Barbora Maronkova: NATO’s strength is in its ability to adapt

Director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center Barbora Maronkova believes that a key to the Alliance’s development is its ability to adapt to new challenges. She spoke about this at the 12th Kyiv Security Forum, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk "Open Ukraine" Foundation.

"Our strength is that we can adapt, we can change. 1949 wasn’t like 1989, 2016 wasn’t like today’s realities. Each era brings its own challenges, new issues, and we want to be a relevant power," stressed Maronkova.

She added that it’s because of this that NATO continues to attract new members, if in 1949 there were only 12, now there are almost 30: 29 member states and one candidate. "We have our own appeal, maybe we already have a few wrinkles, we are 70, but we still look really good," joked the director.

Maronkova added that due to its complex organizational structure, NATO operation is not fully understood by the public in even the member states, but the Alliance is working to raise awareness, including in Ukraine. "In Ukraine, we are trying to dispel the major myths about NATO and reveal its essence. We need to clarify the main, key concepts: all decisions are made by consensus and that there is no one in Brussels with a magic wand that makes magical transformation," she said.

Maronkova emphasized that in Ukraine the interest towards how NATO operates is quite high, even in the regions that were traditional skeptical about the Alliance. At the same time, she stressed that Ukraine joining NATO is linked to reforms and changes that the country needs to undergo on its own.

FOR REFERENCE:

The annual Kyiv Security Forum was initiated by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007. Since then, the Forum has become a platform for high-level, international discussions about relevant matters of national security, as well as the security of the Black Sea region, Europe, and the world.