The Atlantic Council held a conference on NATO’s emerging role in energy security on June 5.
NATO leaders have long recognized the importance of energy security and that the disruption of the flow of vital resources could affect Alliance security interests. At the NATO Summit in Chicago, Alliance heads of state committed “to work towards significantly improving the energy efficiency of our military forces; develop our competence in supporting the protection of critical energy infrastructure; and further develop our outreach activities in consultation with partners.” They noted a progress report outlining the concrete steps in the realm of energy security taken since the November 2010 Lisbon summit and tasked NATO authorities to further refine NATO’s role in energy security.
A panel discussion featured Michael Rühle, head of Energy Security Section of NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division, who addressed NATO’s role in energy security and the significance of the decisions made at Chicago. Following Rühle’s remarks, Wess Mitchell, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Cekuta commented on his remarks, and that was followed by a discussion moderated by Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Ian Brzezinski.
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