On October 21-22, 2009 in Bratislava (Slovak Republic) took place international security conference „New Challenges – Better Capabilities” accompanying conference of the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting. Organizers of the event: Slovak Atlantic Commission and Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Slovak Republic. The intention of the conference was to interconnect the political debate, which took place in a confidential atmosphere in a closed circle of the defence ministers, with a broader Slovak and international security community in the region and to transfer the debate to a more informal setting outside of the murals of the official NATO meeting. The conference represented a unique opportunity to shape the international and domestic security discussion with the key players of the most successful security and defence organisation and its key members. Vice versa it was a unique platform to influence the shaping of NATO’s security agenda from an independent expert and corporate community level.

In the conference took part Oleh Soskin, Institute of Society Transformation Director, Professof of National Academy of Management.

21st October 2009

Official Opening

Amb. (Ret.) Rastislav Káčer, President and Chairman of the Board, Slovak Atlantic Commission
H. E. Jaroslav Baška, Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic
H.E. Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic
Jean-François Bureau, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy

1st Panel
NATO’s Strategic Concept 60 Years On: What Is Today’s Meaning of Article 5?

Introductory remarks: H. E. Imants Liegis, Minister of Defence of Latvia
Chairman: Pavol Demeš, German Marshall Fund of the U.S., Director of Bratislava Office

H.E. Kim Traavik, Permanent Representative of Norway to NATO
Hans Binnendijk, National Defense University, Washington D. C.
Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Chairman of the Board, Euro-Atlantic Association of Poland

2nd Panel
Cyber Security as a Challenge for NATO

Introductory remarks: H.E. Jaak Aaviksoo, Minister of Defence of Estonia
Chairman: Tomáš Valášek, Member of Board, SAC; Director International Security, Centre for European Reform, London

Col. Ilmar Tamm, Director, Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, Tallinn
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Robert Kosla, National Security/Defence Industry Manager, Microsoft Central and Eastern European Headquarters; Information Security Association, Warsaw
Maj. Gen. Glynne Hines, Director, NATO HQ Consultation, Command and Control Staff, Brussels

3rd Panel
What is the Future of NATO/EU Relations with Russia?

Chairman: Edward Lucas, Foreign Policy Correspondent, The Economist, London

Eckart Von Klaeden, CDU/CSU, Bundestag, Berlin
Eugeniusz Smolar, Director of the Center for International Affairs, Warsaw
Igor Yurgens, Chairman of the Management Board and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Institute of Contemporary Development and President of the Russian Federation, Moscow

Summary and Presentation
Presentation of the "Panorama of global security environment 2009"

Róbert Ondrejcsák, Executive Director, Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs, Bratislava

Youth Event
Voices of Freedom – 20 Years from the Velvet Revolution

22nd October 2009

Keynote Speech
Crafting the new Strategic Concept: Ambitions, Resources and Partnerships for a 21st Century Alliance

Amb. Alexander Vershbow, U. S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Washington D. C.
Introduced by David Cole, Vice-President, Atlantic Treaty Association

Keynote Speech
Vision of NATO in the Changing Security Environment

H. E. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General
Introduced by Amb. Rastislav Káčer, President and Chairman of the Board, Slovak Atlantic Commission

4th Panel
The Impact of Economic Crises on European Defence Budgets

Introductory remarks: H.E. Ljubica Jelušič, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia
Chairman: Quentin Peel, International Affairs Editor, Financial Times, London

Marshall Billingslea, Former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment, and former US Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy, Washington D. C.
Malcolm Chalmers, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, London
Peter Blaschke, Chief Executive Officer, BWI Informationstechnik, Meckenheim

5th Panel
NATO’s Military Transformation: Operations and Capabilities Development

Introductory remarks: H. E. Eimert van Middelkoop, Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Chairman: Jamie Shea, Director of Policy Planning, Private Office of NATO Secretary General

Damon Wilson, Director of the International Security Program, Atlantic Council of the United States, Washington D. C.
Adam Sowa, Deputy Chief Executive for Operations of the European Defence Agency, Brussels
Vice-Admiral (Ret.) Walter B. Massenburg, Former Commander, Naval Air Systems Command; Architect and Chief Operating Officer of the Naval Aviation Enterprise; Current Navy Executive Fellow for the Institute for Defense and Business, Kenan Flagler Executive Education School, University of North Carolina; Vice President for Readiness and Sustainment, BAE Systems Inc.

6th Panel
New Nuclear Disarmament Proposals: Implications for NATO and the Transatlantic Relations

Introductory remarks: H.E. Ivo H. Daalder, U. S. Permanent Representative to NATO
Chairman: Tomáš Valášek, Member of Board, SAC; Director International Security, Centre of European Reform, London

Nick Pickard, Director of the Security Policy Department, Foreign & Commonwealth Office of United Kingdom, London
Bruno Tertrais, Senior Research Fellow, Fondation pour la recherche stratégique, Paris
Karl-Heinz Kamp, Director of the Research Division, NATO Defence College, Rome

Closing remarks

Press-service of Institute of Society Transformation