The North Atlantic Council met in Defence Ministers Session in Brussels on 17th December 1998.
We look forward to the Summit meeting of the North Atlantic Council to be held in Washington on 24th and 25th April 1999. On this historic occasion the Alliance will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Washington Treaty which laid the foundation for a unique and enduring partnership between the European and North American Allies. Our Heads of State and Government in Washington will set out a shared vision of a renewed Alliance to meet, with enhanced effectiveness, the security challenges of the 21st century.
We are resolved to play our full part in putting this vision into practice and in enabling the Alliance to continue to fulfil the full range of its missions. Today, we reviewed the progress achieved in the implementation of the decisions of the Madrid Summit in the defence field, discussed our defence capabilities, and gave guidance for additional work in preparation for the Washington Summit. We also took stock of developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo.
We reviewed the future of SFOR against the background of the decisions of the Peace Implementation Council at its meeting in Madrid on 15th-16th December 1998. While progress has been made over the last months in the implementation of the civil aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement, we are concerned that much still needs to be done. In particular, we endorse the call for an accelerated return of refugees and displaced persons, especially to minority areas. As Defence Ministers, we remain committed to helping to achieve a self-sustaining peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and call on its authorities to play their full part in achieving this goal. The presence of SFOR does not reduce their obligation to ensure the stability of their country. A culture of dependency must be avoided. As the Peace Implementation Council has made clear, the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina must increasingly assume greater responsibility for functions now undertaken or coordinated by the international community.
We do not intend to maintain SFOR's presence at current levels indefinitely. At our meeting last June, we mandated the North Atlantic Council in Permanent Session to conduct a series of comprehensive reviews at not more than six monthly intervals, in consultation with other troop contributors, on the future of the force. Last week, Alliance Foreign Ministers addressed the first of these reviews and today we have endorsed its results. In reviewing in particular the size and shape of SFOR, we have decided that, at present, there is no scope for major changes, nor should its mission be changed. However, we agreed to take steps to begin to streamline SFOR. We have also instructed our military authorities to examine options for possible longer term and more substantial adjustments in the future size and structure of SFOR. Decisions on future reductions will be taken in the light of progress on implementation of the Peace Agreement.
We reviewed progress in the security cooperation programme between NATO and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has the aim of contributing to stability in the region and promoting reconciliation within the Bosnian defence community, including through the development of central defence mechanisms such as the Standing Committee for Military Matters.
SFOR continues to play an essential role in the maintenance of peace and stability and the provision of a secure environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus contributing significantly to achieving progress in the task of rebuilding Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single, democratic and multi-ethnic state. We noted the sustained and effective support provided to the implementation of the civil aspects of the Peace Accords including the assistance given to the High Representative and to other international bodies, such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the UN International Police Task Force, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. SFOR also provides support to entity armed forces in conducting humanitarian de-mining as a key contribution to civil reconstruction and rehabilitation. The Multinational Specialised Unit has provided a useful means of enhancing SFOR's flexibility and effectiveness. We express our deepest thanks to the men and women of SFOR who have unstintingly carried out their duties in the cause of peace and reconciliation.
With regard to the crisis in Kosovo, we welcome the agreement concluded between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and NATO which established the air verification mission, complementing the OSCE ground mission, to verify compliance with UNSCRs 1199 and 1203. Sustained pressure by the international community was instrumental in achieving these results and averting a humanitarian catastrophe, as was, and still is, the threat of the use of NATO airpower. We intend to maintain this pressure. NATO, with the participation of Partners, will continue to verify compliance through the conduct of the air verification mission over Kosovo, Operation "Eagle Eye." We welcome the initial deployment of the OSCE verification mission and note with satisfaction the close cooperation and coordination with the OSCE in this task, including arrangements for sharing information that will enable the OSCE Permanent Council and the NAC to receive timely and accurate reports on the situation in Kosovo. NATO will communicate periodically to the UN Secretary General its views on compliance.
