Toespraak minister Hennis-Plasschaert bij Commanders Conference Duitse Bundeswehr

Toespraak | 17-10-2016

Your Excellency, Members of the Bundestag, Generals, Admirals, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a true privilege to be able to address you at this Commanders Conference on the future of the Bundeswehr. Thank you, Minister Von der Leyen, for your very kind words of introduction.

When you invited me to speak at this conference, I regarded this as clear evidence of the strong defence relationship between our 2 countries. This relationship is surely one of the important achievements of the post-Cold War era in Europe. It is a relationship that has added vigour and resilience to the fabric of European defence cooperation. And it is a relationship that is strengthened by the bonds of personal friendship.

As we speak, Germany and the Netherlands stand shoulder to shoulder in Afghanistan, Mali and Iraq. We work together in controlling migration in the Aegean; the German commander of NATO's maritime group there is based on a Dutch ship. And beginning early next year, we will participate together in NATO's enhanced forward presence in the Baltics.

I decided to accept your invitation to speak at this Conference in part in order to pay homage to our men and women in uniform, be they German or Dutch. They deserve to be commended for putting our bilateral cooperation in practice in such a spirit of comradery and courageous determination. I certainly also wish to pay a heartfelt tribute, on behalf of my government, to all the German soldiers who have given their lives in defence of our common well-being.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to think, too, that my presence here…as the Netherlands Minister of Defence, assumes a significance that transcends our bilateral relationship, pertaining to Europe as a whole. To my mind, it underscores the importance of the leadership role that our 2 countries have assumed in enhancing European defence cooperation in so many novel and practical ways. Germany and the Netherlands are truly leading-by-example when it comes to defence cooperation. Our strong bilateral relationship, built on mutual trust and friendship, has provided a welcoming environment to new, practical and sometimes even far-reaching initiatives. Initiatives, which many other nations still shy away from, but might consider when their benefits become clear. In a world that is tilting towards fragmentation and polarisation, I consider this leading-by-example role within Europe of the utmost importance.

Unfortunately, Europe is not exempt from this fragmentation and polarisation. On the contrary: we seem to be stricken by them. And yes, there should be no doubt that the zone of peace and stability that we have built in Europe over so many decades, with perseverance and sagacity, that this zone is at stake. It has to be crystal clear, that only by joining hands as Europeans, and in close coordination with our North-American allies, may we hope to be able to safeguard that peace and stability for future generations.

In these times of great uncertainty, I firmly believe that unity is required above all. I do not mean unity as in: a single set of European armed forces. This, I think, is a pipedream. But I am calling for a much greater unity of intent and a much greater unity of effort among European nations. And I strongly believe that together - Germany and the Netherlands - can point the way.

Living together in an uncertain and interconnected world

Ladies and gentlemen,

The great German poet Heinrich Heine is reported to have said that if the world would come to an end, he would move to Holland because everything there happened 50 years later.

How much has changed since the great poet's days! Heine lived in the early 1800s, when my country was in many ways indeed still a backwater. Today, by contrast, the Netherlands is in the forefront of many technological, scientific, social and economic developments, together with Germany. One of our scientists, Professor Ben Feringa, just received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his ground-breaking work on molecular motors and nano robots. Professor Feringa is of Dutch and German descent and spent his youth on a farm directly on our border with Germany. So we can all be proud!

In addition, and dissimilar to the days of Heinrich Heine, there certainly is no such thing today as crossing a border in order to isolate oneself from what happens in the rest the world, let alone a neighbouring country. We have become simply too interconnected in many complex ways. And the pace of events has increased as well, so it won't take 50 years for them to catch up with you. In the digital age, it might only take seconds.

When we think about the future of our armed forces, it is important for us to understand that Germany and the Netherlands are - without doubt - more interconnected than most other nations, with the world-at-large, with each other and with the world wide web. On the Global Interconnectedness Index that McKinsey produces every year, the Netherlands is even ranked as the second-most interconnected country in the world. This McKinsey Index offers a comprehensive look at how countries participate in global inflows and outflows of goods, services, finance, people, and data. Singapore tops the latest rankings, followed by the Netherlands, the United States, and, yes, Germany. (By the way, China has surged from No. 25 to No. 7.) From a Dutch perspective, this Index underscores the role of our country as a global hub for physical and, increasingly, also digital flows. And these flows, whether they pass through the harbour of Rotterdam or the Amsterdam Internet Exchange,…these flows tie us ever more closely to also the German economy and society.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The surge of these flows - in other words: the surge of globalisation - in the past 25 years, has led to an enormous increase in wealth, well-being and freedom. It has benefited large numbers of people.

