it is just a temporary extension instead of a permanent solution to the funding crisis. you can still see differences being worked out. temporary will extend it through next may. you will continue to see that next week, the two sides hammering out their differences, even though the house is scheduled to work on that next week. >> you're talking about the rules committee. here is the headline. what will that rule session look like? >> you will see both sides hashing out their arguments of why they can or cannot sue the president for alleged overreach of executive action. yet the democrats were bringing in high-profile witnesses. lazarus, a top carter administration official.

the house republican shouldn't be allowed to go forward with a lawsuit. then you have two noted constitutional experts for the .epublicans they're going to make the argument of why the house does have standing to sue the president over his executive actions on the employer mandate and obamacare. >> they do keep churning their way through the 2015 spending bill. what do they have for next week? >> they will go to irs appropriations. this is definitely going to be a chance for the house republicans to really punish the irs for the tea party targeting controversy, as well as other controversies it has gotten itself in. decreased funding there is ahead for the irs. , this isr john cornyn part of the statement he made president requested

3.7 billion dollars from congress. when will they finally hold a hearing on that? yet to bes determined. you have republicans saying they're not thrilled with that amount. a number of texas republicans told us that they are not feeling any rush to really go through and find that request as is. they're going to go through with the normal appropriations and look to see what has artie been allocated, what needs to be allocated immediately and what could be allocated next year. even if the $3.7 billion figure is right whether it is too high, that is going to continue to be a huge dose of debate between democrats and republicans next week. >> another issue on the senate late in the week, they issued a response to the supreme court's hobby lobby decision. this is the tweet from senator reid who says next week we will vote on legislation to ensure bosses cannot interfere with a woman's access to preventive care.

what with the bill do? >> house democrats essentially overruled the supreme court's decision that says that for-profit businesses with religious exemption do not need to provide some form of birth control under their insurance to women. that would override the case and it would make it so that these for-profit as mrs., no matter their religious affiliation, have to provide for all birth control options in their health care plans. >> lots to cover in the coming week. lauren french on politico. twitter.so on thanks for the update. next, a discussion about the future of nato. the closing session of the national governors association summer meeting. >> on monday, the secretary-general of nato called

on european nations to reverse declines in defense spending and pay nato premiums. council at the atlantic in washington dc about the future of nato operations. he served as secretary general of nato since 2009. he will be stepping down on october 1. >> so, a sellout crowd. i am president and ceo of the atlantic council. it is a huge privilege for us to welcome you. let me say, back to the atlantic council, less than two months ahead of the nato summit in wales this september, which in your own words will be one of the most important in nato's history, at a time when peace and stability are put to the test from eastern europe to

north africa and the middle east. secretaryso rasmussen's last major public visit to washington in his capacity as secretary general ministere former prime of norway kicks over this october. as many of you may recall, the atlantic council hosted secretary-general rasmussen for his first major public address in the united states. secretary-general back in 2009. while your tenure is not finished, we are extremely honored to book and your highly successful and distinguished tenure leading nato with this event today. then u.s.09, it was secretary -- u.s. national security advisor general jim jones who introduced the secretary-general. we are delighted that general jones has returned today in his capacity as chairman of the brent scowcroft said on international security to

introduce the secretary-general. general jones, who has prior to his position as national security advisor led nato's military operations in his capacity as commander of u.s. european command -- leads today much of the strategic thinking at the atlantic council. on theis other roles council, he is a dedicated supporter of our young atlanta have over the years become a primary -- and ave been a means to securing next generation of support and leadership for the alliance. we are very grateful nato will partner with the atlantic , tocil this year as well link transatlantic policy may future makers with policy leaders.

he not only has been supportive of this initiative, but has been very much an instigator and a visionary behind the effort to get more young voices and more young strategic thinkers into the conversation. before i turn the floor over to whatal jones, let me say one didn't have to say back in 2009. that is, if you want to tweak, used a #future nato to do your tweeting. i think you are one of the ground breakers. back then, you're starting your own twitter account, if i'm not mistaken. so with that, general jones, the floor is yours. [applause] >> thank you, fred. welcome back to the atlantic council. ladies and gentlemen, it is really a great pleasure for me to be able to introduce secretary-general rasmussen to