We remind the FRY authorities of their responsibilities, including for the security and safety of the verifiers in Kosovo. Nevertheless, in order to provide the ability to withdraw verifiers in an emergency, NATO is deploying an Extraction Force, Operation "Joint Guarantor," in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia . We greatly appreciate the cooperation and support of its government for providing facilities for NATO's operations.
We are concerned at the continuing violence in Kosovo, particularly in the light of recent incidents, and call on all parties to cease all forms of violence and provocative behaviour, to comply strictly with all relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and to resolve the crisis in Kosovo by free and open negotiations with international involvement undertaken in a spirit of compromise and reconciliation. We join Alliance Foreign Ministers in expressing our support for a solution which provides an enhanced status for Kosovo and a much greater degree of autonomy and self-administration while at the same time ensuring the territorial integrity of the FRY and safeguarding the human and civil rights of all Kosovars whatever their ethnic origin. We believe that stability in Kosovo is linked to the democratisation of the FRY and we support those who are genuinely engaged in this process.
We welcome the ratification by all Alliance Parliaments of the protocols of accession of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland and look forward to the accession of our new Allies before the Washington Summit. Since our last meetings further steps have been taken to involve the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland as closely as possible in Alliance activities. The three invited countries are continuing to prepare themselves for the military responsibilities and obligations of Alliance membership. They are making progress in implementing the Target Force Goals developed for them. Through in particular the process of fulfilling these planning targets, which address NATO's priority military requirements, the three invited countries are working with the NATO Military Authorities to ensure that their armed forces and military structures will meet Alliance requirements in key areas in preparation for membership.
We, as Defence Ministers, reaffirm that the door remains open to NATO membership under Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty and in accordance with paragraph 8 of the Madrid Summit Declaration. We considered a report on the intensified dialogue on membership questions. The Council in Permanent Session will develop for the Washington Summit a comprehensive package that will continue the enlargement process, operationalise our commitment to the open door policy and underscore our willingness to assist aspiring countries in meeting NATO standards.
We endorsed a comprehensive report describing progress made in recent months in the internal adaptation of the Alliance, which is focussed on the following interrelated areas: the Alliance's new military command structure; the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) concept; and the European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI). The fundamental objectives of this adaptation are to enhance the Alliance's military effectiveness for the full range of its missions, to preserve the transatlantic link, and to develop the ESDI within the Alliance. NATO will remain the essential forum for consultation among its members and the venue for agreement on policies bearing on the security and defence commitments of Allies under the Washington Treaty.
We approved a detailed plan submitted by the NATO Military Authorities for the implementation of the new NATO military command structure. This plan constitutes an important milestone for the transition to the new command structure which was agreed last year. Our aim is to complete the necessary preparations for a single, irreversible decision by the Council to simultaneously approve the activation requests for all 20 headquarters of the new command structure as a whole by the beginning of March 1999. We tasked the NATO Military Authorities to pursue their work vigorously to enable the Council to take this decision at the envisaged time. The new command structure will be fully functional, militarily efficient and cost effective. It will also enable us to provide European command arrangements able to prepare, support, conduct and command WEU-led operations.
Combined Joint Task Forces constitute an essential element of the Alliance's internal adaptation. They will provide the military flexibility required to deal with a wide range of contingency operations. They will also facilitate the involvement of nations outside the Alliance in NATO-led operations. In addition, the provision of CJTF headquarters for WEU-led operations using NATO assets and capabilities represents an important vehicle for developing the ESDI within the Alliance. The second phase in the implementation of the CJTF concept, which takes account of the lessons learned from the first two CJTF trials, is now under way. It will result in a thorough assessment of the Alliance's capability to deploy small- and large-scale, land- and sea-based CJTF headquarters and of the need to designate additional parent headquarters for CJTF headquarters nuclei. The results of this work, due by March 1999, will provide the basis for the third and final phase of the implementation of the Alliance's CJTF concept.