And yet, many societies in Europe and elsewhere, including our own societies, are clearly also chafing under the pressures of globalisation. Our open societies are particularly vulnerable to the still growing instability to the South and Southeast of Europe - our southern doorstep. The gruesome terrorist assaults in European cities we have seen over the past couple of years, as well as the large number of refugees that fled from conflict areas to Europe, are the obvious cases in point.

Faced with these consequences, there is a strong and understandable desire among many citizens in Europe to 'take back control'. By closing borders. By raising levies and protectionist walls. By reaffirming national identities. And even by leaving international institutions such as the EU.

One of the central challenges we face today, I believe, is therefore this: how can we restore control - as well as a sense of control among our citizens - without resorting to measures which will result in less jobs, less well-being and less freedom? To put it more simply: how do we avoid eliminating something good when trying to get rid of something bad?

It is clear that we have to decisively defeat the terrorists who attack European cities. That we have to combat international organised crime. That we have to stem the tide of refugees, if only for the sole reason that our societies are unable to absorb all of them. And clearly, within this context, long-term demographic developments do not work in our favour.

Now, to achieve all of this, we need to continue our close cooperation. Within Europe. Within the transatlantic alliance. We need to bolster a sense of belonging for all our citizens. We need to maintain the international outlook that has also brought us so much that is good. And we need to uphold the values that are the very core of our being as well as the key to our success. Just building walls and fences will simply not work.
Chancellor Merkel was absolutely right, for instance, when she stated on her recent visit to Ethiopia, Mali and Niger that "the wellbeing of Africa is in Germany's interest". It is also in the interest of the Netherlands and yes, we do look forward to extending our cooperation with Germany in the country of Mali.

Of course, there are many dimensions to this question of restoring a sense of control, dimensions that are not military. But of 1 thing I am convinced: that in an uncertain world both the Bundeswehr and the Netherlands' Armed Forces will play a crucial role in helping us to restore this control: by bolstering our security, by bringing stability to the world around us, and perhaps even by strengthening a sense of belonging among our citizens.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have not yet mentioned the Russian challenge to European security. This should not be taken to mean that I underestimate the seriousness of this challenge. On the contrary, we are clearly also living in a Europe that is less secure than 5 or 10 years ago because our relationship with Russia has taken a turn for the worse. In particular Russia's aggression in Ukraine and its evident willingness to use force to attain political goals, have contributed to the deterioration of the European security environment. Moreover, the painful memory of the fate of flight MH17, which was downed over Ukrainian airspace in July 2014, continues to serve as a particularly stark reminder for many Dutch. And the disrespectful Russian response to the well-supported findings of the Joint Investigation Team says a lot about the current positioning of the Russian regime.

In an overall sense, I believe that NATO has responded to the new security situation in Europe in a balanced manner by adopting reassurance measures and, at the same time, trying to keep our channels of communication with Russia open in order to avoid any misunderstandings. But it is unlikely that our relationship with Russia will improve any time soon. Therefore, we must shift our attention from just reassurance to strengthening our deterrent posture. I do not mean to say that we should return to the static defence or the nuclear standoff of the Cold War era. But I do believe that it has become more important that Allies enhance their ability to rapidly deploy forces and to sustain them even in a high intensity conflict. The enhanced NATO Response Force, in particular, should be prepared to rapidly deploy wherever threats may emerge. The challenge is furthermore as much political as it is military. In an increasingly insecure Europe, we need to maintain unity above all. Geopolitical developments and wider changes in the security context underscore the need for truly acting in unison.

Ladies and gentlemen,

These geopolitical developments are not in the abstract. They touch the lives of many people. Such as those passengers on MH17 and their loved ones. The fact that our liberty, security and prosperity cannot be taken for granted, was brought home to me personally in the late 1990s.

At the time, I worked for the European Commission in Latvia. The people in Latvia were acutely aware that they had to defend their freedom every single day. It made a lasting impression on me.