this audience for his final major address in the united states. depending on world events, there could be others. had the privilege of introducing the secretary-general here at the atlantic council for his first public speech to the united states nearly five years ago in september of 2009. i recall finally that when he addressed the council in 2009, he also spoke to a packed crowd in the council's old headquarters across the street. there were so many people in the packed room that you can hardly turn around. i'm very happy to notice that the council is able to welcome them back, this time to its new headquarters. while there may be more elbow more comfortable quarters, i am not surprised to see that he is still able to command an overflow crowd in washington. when the secretary-general spoke here in 2009, the obama administration was in the midst of a rigorous strategic review

concerning the war in afghanistan and a debate about how many additional troops would be necessary for the united states, its nato allies and partners to achieve mission success. confided theation new secretary general visit washington for consultations about the ongoing u.s. review and to assess possible contributions of nato allies to the u.s. surge. it was a challenging time for nato and for the alliance and its allies, including the united states, who were becoming worried from the already long commitment to a difficult conflict in a faraway land. despite these challenges, when the secretary-general came to washington in september 2009 and spoke here at the atlantic council, the administration had great confidence in his ability to lead the alliance through this difficult phase. he has certainly lived up to that challenge. 2010, itsbon summit in

is 28 members vowed to stick together through 2014 in afghanistan, at which point responsibility for security would shift to the afghan forces. under his leadership, nato has stood by its commitments taken at lisbon. the alliances today concluding the combat mission, transitioning responsibility to afghanistan forces and taking on a post-2014 mission to train and advise afghan forces. secretary-general rasmussen will go down in history books as having led the largest and longest combat mission in nato history in afghanistan. secretary-general returns to the atlantic council in 2014, the strategic context is quite different than a mere five years ago when afghanistan was a dominant challenge for the alliance. to confront these evolving strategic realities, secretary-general rasmussen

appointed nato's group of ably chaired by former secretary-general madeleine albright. it would inform a new alliance strategic concept. the secretary-general led nato's response in not only the threat of extremism, civil war and instability on its southern russia'sd also to challenge to the liberal, post-cold war order in europe. altering the greatest financial crisis since nato's founding in 1949. in libya in 2011, the secretary-general skillfully positioned the alliance to respond to rapid events and to enforce un security council resolution 1973. nato's quick action demonstrated capabilitye unique to act quickly in a crisis and to integrate regional partners into alliance operations. in the aftermath of russia's annexation of crimea and

destabilization of the ukraine, secretary-general rasmussen has provided decisive leadership of nato in what is europe's most serious crisis since the end of the cold war. ouroing so, he has reminded public that nato remains a critical insurance policy for all members, and remains relevant well into the 21st century. this september, the united kingdom, heads of state and government will convene for what secretary enrile rasmussen himself has called one of the most important meetings in nato's history. it will be the secretary-general's last nato summit before former norwegian prime minister stoltenberg takes over in october. while secretary-general rasmussen's tenure is not yet complete, we can be confident that he has left behind a rich legacy of compliment for which nato member nations owe him a debt of gratitude. know, the you will atlantic council recognizes secretary-general's richard compliments by awarding him the

atlantic council's distinguished international leadership award in 2012, where he delivered a moving testimony about his personal investment in the transatlantic link. i'm delighted that the council is able to welcome him once more to the stage on his visit to perhaps his last a secretary-general. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the 12th secretary-general of the nato, andrew [applause] rasmussen. >> thank you very much, jim, for that kind introduction. introduction. it is really wonderful to see you again and thank you for your remarkable service over the decades as a marine, a supreme

commander of nato forces and his national security adviser. i remember with great pleasure our cooperation during your term as national security advisor. you know nato from the inside and you know what it takes to keep the alliance united and your commitment to the transatlantic relationship is firm and strong. thank you very much. i'll sell it big thank you to fred and damon and your dedicated team here at the atlantic council. i truly value your strong commitment and service to the transatlantic community and to nato. fred it is a great privilege and a pleasure to work with you.