Much has already been accomplished in building the ESDI within NATO, as mandated by Ministers at their meetings in Berlin and Brussels in June 1996. Preparations for WEU-led operations making use of Alliance assets and capabilities are now well-advanced. This important work is carried out in close cooperation and consultation between NATO and the WEU. Consistent with the principle of separable but not separate capabilities, recent work has focussed on:
the development of clear and fully compatible joint arrangements for NATO-WEU consultations in a crisis that might lead to a WEU-led operation making use of Alliance assets and capabilities;
further work on the arrangements for the release, monitoring and return or recall of NATO assets and capabilities for WEU-led operations;
the involvement of the WEU in the Alliance's defence planning process; as part of this process the WEU has again provided its contribution to NATO Ministerial Guidance 1998;
the incorporation of requirements for WEU-led operations into NATO's military planning and exercises;
training and exercises designed to test and improve various arrangements for NATO support of a WEU-led operation; a joint NATO-WEU crisis management workshop, held in September, helped to validate NATO-WEU consultation arrangements in the event of a WEU-led operation using NATO assets and capabilities, and a joint crisis management seminar to be held in February 1999 to practice these arrangements will pave the way for a joint NATO-WEU crisis management exercise in the year 2000.
As the development of the European Security and Defence Identity within the Alliance is taking shape, NATO-WEU cooperative relations aimed at ensuring detailed coordination between the two organisations are being steadily strengthened including through consultations in the NATO-WEU Joint Council. We welcome the important contribution made by the WEU Council of Ministers in Rome on 16th-17th November to the development of the European Security and Defence Identity.
We directed the Council in Permanent Session to pursue vigorously further work on the outstanding issues relating to the Alliance's internal adaptation and, more specifically, to ensure that the key elements of ESDI are in place, as set out in the report submitted to us, by the time of the Washington Summit. We also expect the Council to make recommendations on how best to further enhance the effectiveness of ESDI within the Alliance, including the contribution made by all European Allies, beyond the Washington Summit.
We noted the progress that has been achieved on the examination, and updating as necessary, of the Alliance's Strategic Concept, as mandated by our Heads of State and Government at their Summit meeting in Madrid in July 1997. This work must ensure that the Strategic Concept is fully consistent with the Alliance's new security environment. It should reaffirm our commitment to collective defence and the transatlantic link, and ensure that the Alliance is ready, and has a full range of capabilities, to improve the security and stability environment for nations in the Euro-Atlantic area in the 21st century, including through dialogue, cooperation and partnership and, where appropriate, non-Article 5 operations, such as that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the possible participation of partners. The Council in Permanent Session has been tasked to pursue this work vigorously, the results of which will be presented to our Heads of State and Government at their Summit meeting in Washington in April of next year. As Defence Ministers, we attach particular importance to ensuring that the updated Strategic Concept provides guidance for the development of military capabilities appropriate to the full range of Alliance missions.
To support the ability of the Alliance to undertake the full range of its missions, work has been set in train to develop proposals for an initiative on defence capabilities which could be adopted at the Washington Summit. Building on progress to date, such an initiative could aim at developing a common assessment of requirements for the full range of military operations and, with a particular emphasis on technology and interoperability, especially in such areas as logistics and command, control and communications, address capabilities which are critical to the successful execution of joint military operations, such as readiness, deployability, mobility, sustainability, survivability, and effective engagement, taking into account the guidance which the updated Strategic Concept will provide.
We received a comprehensive report detailing further progress made in implementing the EAPC Basic Document and the enhanced Partnership for Peace. The process launched at Sintra in May 1997 is resulting in a more effective consultative forum and a more operational Partnership, thus improving the ability of Allies and Partners to contribute to Euro-Atlantic security and stability through political consultation and practical cooperation.
The EAPC also confirmed its value as a forum for political consultation on the situation in the former Yugoslavia, including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre which was created last Spring to help enhance practical cooperation in the field of international disaster relief, has already taken part in the coordination of emergency aid for relief operations in Albania and Ukraine. We support the updated EAPC Action Plan for the years 1998-2000, endorsed by Foreign Ministers with Partners last week, which builds on and expands the cooperative activities which are already being successfully implemented under EAPC.
