Thank you very much.
For me, training is a fundamental aspect of Transformation. It is an integral part of Transformation and we need to fully focus on it.
At NATO, there has not been a revolution, but there is a very strong evolution of the concepts of training and exercise. There are a number of aspects.
First, as you might know, I have until now been in charge of overall and individual training, and Allied Command Operations in Mons, Belgium, under SACEUR, has been in charge of joint exercises. Those duties are now being grouped together and I will be responsible in the future. We hope to achieve better effectiveness, better use of resources and better overall consistency.
Second, NATO is trying to streamline activities because there is a great deal of redundancy within NATO and among nations in terms of education, training and exercises. We are streamlining all the processes. We are also trying to maximize the sharing of information. For example, we are currently developing a tool that will enable every man and woman in the armed forces, as well as their superiors, to know exactly what courses are required before being deployed to Afghanistan, and where those courses are offered. That means that every nation will make spaces available for the other nations. We feel this is important because training institutions have surplus capacity, since our forces have been reduced. So to use them more effectively, we have to increase visibility and transparency.
We are trying to make things easier. Counter-improvised explosive devices and roadside bombs are specific examples. Just two years ago, many countries sent their forces to Afghanistan without any training in counter-improvised explosive devices. This is no longer the case, because we have managed to streamline and improve access to those courses.
The rest is in the hands of every nation. At our end, NATO takes care of human interoperability and makes working together possible, but the basic training is in the hands of individual nations. So it is up to every nation to ensure that the basic training of its forces will meet the required standards. Once again, this responsibility strictly lies with every nation. Overall, our current approach at NATO leads me to believe that not only we are going to maintain the overall level of training and exercises, but we are also going to improve it at a lower cost, as a result of resources being pooled.
In terms of the impact of smart defence on our naval capabilities, I would say that it is the same as in the other areas. It helps nations develop or maintain the capabilities required in this area despite the crisis we are experiencing. It also makes it possible to avoid any random individual decisions that we would subsequently have to deal with and fix. There are many examples. Nations, regardless of their size or geographic location, make decisions as sovereign states, and they are usually very much in favour of major reforms in defence.
If tomorrow we could get nations to coordinate with each other and give us a little more insight into what decisions will be made, that would increase the overall capacity of naval forces and ensure coherence in the long term. The same goes for all the areas, but I feel that naval operations are particularly significant. This is one of the areas we are working on.