A couple of years later, I tried to visit the opposition in Belarus. I say 'tried', because as soon as I arrived at the border, I was interrogated and denied entry by the Lukashenko regime. It was an intimidating experience that made clear to me that freedom can really stop at the outer border of the EU.

And just a few weeks ago, I visited our allies in South-Eastern Europe. They are faced with mounting pressure from Russia in the East as well as migration from the South. During my visit there, I had the opportunity to meet with a couple of former political prisoners who had spent many years behind bars when the communists were still in power. After all they had been through, they told me that they now worry that the safety of their cities is being threatened by terrorism… In other words: our liberty, security and prosperity is not a given. They are worth fighting for. Day and night. Anywhere. With all our might.

The importance of aligning strategies

Ladies and gentlemen,

Both Germany and the Netherlands have already given much thought to meeting the challenges at hand and the changes to be made to the armed forces. In Germany, this has resulted in the publication of the well-known White Paper. I find this White Paper impressive. It is thorough in its analysis and sound in its policy guidelines. It exudes your willingness to take responsibility and to assume leadership, together with partners like the Netherlands. And it reflects the wisdom of the words of the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss: "Deutschland braucht Europa, aber Europa braucht auch Deutschland."

Your White Paper furthermore confirms that our 2 countries continue to share the same basic views on the vast majority of issues. And that in this uncertain world, we are still strategically aligned. What is more, both Germany and the Netherlands have in recent years already decided to step up the defence effort by raising the defence budget. But I will also be honest with you: a lot more remains to be done in order to truly meet the manifold security challenges and this will require substantial additional increases in the coming years.

These increases are also necessary to maintain a strong and politically viable transatlantic relationship. We simply cannot expect our American friends to continue to bear the brunt of the security burden when European interests are so clearly at stake.

In the Netherlands, as far as I am concerned, we have not seen the end of this by any means. What is needed is broad political support for a long-term perspective on further strengthening the armed forces, based on sound financial underpinnings. We already know very well what we need to do in the coming years in order to remain secure. And I fervently hope that the outcome of the next general elections in the Netherlands, in March 2017, will at the very least allow us to take the next steps.

Integrating units

Ladies and gentlemen,

Whatever the outcome of elections in the Netherlands or Germany and of budget negotiations, I firmly believe that our bilateral cooperation should remain a hallmark of our respective defence policies. And that we should continue to break new ground.

As a matter of fact, we already have a lot of relatively new ground to build on. To name a few examples:

• in 2014, the Dutch Airmobile Brigade has been integrated into the German Division Schnelle Kräfte;
• last year, we decided to integrate tank and infantry units;
• earlier this year, minister Von der Leyen and I formalized the cooperation in the area of the Joint Support Ship 'Karel Doorman', and the integration of the German Sea Batallion in the Royal Netherlands Navy;
• the German Air Force and the Dutch Army have established a binational Air and Missile Task Force;
• last year, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands provided the first installment or test bed of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force or VJTF. Germany took the initiative to form framework groupings for future VJTFs. This is an excellent idea;
• and, of course, there is the joint contribution to the enhanced Forward Presence of NATO forces in Lithuania which I mentioned in the beginning.

So indeed, there is already a lot of building ground available. More importantly, there is genuine support for closer collaboration at all levels.

There are many good ideas within our respective organisations that can and should be discussed, in particular if they could lead to increased operational readiness or to smart and cost-efficient solutions to common problems. In other words: I fully encourage our senior military officers and defence officials to continue on this path.

Where we should consider deepening our cooperation too…is in the area of planning, in particular now that NATO is redefining its force targets, and in the acquisition of military equipment. For example, both our countries are making plans to acquire new frigates in the coming years. Early last year, we concluded that different requirements do not make a common design feasible. However, cooperation is possible on the component level, such as radar systems and command and control systems. And I think that this too, is an area that holds great promise.

Clearly, it will not always be easy to break new ground. For instance, there have been good reasons for establishing integrated units. At the same time, we cannot be cavalier when establishing them. After all, we are not just putting together a group of people for the purpose of hoisting a new joint flag and putting a pretty picture on our websites. Each partner will want to continue to have the last word when it comes to deploying forces. Only with a sufficient degree of mutual trust and solidarity will it be possible to make this type of cooperation work, even when the going gets tough. Close consultation at all levels is a clear prerequisite.

