently. No, Russia, Russia has been doing this against our interest for years now. And I cannot say which country did well and which country did not do that well, but I know that is hybrid warfare arsenal against our interest is a tool of preference. And this is something that Russia is now only amplifying. So that's why we need to take this issue very seriously is not only fighting espionage that I think our counter intelligence is the job description. But that's something very, very pervasive in basically amplifying the fractures in our own societies. In some cases even funding parties that are against the Western orientation in our nations, the cyber attacks. Many issues that are basically what they call it here in NATO just under the threshold of article five. And also because there is this difficult time for Russia and Ukraine, they are amplifying this kind of horizontal escalation of hybrid warfare against our interest in the West. And we see this, and together in NATO together NATO and EU together on this information NATO EU and the G7 we have a working group working together, and also reaching out to private sector to help us with that. I'm not mentioning specific corporations because I don't want to be to be making any kind of marketing for anyone. But I have to say that in NATO in the EU, I think each of our nations are also working with private sector. Because they have first hand information about cyber protection. They are the ones who can also identify and debunk the conspiracy theories that are banned coming from Russia and sometimes also from China. To speak of a cyber attack, our Albanian friends and allies here in NATO they had a very powerful cyber attack from Iran against the Ministry of the Interior in Tirana just I think a few months back. So that's why resilience is a team sport, as I mentioned, fighting this information is part of that. And I think that the open free societies and Ireland is an example of an open free society and democratic society. We have to find democratic and free answers to this kind of very corrosive actions that Russia and others are taking. Thank you. Yes, that's a headlining a warning to us all I think and to all countries in Europe and that regard. Could I turn to the United States, Deputy Secretary General colleague and former ambassador to the United States to the US and Germany know he is asking about the United States commitment to the to the war. I'm adding on, I'm hoping that it will continue a conscious that there is an American presidential election coming down down the tracks. But no five question is do you see the US pivot to Asia as a distraction to security in Europe, particularly of course, the US preoccupation with China. We had a Chancellor Schultz visiting there, and, and a commitment to continue the, the support for Ukraine but just your view on on the US involvement in the war, and also certain distractions with China. You know, you know America well, you're so much intertwined with the very fabric of the American society, but also know American well I served there as a very young ambassador I was for a minister. I'm a politician and I think I know America well. I think one of the bipartisan realities rediscovered by American friends and allies is to put in the word of Secretary General Stottenberg in his address in the in a session of the joint Congress a few years back is good to have friends. I think America discovered in this huge competition against China and now Russia and Iran and whatever else that the system of alliances and partnerships around the world in Europe and around the world is something that America has. It's his number one strategic asset, of course, he has a very dynamic country, a still very young country, a country that can is economically technological and military, a global superpower, but they realize that in these very complex times, allies are just so precious. This is my partisan. I was looking to a poll conducted by the, the Chicago Council on on World Affairs, and or something close to 70 something percent of Americans believe NATO is a great alliance serving America's interests. There's no odd organization in the world and America has now 31 allies in one organization. There's connections to Japan to Australia to South Korea and New Zealand as NATO. Their leaders are coming to our summits starting last year they'll be coming also in Venus this year. So I heard this, this sort of a litany that America is pivoting towards Asia since I think President Obama. I hear it every single time when there is a change of administration I tell you one thing. America's alliances are the best asset for us. Our involvement in European security is our interest and for America having so many allies in Europe and elsewhere is also a plus. And many of the threats that will be all of us will be faced will be faced will not be geographical Mary. Some of them like cyber like technology like space like new technologies like biotech many places where your country excels are non geographical by nature some are geographical. This is a petition for the future of Africa. We need all the resources we have for Asia for Latin America. So to be honest I'm not that concerned about the risk that American political leadership and the American public will go away from its traditional alliances in Europe. I think that on the other way also Europe needs to understand that we have to fight and push back against challenges that are also non European but also global. So I'm pretty confident that this alliance and America's leadership in this alliance will continue for more than 70 years since 75 since we're started at the end of the Second World