you have done an amazing job in making the atlantic council of such a differential form and international affairs in washington and work wise. the atlantic council shapes and forms an important debate. on the challenges we face and the opportunities we must grasp in a world that is more competitive, dynamic and disorderly. through your tireless work, you play a key role in keeping the bond between north america and europe strong. now and into the future. we recently marked the 70th anniversary of the d-day landings, a stark reminder of the horrors of the war but also

of what is possible when our nations unite against tierney. since then, the nato alliance has underpinned freedom, peace and prosperity across europe and north america. protecting our values, individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of l law. today those values and our way of life are once more under threat. we are surrounded by conflict, danger, disorder and autocratic regimes. an arc of instability from the middle east and north africa and the sahara. rising tensions and territorial dispute in the nation and a

revisionist russia breaking international rules and undermining trust. but russia is not just trying to re-create a sphere of influence. it has dealt a dangerous blow to the international rules-based system we have built up over decades and it's illegal and illegitimate actions encourage other autocratic regimes to follow suit. the best way to say such threats is clear. we must be confident in our values, reinforce our readiness and strengthen the transatlantic bond that remains the bedrock of our international order. since world war ii, the solution to every strategic challenge has

been transatlantic. be it the cold war, the balkans, afghanistan or the financial crisis. america and europe working together, training together and when necessary fighting togeth together. this is how we have protected our nations and promoted our values. even the most successful relationship needs work. we cannot take our transatlantic bond for granted. we must renew our commitment and continue to invest time, energy and resources to keep it strong. to me the challenges we face, we

need a truly integrated transatlantic community, a truly integrated transatlantic community. and i believe there are three things we must do. reinforce our economic terms, deepen our personal and cultural links and strengthen our security. first the economy. trade encourages the creation of wealth. it discourages conflicts and conquests. it generates greater prosperity and this in turn leads to greater security as people do not want to put their prosperity at risk. so a healthy economy and sound

security create a virtuous circle. in today's interconnected world, the link between economics and security and between peace and prosperity is stronger than ever and it is particularly strong in the relationship between europe and north america. together they represent the most powerful economic block the world has ever known. with a greater global competition may need to work harder to ensure our prosperity for the future. if transatlantic free trade area is a unique opportunity to reinforce our economic ties and

to lengthen our prosperity. the trade deals currently being negotiated between north america and europe are the next step and the right step. the transatlantic trade and investment partnership will eliminate terrorists, red tape and open up new markets. it is the penegelley the biggest trade and investment deal in history. well, as a prime minister i know just how difficult trade negotiations can be. but we must look beyond the technical details to see the big gains within our reach and to move forward because this is an opportunity we cannot miss. to promote growth, create jobs

and improve our quality of life. we also need a new focus on energy security. much of europe is now reliant on russia's oil and gas. we have so to speak to for her way into a position of dependence. as we see in ukraine, russia is quite capable of turning off the taps, putting an end to that dependency is not -- is now a bit is now a bit upmost or giga importance. european nations are already doing more to reduce this dependency. they are increasing their storage reserves, engineering

pipelines to redirect energy to where it is needed and bringing in energy from other sources. we must also find new ways to generate and distribute energy. be that oil and gas or renewables and we need to open our markets to each other because if you have to depend on anyone it is better to depend on your friends. and those friendships must be fostered so this is my second . we have to deepen the personal and cultural ties that bind us so closely.

30 years ago i came to the united states as a guest of international leadership program. i can tell you a life-changing experience. it's helped me to know and appreciate this great country and its people. as many people as possible should have that same opportunity. i want to further strengthen the personal bonds across the atlantic. so i'm preparation for september i asked young emerging leaders from all nations of the alliance how they think we should do it. i would like to thank the atlantic council for facilitating this work. the results have been truly

enlightening invaluable. one of the main recommendations of the emerging leaders is to enhance real entry understanding between the nations of the alliance through personal ties and i think they are right. we need to increase our transatlantic scholarships and exchange programs. to increase our scientific and cultural cooperation. to form those lifelong relationships that have bound our people together for so long. now, my third on everything we

do is we need to strengthen our security. the english philosopher thomas hawks wrote of a word -- a world without rules, a world without security. he described this world is having no industry, and of movement no culture, no society. nothing but the continual fear of what violent deaths of a world where the life of man was nasty, brutal and short. security is necessary for us to live free from fear. security takes work and for 65 years that work has been led by

the nato alliance. in today's dangerous world, nato must be ready to respond to whatever threats we face. ..