The role of our parliaments is important too. For members of Parliament are part and parcel of our bilateral relationship and of our political decision making. Integrating units is no easy matter. It requires partners to be close in multiple ways: not only geographically, but also in terms of values, foreign policy objectives and cultural attitudes. This level of congruence cannot be created in an instant. It is the product of a long history of close collaboration.

European Defence Cooperation

Ladies and gentlemen,

Germany and the Netherlands share that history. And, as I pointed out earlier, they can contribute their experiences to the wider canvass of European defence cooperation. Over the past half year, when the Netherlands chaired the EU, I have consistently voiced the need to strengthen European defence, as I consider it high time to position Europe as a reliable, credible, capable and convincing security provider, in its immediate region and beyond. And important progress was made. But we have also suffered a severe setback. On the one hand, the Global Strategy, approved by the European Council last June, is an important milestone. By the end of this year, we should gain approval of the European Council for an Implementation Plan. On the other hand, we are faced with the prospect of the UK departure from the EU. However regrettable, we should not forget that the UK remains a European country with important military capabilities as well as an important ally in NATO, committed to the defence of Europe.

So, when discussing the future of European defence, I believe it to be important to look for pragmatic solutions that will facilitate our cooperation. And yes, of course, the BREXIT-dust will have to settle, but let me be clear: there are several wars out there, wars that require us to respond. So, we have to forge ahead. For the failure to do so stands equal to jeopardising our security. And that would be reckless. In other words: the outcome of the UK referendum does not mean that the threats and challenges, we commonly face, have disappeared. Neither does it mean that each nation will be better off acting on its own rather than as part of a collective. On the contrary. And within this context, I consider it important to step up defence cooperation between countries in Europe. Within NATO as well as the EU. We, Europeans, will have to identify the concrete capabilities we need in order to face down current and future threats. Not as an alternative to NATO but complementary. And increasing the cooperation between the EU and NATO is, obviously, of crucial importance. In doing so, we need to focus on practical solutions to actual problems. No duplications but strengthening each other. European countries can and must do better, as the inconvenient truth is, that our way of dealing with the various crises too often seems to be splitting us apart instead of uniting us. But unity is, as I said, exactly what we need right now. We need unity because migrants are likely to keep knocking on our doors in the years to come. We need unity because geopolitical tension and the conflicts surrounding Europe will continue and possibly even multiply. We need unity to tackle hybrid threats. We need unity because terrorists will not hesitate to strike at us again. It is clear that no country on the face of the earth can face today’s challenges alone. These challenges are simply too complex. They also tend to be borderless. Think of the crises in Syria, Iraq, Libya. The cruelty of Da’esh, Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. The Russian aggression and the nuclear swashbuckling. All of these crisis can have huge repercussions at home. And in order to steer clear of chaos and disorder, in order to protect our freedom, in order to protect our way of life…there is one response above all that we can and should give…that is…that we remain united. Within Europe, with the United States and with our other NATO allies.

In conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me conclude.

Heinrich Heine feared that the world would come to an end and considered moving to Holland because everything there would happen 50 years later. Today, the threats we face are indeed serious. The security challenges we face are substantial. And yes, these challenges require an equally substantial response, both in terms of our investment and commitment and in terms of the cooperation needed for achieving results. But if we act accordingly, we will succeed in rising to the challenge. And yes, we can. Inspired by the practical ‘can do’-spirit of the German and the Dutch men and women in uniform who make our military cooperation one of the most successful cooperative relationships in the world. Our people are out there to serve and to protect us in an increasingly dangerous world. Many of you are out there. And you deserve our commitment and support. Your role in all of this, is indispensable. We must also not forget that the European countries together have a population of more than 500 million people, and a combined GDP of over 15 thousand billion euros – 15 trillion euros! Our technology and our industries are among the best in the world. European democracies have proven to be capable of absorbing shocks and heading off threats. No power in our vicinity comes close to what we can put to the field collectively. And we are in this together. In other words, if we get our act together and remain unified in the face of so many threats, there is no reason to move to Holland. I would like to end by quoting another Bundespräsident, Richard von Weiszäcker. Dr. Von Weiszäcker once said that: „Der Fortschritt ist in Sicht, wenn es uns gelingt, unseren Horizont Schritt für Schritt zu erweitern.“ Or, in my words: going forward pragmatically, step by step, will result in real progress. I am proud to be able to say that Germany and the Netherlands are determined to pursue this course together.

Thank you.