War. That's very reassuring. Thank you. And as you said we were special friends with America. And that's good. That's good to hear that I have many many questions but there is one that that has required. I think Shona Murray from Euro news puts it. I'm confident that Hungary and Turkey will eventually ratify the Sweden and Finland accession. Since it appears that President Orban that Prime Minister Orban is using his vote as leverage against the EU for rule of law issues. That's quite a tangle between the EU and NATO. Obviously we're all interested to know if that the membership of Sweden and Finland will be unblocked Deputy Secretary General. Let me let me just remind everyone that in Madrid when we invited all 30 allies by consensus we invite the Sweden and Finland to join. That was done by consensus. So now we are just in the process of ratification. I'm not in the position to tell any democracy or any government or national parliament when to ratify and how fast they should do it. We all hope that the already the commitment to these countries that we took in Madrid will be completed as soon as possible. Noting that this is the fastest accession process ever at least since the fall of communism. So I cannot say which are the domestic reasons for the two countries yet not to ratify. I will mention also something which is very very important when it comes to our Turkish allies. They've been going through tremendous challenges after the earthquake. That's a nation that has been suffering from terrorism for decades like probably no one no one else. So when under the auspices of our Secretary General in Madrid we negotiated this trial memorandum between Turkey and Sweden and Finland. It was basically Turkey and Sweden Finland has a little bit less concern from from Ankara on terrorism. We are also expecting the older parties to deliver on their promises in the memorandum. And I think we'll have this week in Brussels after the visit of Secretary General Stottenberg to Ankara and meeting President Edelman. A new fresh start of the meeting between the three in order to advance these things. I also have to say that Sweden as you know in Ireland EU member state is also chairing the EU Council presidency. And I think that what Sweden has done in convening a donor conference for Turkey for reconstruction and being also so forthcoming in answering to some of the legitimate concerns from Turkey. I think in the end they will be conducive for a full ratification by all allies. And then with great pride and joy will be depositing the instrument ratification the State Department, according to the rules of the Washington Treaty. Yes, we wish that that process well. I think we were running close to to the time coming up. A last question, Deputy Secretary General, the EU and NATO have developed a very increasing cooperation. Can you tell us how is the EU cooperating with NATO in the support for the Ukrainians in this war? No, thank you. That's that's that's I would say is nothing short of remarkable. I think last week we had here in NATO HQ, I think a few yards from the place I'm talking to you right now. The first ever meeting between our Secretary General, Josep Borrell and Mito Kuleba from Ukraine. So a sign of direct coordination at leadership level between the two organizations in our help to Ukraine. We also have many other strands of work with you in helping Ukraine. We also have a number of joint partnerships NATO and EU to support other countries that need our support and one is Moldova. The other one is Bosnia. Another one more to the south is Jordan and Tunisia. And we are actively working with you to deepen and broaden the level of partnerships that we do. In our joint declaration that we just signed just I think one month ago, we identified new avenues of deeper cooperation between NATO and EU on resilience, on cyber, on your technologies, on space, on climate change and security, where I believe also Ireland will be interested in the tremendous progress that NATO is making on this very, very topic. And of course global competition because this is not just a European situation, it's a global situation. So I'm a huge fan of the European project. By the way, I have the European constitution signed by my own hand at home. And I'm still a little bit sad that didn't go through. So yeah, lots of synergies and very, very strong partnership between our two organizations. That's very interesting to know. I think we have come to the end of our discussion. We greatly appreciate you joining us. I think you've opened a lot of windows for us in discussing the fight against what is happening and the support that's been given to Ukraine. We wish you well in promoting this. It's you have a lot of work and a lot of responsibility, and we really appreciate you joining us today to explain in greater detail the challenges that Ukraine is facing, and which we hope they will continue to to progress and to do well in this war, which is not of their choice, and which is totally unprovoked. So thank you very much indeed, Nertja. It was a pleasure to see you. We do hope you will come to Ireland when time is less pressing for you, but thank you again for joining us. I think the Belgian Embassy, which is the contact point embassy in Dublin for NATO, and also my good friend, the Romanian Ambassador Laurentiu, will be encouraging me to come. And I look forward also to seeing you, Mary, and your colleagues in person. And again, I'm a great fan of your country, and I'm a great fan of our partnership. Thank you very much indeed. You would be most welcome here. Thank you again, Nertja, and good wishes. Thank you to everybody who's joined us today.