Speaking less than a week after the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, he called for close support from the EU member states for the Obama administration within the context of the Alliance. De Hoop Scheffer spoke about the future of NATO before an audience of 170 policymakers, industry experts, think-tankers, and journalists at an event organized by the Security and Defence Agenda, Brussels' foremost specialised security think-tank, on Monday.
"If we want more from the Americans, we have to deliver more ourselves. [...] I do not expect defence budgets to go up. I'd be happy, in fact, if they don't slide further. So let's do more with the buck we have," De Hoop Scheffer said. "Let's be creative on how to pool resources. We have to find a more innovative approach on how to fund operations." Looking ahead to a much-anticipated Strasbourg-Kehl summit in two months, De Hoop Scheffer highlighted piracy, cyberterrorism, energy security, and instability in South Asia as priorities for the Alliance. He reminded the audience that while progress in Afghanistan was visible, with "relative peace" in certain areas, a regional approach of engaging Pakistan, Iran, India, and China to tackle extremism was critical to enduring peace and stability in Afghanistan. De Hoop Scheffer added that he doesn't anticipate further NATO enlargement as being "around the corner."