but i have to say, this is simply not true. remember, during the cold war, european soldiers were confined to barracks. not so now. europeans have kept themselves in the line of fire over libby a comment in afghanistan. for every two americans soldiers who have served, one european soldier has served with them. and many paid the ultimate sacrifice and are, of course. responding to russia's aggression in our eastern neighborhood, all 28 allies have stepped up to the plate to reinforce our collective

defense. from the politics of the black sea, we have more planes in the air, more ships at sea and more troops on the ground. the united states to the lead and its continuing leadership remains crucial. but most of the planes are european. most of the ships are european and many of the troops are european. this is nato's solidarity in action. true it all for one and one for her. but we must also plan for the future and be ready to deal with any threat from wherever they

come. so for our summit, we will ensure that nato is always prepared through our new readiness action plan. we are looking closely at how we took away our forces for defense and deterrence, what combination of force as we need, where they should be deployed and their readiness. we are also considering reinforcement mission such as necessary infrastructure, the designation of basis and pre-positionipositioni ng of equipment and supplies. we are reviewing our defense plans, threat assessment, intelligence sharing arrangement and early warning procedures.

we are also developing a new exercise schedule adapted to the new security environment. and we want to further strengthen nato response force and special forces so we can respond more quickly to any threat against any member of the alliance, including when we have leisure warning. their readiness requires resource is. so i welcome president obama's proposed $1 billion european reassurance initiative. it shows the united states enduring commitment to the security of your. now, other allies need to strengthen their commitment.

and i am the first to say this on european nations can and should do more. nato is an insurance policy, an insurance policy against stability and all members must pay their premiums and that premium has just gone up. arsenic in wales, i asked all alliance features to commit, to change course on defense spending, to reverse the decline in to back up the commitment with concrete action.

estonia, as an example, estonia has shown that despite a severe economic crisis, it can be done. estonia has joined the united states, greece and the united kingdom and its allies that invest at least 2% of the gross domestic product in defense. and i welcome the commitment of latvia, lithuania, poland, romania and turkey to do the same. and if other european allies spent 2% of their national income on defense this year, we would have another $90 billion to stand.

that is the equivalent of today's defense budget that germany, italy, netherlands and norway combined. now i am not naïve. i know we will not achieve this overnight, but at this summit in wales, we need to turn a corner, to start two-seat defense spending in europe rise in real terms for the first time since the end of the cold war. of course, national budgets have been under incredible stress. but things are changing. public finances are coming under

control and our economies are beginning to grow. i know very well then increasing defense spending is never easy. but in light of the threats we face, it has become manifest d. but of course, this is not just about what we spent. it is also out how we spend. we need to focus on what we really need to keep our nation safe in the 21st century. on capabilities and skills for the future, and we must do more to gather as allies and with partners. in afghanistan, we forced the biggest coalition in recent

history. 50 nations for many continents united in a single cores. and in our operations from the balkans to libya, partners have made invaluable contributions. so we must maintain our political and military cooperation with them to build stability in the world. we must also do more to help those who require our assistance to reform and about the fact two local forces. in wales, we will launch a defense capacity building initiatives. this defense capacity building initiatives will allow us to help other nations built up

effect of different structures and forces that area. so they are better able to take care of security in their region and so we can predict stability without always deployed large numbers of ground troops. so our wells so that will ensure that nato stands ready, robust and resolute to face the future. ladies and gentlemen, we are fortunate to live in lands that are free. the freedom is not a natural date.

it has been fought for, suffered four, tied for to safeguard the flame of freedom, we must stand ready to protect and promote our values. stay strong, confident and united and destroy in our trans-atlantic community. thank you. [applause] >> thank you for him much, mr. secretary general. we've got about 25 minutes to continue the conversation with the secretary general. first let me echo the warm welcome from fred and general jones for coming to the atlantic council for this. we're lucky if he just came off

the plane arriving at dulles. a second to remind everyone is covering this on minor television audience of the hash tag future nato for those covering on twitter. before we begin our conversation, thank you to your shout out for the nato leaders. two of them effect today. our american delicates kachina jones and our turkish delicate or both every year. terrific. thanks for being with us today. really important program and thanks for your leadership on getting off the ground. mr. secretary-general, you just delivered a strong message on how to deliver the bond and captured the spirit of the atlantic council mission that the solution to every strategic challenge has been trans-atlantic. interestingly for his secretary general of nato, he began a strategy by talking about the economy and energy, talking about people to people ties, cultural ties and third only getting into the security components of that.

