Challenges Everywhere for NATO

The chapter and Bitkom—Germany's digital industry association—held a parliamentary evening in April in Berlin. About 70 participants, among them members of the German Federal Parliament (Defense Committee), high ranking military, and industry professionals, shared insights and discussed the final stage of the NATO reform. The event was opened by Henning Otte, a member of Parliament and host of the evening, and Maj. Gen. Erich Staudacher, chapter president. High ranking speakers include: Dr. Hans-Dieter Lucas, German Ambassador to NATO, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general of the U.S. Army Europe, Lt. Gen. Michel Yakovleff, NATO vice chief of staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), and Winfried Holz, member of the executive committee of Bitkom and CEO, Atos Germany. The key message of the evening was NATO is facing historic challenges. Besides the threats and challenges from the East, with ISIS and migration, there lie challenges in the south. Cyber and hybrid threats have risen, and Afghanistan is everything but solved. The need for more interoperability, better situational awareness, support and quicker reactions is not just a technical challenge but also a political and human one. The call for more openness, more trust, closer collaboration, better networking and fairer information sharing was loud and clear from all speakers. Yet, deterrence may not be forgotten: NATO, as a unique alliance because of its military capacities, has to close gaps in its capabilities to master these multi-faceted challenges. The joint parliamentary evening in Berlin has become a tradition and is held every other year.

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