Globalisation will make our societies more creative and prosperous, but also more vulnerable.
From Lord Robertson
You've got to be able to act when it's necessary to act. And you've got to be able to act where the threat is.
Within NATO, our Defence Capabilities Initiative has identified the essential capabilities all Allies must have for modern operations, and Allies are working to meet those requirements.
What I will remember most from my time in NATO is meeting children in the countries where I've gone to, to Moscow and to Kiev, I've met school children.
Well, if the NATO countries don't make more of their troops usable and don't get the equipment to get them fast where the action is, then the organisation will suffer and will increasingly become irrelevant.
The rapid dissemination of technology and information offers entirely new ways of production, but it can also bring the spectre of more states developing weapons of mass destruction.
So seven new countries, three of them formerly part of the Soviet Union, and the others part of the Warsaw Pact, will become full members of NATO next year.
NATO and the EU have also agreed on permanent arrangements on consultation and cooperation between themselves.
In sum, as we enter the 21st century, the Euro-Atlantic community - North America and Europe together - has to face some tough challenges when it comes to improving our capability.
If we get the capabilities, NATO, along with the European Union, can do amazing things.
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