let me start there and then i want to get into today's crises. as a nato jen, that is unusual message to hear your leading policy point being ttip. >> the nato treaty. if you read in the nato treaty, you will see already the founding fathers stressed the importance of closer economic ties among allies. and i don't think we have reached the full potential of bad economic corporate. of course you will see the european union as part of that strengthening of economic ties among allies. but i would very much like to see a strengthening of the trans-atlantic economic ties. i think that is very much in accordance with the nato treaty

so it is legitimate for a nato secretary to also speak about ttip, trans-atlantic trade and investment partnership because economics and security. >> that is an important point to point out for folks who would've assumed what article ii covers. let me turn to the issues most immediately at hand. you have been working on the whale summit agenda for a wild agenda for a while. you've been talking about preparing nato to be fit for purpose other cents it is clear the alliance would be drawing down forces in an and potentially moving away from being an operational alliance. yet now you have two pretty compelling crises that nato frontiers. one of the east with russia undertaking aggression and ukraine ukraine pretty plainspoken about that. but also on turkey's frontier, and other nato with what is happening and not just syria, but iraq and isis.

he said we are certain that conflict, danger, and autocratic regimes. how were these two media crazy skull which were part of the planning horizon for wales on the how are these impacting your agenda heading into the well summit? >> both of these crises will have a major impact on their gender in wales. obviously, russia's aggression against ukraine will put a lot of emphasis on the need for a strong collective defense. that is why at this summit i hope we will adopt a readiness action plan, which will improve our ability to respond swiftly if you needed to defend him protect our allies.

so maybe you would expect that in this summit to be very much focused on the situation in the east. but at the same time, we have seen the evolving prices tumbled in syria, but now also in iraq. but i could also mention libya, north africa as examples that the alliance must never become a one dimension alliance is of utmost importance that while we focus on strengthening public defense to protect allies that have gone potential strength in the east, we should not forget the other security challenges for the middle east, north africa, even from sabres face. so the well summit to focus on the broad range of security challenges and address all three nato task, territorial defense, crisis management and cooperative security.

>> if you think about what is playing out in the eastern ukraine, it's clear the alliance has taken quite a few news to reassure and reposition forces to the eastern allies. but what about ukraine itself? what about the eastern partners if you will. right now it is clear that the focus from the kremlin is on ukraine or moldova or georgia, so poland or romania or the alliance has taken actions. how do you grapple with what essentially are nato's eastern partners? >> we have decided to step up our cooperation with our eastern partners. ukraine we have a nato ukraine commission and we have had several meetings recently also with the new foreign dirt and we have adopted a comprehensive corporation program. so ulysse enhanced cooperation

between nato and ukraine in the coming years, including military to military cooperation. and it remains to be seen at the summit how far he can go, but personally very outspoken about it, personally i hope our defense capacity building initiatives could also apply to ukraine. but we will see. >> bullet that entail? what is the military to military relationship critics act as part of the defense capacity initiative? >> it is very clear to everybody that ukrainian armed force is needs modernization and further cape ability development. i think nato could be used to reform and modernize the ukrainian armed forces. but we have also decided to enhance our cooperation with

moldova. by the way, recently we saw what does i take a significant step by providing troops to our cave for operation in kosovo. we have decided to develop what we call a substantial package of cooperation elements with georgia appears so with all of our eastern neighbors, we want to step up our cooperation in the coming years. >> or not quite quite ready for marchant, is that coming out of headquarters now? >> now you put it in a negative way. i would put it in a positive way to be continued to take steps within our open door policy. arizona remains open to european countries that fulfill the necessary criteria. and of course, it will be this

summit. it will be for the summit to take decisions we are preparing a substantial package for georgia and as regards montenegro we have decided to open the focus and intensified talks and foreign ministers will assess the situation at the latest by the end of 2015 and decide whether the time is right for inviting montenegro. so i think it strikes the right balance to ensure that our open door policy remains credible, but at the same time we don't compromise on criteria. >> religious follow-up on the defense capacity initiative and libya. is this initiative a part of lessons learned from the alliance and libya? this is an operation after all

that nato was in planning for. at the end of the operation we the operation we see no difficulties and libya. we've got a terrific amount of work at the atlantic council and the challenges of governance and libya today. has that directly informed this initiative you announced today? >> yes indeed. to indeed. but a broad net and also that afghanistan is one of the lessons learned in that respect. seeing retrospectively, i think we started our training mission in afghanistan much too late. we didn't started in earnest until 2009. i think we should have started much earlier. it is much better to train and develop local security forces. politically it is better to get the defense of afghanistan for an sense for an cincinnatus can face them economically of course it is a better deal to make

