THE PRESIDENT
LE PRÉSIDENT
TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE NATO PA
6 January 2022
Dear colleagues,
I wish you all a happy New Year and want to thank you for the thoughtful season’s greetings I
have received over the last weeks. Even as we continue to do all we can to stay safe and
healthy, I hope the holiday season has brought you and your loved ones peace, joy and
happiness.
We enter a decisive year for our transatlantic Alliance of democracies. As I write, Russia
continues to intimidate our valued partner Ukraine and seeks to extract unacceptable
concessions from NATO. As NATO and Russia reengage in dialogue in the NATO-Russia
Council next week, Allied nations must speak with one voice, standing firm on our values and
principles, our unshakable commitment to defend all Allies and our support for Ukraine. China,
too, pursues its path to undermine the rules-based international order we have helped build
and defend. Neither the leadership in Moscow nor in Beijing shares our democratic values.
The new 2022 Strategic Concept must adjust the Alliance to this strategic reality, rooted in
NATO’s enduring commitment to its foundational, immutable values. Crucially, Allies must
make clear what NATO stands for by placing shared democratic values at the very center of
the new Strategic Concept, including by establishing a Democratic Resilience Center at NATO
Headquarters. I have been encouraged that, in his recent public addresses, Secretary General
Stoltenberg listed “protecting our values” as number one of five elements which should be at
the heart of the next Strategic Concept. I am convinced the Assembly’s sustained focus on
shared democratic values has played its part in this.
Asserting the Assembly’s role in helping shape NATO’s adaptation for the next decade remains
one of my Presidential priorities. I therefore very much welcome that NATO continues to
actively consult the Assembly on the priorities for the next Strategic Concept. To prepare our
written contribution to the new Concept, I will soon share with the Standing Committee a draft
set of recommendations, based upon our recent policy recommendations and internal
discussions. I am looking forward to discussing this first draft with Standing Committee
members online on 1 February and to adopting a revised version for our meeting in Brussels
on 22 February. In June, I will be honored to represent the Assembly and present our
recommendations to Allied Heads of State and Government in Madrid, where they will adopt
the 2022 Strategic Concept.
As you are all too aware, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a firm grip on our
societies, but I hope that 2022 will see the last waves of the virus. I am monitoring the situation
on an ongoing basis, in close coordination with the Bureau and our Secretary General. While
further adaptation of the program is likely, I sincerely hope we can minimize the direct impact
on the Assembly’s program of work, which remains highly relevant politically.
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT
· SECRÉTARIAT INTERNATIONAL
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