BRATISLAVA. Only a few days after the inauguration of the new U.S. president, our capital will be a seat of an important security conference. The 4th year of the conference will be dedicated to discussion on changes that Obama’s administration will bring, about annual NATO summit in April, relations with Russia and, to date, most significant European gas crisis. Bratislava will welcome two former ministers of foreign affairs from Poland and Ukraine, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General, as well as qualified security experts from USA and Europe.
„The event will take place in the dynamic period of crisis and changes that will have a significant impact on our and European security“, Rastislav Káčer, President of the Slovak Atlantic Commission, claims. Europeans have already shown that they are expecting some massive changes in foreign policy from the new American administration. The forthcoming weeks and months will show how real these expectations have been. Besides, in April 2009 NATO celebrates its 60th anniversary at the summit, „from which we expect crucial decisions and messages for the future of our and global security“, Káčer added. The conference will also pursue relations with more and more self-confident Russia, which are, on the background of recent developments, perhaps the hottest issue. Tomáš Valášek from the Centre for European Reform in London and one of the guests of the conference said that „the war in Georgia divided the European Union instead of connecting it. Some of the member states condemned Russia and provided support for the Georgian government. Other member states accused Tbilisi of provoking the war. NATO summit will show to what extent did Europeans get scared of Russian „resource weapon“, when it comes to the question of the future relations between Georgia and Ukraine and the Alliance. „European countries have various interests in relations with Russia and its pro-Western neighbours. Relations with Russia are of the highest priority, of course.“ Tomáš Valášek stated. In addition, Slovakia will celebrate its fifth anniversary of NATO and EU accession in 2009, which is, according to the organisers, the ideal time to evaluate our international activities and to outline priorities for the future.
Boris Tarasyuk – former Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adam Rotfeld – former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Jean François Bureau – NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General, Dmitriy Talanov from Russian Foreign Ministry, Oksana Antonenko from the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, James Sherr and Robin Shepherd from Chatham House in London, or John Hulsman from German Council for Foreign Relations – these are just a few names from the list of guests of the GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava.
GLOBSEC 2009 is organised by the Slovak Atlantic Commission in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Euro-Atlantic Center, Representation of European Commission to Slovakia and German Marshall Fund of the United States. Since 2005, GLOBSEC has been creating a unique floor for prominent Slovak and foreign experts and representatives from the sphere of international relations an security, with the aim to discuss solutions of the key transatlantic and global security challenges.