local security forces available to take responsibility for security and to deploy our troops for a very long time. so afghanistan is an example of what we have seen and libya as an example of last year we received a request from the libyan government, a request for assistance to help them build their security sector. we responded positively. but for well known reasons, it has than a bit difficult to implement. that positive response. we stand ready. so once the libyan society, we are ready to assist them. >> on returning to the audience into questions of the trans-atlantic partnership. he referred to the alliance is an insurance policy first members of premiums just gone up. i think what i took away a pretty strong statement that it will soon expect all alliance leaders to commit to change the course on defense spending. that's a pretty pickle you've

laid out for the alliance. imagine president abbas announced that the $1 billion european was ron's initiative has been clares was an time on capitol hill that there is a strong political instinct but it resonates. people understand the challenge we are facing from putin's russia. there is rationale behind that. they've been skeptical of the concern about whether european allies will step up to the plate with their own investment and resource is. you appraise the bench pretty high in what you articulated here. do you see the momentum? you think you're on a path of actually recovering from the bottom of where we've been and reversing that trend? >> i see momentum. i wouldn't suggest you use the endocrine terry. i think it would be a pale, but because many countries are still struggling with weak economies and it is of course important to

cut deficit to top indebtedness because indebted countries are also too volatile. so that is part of security policy, and a sound security policy to also pursue sound fiscal these. having said that, i see a positive development in europe. i mentioned in the introduction countries that have already decided to reverse a trend and that is not just hot air. it is really commitment based on broad political agreements in the parliament. estonia has already achieved the 2% goal. lithuania, poland, turkey have promised to work in the same direction within a timeframe's pending from 2172 lakh 2020. and i think more will follow in

addition to that they would also be important if nato allies with commit to fulfill the benchmark are spending at least 20% of the defense budget on future equipment and research and development. so it is not just the size of the budget, but also how money is spent is important that we will look at both of those issues on the summit. >> is. >> assailed elaborates on how to respond to this request its import may get the message out there. i returned to the audience and take common questions in our time. when they maybe collect a couple if i may. please introduce yourself for audience as well. >> my name is karen mosca, former conductor of the orchestra, but i has to happen to be an independent advisor. i was in new york for nine years or so as policy adviser for the

nsi as well. my question concerning the current situation in the middle east and focusing on iraq. if and only if there was an initiative of an awakening similar to the situation back in 2006 in areas that are not necessarily under the control of the central government, central legitimate government in baghdad and if such groups requires the assistance of nato directly, would that be something that would be a poor discussion or consideration click >> let me pick up ambassador hunter as well. >> thank you very much to the secretary-general. i like the idea you set its economics a security later on. as you know, the relationship between nato and the e.u. is imperfect. is there any chance now or

afterwards to get going she's a strong phrase, to get the three recalcitrant countries, greece, turkey and cyprus to allow the institutions to work together and also an idea that's been around a long time, to have an extra half day after the nato summit to bring the european leaders and said there can start to some kind of active serious coordination between the two institutions for common purposes. >> terrific. take these two would pick up a few more. >> first, on iraq if i understood the question correctly, it was a nice sense could we imagine nato assist in iraq upon request? >> awakening initiative -- [inaudible]

>> i don't see nato engage directly interact. but i should know the iraqi government has requested assistance from individual nato allies, primarily from the united states. as regards to nato, we are focused on providing effective defense or protection of our allies, in this case of course turkey in particular is going to focus on the security situation in the region. i visited recently. we have also had consultations with the nato upon request from turkey. that is how i see nato right

now. on nato e.u., you are right. we have not reached the full potential of the nato e.u. corporation. but having said that, i would add that we have made a lot of progress during recent years. when it comes to operations, we coordinate and cooperate seamless way in theaters where the e.u. and nato operate together. so from a practical point of view, it works quite efficiently. we have achieved a lot of progress. the european defense agency and allied command transformation work very closely together and i think i can safely say that we avoid duplication and waste of resources through close coordination.

i would say an efficient division of labor. finally, on political consultations. here i think we have the biggest problem. because of these while no topics in dispute, it is sometimes difficult to authorize joint nato e.u. meetings. there is one area where allowed to discuss informal meeting. mainly bosnian because the e.u. operates the so-called operation, which means the e.u. can use nato assets to conduct their operations. so we are allowed to a former nato e.u. meetings. while bosnia is important, i can easily think of other issues that warrant close in the e.u.

cooperation. but we have seen progress recently. actually, we have had to joint nato e.u. meetings on ukraine. so it is an example that when the situations so warrant, it is possible to find a pragmatic way forward. so all in all, i wouldn't provide the tissue bleak picture as you did. i see some light. i see some light. but there's still progress to be made and of course ultimately we need to find a solution to the cyprus conflict. >> so let me know from a former nato ambassador with us today, wes clark. >> wes clark here. so it looks to me like in

ukraine they are fighting back pretty effectively right now. but what is nato able to do to help the other countries deal with the internal challenges that are present in the politics and countries like bulgaria? do we have a role in that or are we seating that to the e.u. click >> in nato countries themselves. i mean that today's young women right here. is there a mic on that side of the room? >> thank you. leander bernstein. my question is you've created quite a narrative as far as russia giving an enemy and bench and it's just questionable whether creating that image of russia is intended to reinvigorate somehow the nato alliance, which has seen a lot

of a certain analyst views comment defeats in the 21st century in particular and significant struggles economically and likewise. so is this creation of russia as a working man an attempt, a defense of its kind to try to hold the alliance back together quite >> let me go ahead and pick up ambassador as well. >> secretary general, you mentioned the necessary conditions for the admonishment of the nato. could you describe more specifically what the necessary conditions are? will enhance corporations covered those necessary condition and as a result, will pave the way towards the nato

membership for the country is quite >> terrific. we will come back to you, mr. secretary general. >> first, what we are witnessing is maybe not entirely a new kind of warfare, but we caught hybrid warfare. a combination of traditional method and more sophisticated covert military operations combined with sophisticated information and disinformation up grecians. and you are right in pointing to the risk that such hybrid warfare could be used again some nato allies.

for instance, in the baltic states, taking into account the russian doctrine that they reserved the right to interfere or intervene, to protect what they consider the interest of russian speaking communities. as we all know in particular in estonia and lot yet, we've quite substantial rushing speaking minorities. bulgaria is another case, but do we know for historical reasons that there are special ties. so it is relevant. it's a highly relevant issue. we are dealing with that. we will address this particular issue as part of our readiness action plan because it is also necessary to be ready to counter such hybrid warfare. having said that and also in response to your question, is

this surely a native issue? no, it is not. it goes beyond traditional military means. as i mentioned, it also includes propaganda, information and disinformation operations and that goes beyond traditional nato operations. so i think is an excellent example of an area where we need close cooperation organization with other organizations like the european union. but i would also think of other organizations. but it is about most of portends that we improve our ability to counter that kind of warfare. now on russia, first of all, there is no need to develop or create a specific picture of russia to reinvigorate our

alliance. i think it is quite obvious to everybody why nato is needed, that we need a strong collective defense to protect their populations against any kind of threat. so i would argue that it is russia herself that creates a very particular picture right now. let me remind you that in november 2010 at nato russia summit in lisbon, we decided to develop a true strategic partnership between nato and russia. we have done a lot during the last more than 20 years to develop a construct is cooperation with russia because we do believe that a positive engagement with russia is the right way forward.

russia sees it differently. and if you read the russian military.turn, they point to nato not as a partner, but as an adversary. so that is russia that creates this particular picture. finally, on the open door policy, let me put it this way. at the end of the day this is a political decision whether the time is right to open for membership. we are in close dialogue with that can't countries. for some of them we have developed what have developed what we call a membership action plan and within the membership action plan redefines the

reformed -- cert reforms to be carried out, certain criteria that must be fulfilled. and as regards, montenegro has an example, we pointed to reforms of the security sector as a particular issue and we will now focus and intensify our talk with montenegro on that specific issue. so the us poorer countries know very well what is needed to answer the door. >> mr. secretary general, we are coming to the end of an hour. i noticed that a ton of questions in the audience. ask your question to help wrap up our conversation today. as we talk about looking forward this call to the end of your tenure when he stepped down, you have a nervous agenda still on your plate. but i want to ask us to think back on your time is

secretary-general colonia came to the atlantic council in 2009, he said something that struck me at your original remarks. asked to set up the atlantic with one foot in europe and one for north america. when europe and north america come together, i am comfortable. the nature of takhar, i'm the one that feels pain. so if you think back over your tenure as nato secretary general, what it's been the biggest challenge for you to manage as someone who represents both sides of the atlantic at one time? >> i haven't felt pain. i'm quite comfortable. because we have, i would argue we have seen the closer transatlantic relationship during my tenure as secretary general. you have of course have of course seen our operation in afghanistan