The Partnership for Peace continues to be the focal point of our efforts to build with Partners new patterns of practical military and defence-related cooperation across a wide range of issues. Partners are playing an increasing role in planning and executing PfP activities and exercises, and in the further development of the Planning and Review Process (PARP). The introduction of PARP Ministerial Guidance and the initial Partnership Goals will play an important role in the further development of a more operational PfP. Partnership Staff Elements (PSEs), which have now been established, provide further opportunities for military cooperation with Partners. Increased regional cooperation is gaining momentum, and we fully support the Alliance's work with Partners to develop a political-military framework for NATO-led PfP operations, which is intended to be finalised, in tandem with the Strategic Concept, in time for the Washington Summit. In building on the experience of IFOR/SFOR, the potential of multinational formations and the principle of multinationality of military formations among Partners, as well as Partners and Allies, will be investigated with a view to reinforcing PfP's operational capabilities.
We noted the progress on initiatives to enhance further PfP education and training. These are designed to support a higher level of cooperation, and to provide Partners with a greater role in the development of collaborative approaches. The concept for PfP training centres will further enable Allies and Partners to contribute to all Partners' PfP-related education and training and to help promote interoperability. It represents a rationalised approach which encourages common initiatives and avoids duplication of efforts. Other promising developments that we noted were the initiation of activities through the PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and the PfP Simulation Network. The Council in Permanent Session is tasked to put together, with Partners, the initiatives above and other work now under way to form a coherent package of measures intended to reinforce PfP's operational capabilities for the Washington Summit.
NATO/PfP assistance programmes are rapidly becoming an important means used by Allies and Partners in projecting stability in sensitive areas such as the Balkans, and for developing closer links between PfP countries. As Defence Ministers we strongly support the decision of the Alliance to develop for 1999 a substantial programme of assistance to Albania. NATO is also assisting the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in developing its armed forces. These programmes underline NATO's continued determination to promote stability in the countries neighbouring Kosovo and are at the same time an example of the contribution which PfP can make to the security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.
We took stock of the implementation of the NATO-Russia Founding Act. At tomorrow's meeting of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council (PJC) at the level of Defence Ministers we will renew our support for the important work of the Council on the basis of the principles of common interest, reciprocity and transparency. It has also been a useful forum for consultations on the crisis in Kosovo and the ongoing SFOR mission in which NATO and Russia cooperate successfully. A substantial work plan for cooperation under the auspices of the PJC has been agreed within the framework of the PJC work programme for 1999. We look forward to the opening of the NATO Military Liaison Mission in Moscow. As Defence Ministers, we remain committed to the strengthening of practical military cooperation with Russia. Where possible we will make use of the cooperative mechanisms afforded by PfP which remain key to enhance practical cooperation, such as a range of crisis management and peacekeeping operations, training, seminars and visits, the strengthening of the military dialogue, and activities related to armaments cooperation.
The second meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the level of Defence Ministers tomorrow will deal with substantial Ukrainian proposals for the further implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Charter. We confirm our commitment to intensify through PfP practical military cooperation with Ukraine, on the basis of the political-military provisions of the Charter, the agreed work plan for 1999, and Ukraine's participation in SFOR. Work in the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defence Reform is being taken forward expeditiously at various levels. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ukraine and NATO regarding the two NATO Liaison Officers to be sent to Kyiv will provide practical support to our distinctive partnership with Ukraine in important areas such as civil-military relations, defence resource planning and management, and officer and NCO professional development.
We attach great importance to stability in the Mediterranean area, based on the principle that security in Europe is closely linked with security and stability in that region. Within the Alliance's overall cooperative approach to security, we continue to value NATO's enhanced Mediterranean Dialogue. After completion of the first work programme in 1998, we welcome the fact that the 1999 work programme will again include a substantial number of military activities and that Contact Point Embassies have now been designated. As Defence Ministers we are committed to the further improvement of the political and military aspects of the Dialogue. This will contribute to confidence-building and mutual understanding between NATO and the Mediterranean Dialogue countries. Like Foreign Ministers, we are prepared to consider possibilities to enhance cooperation with participating countries in preparation for the Washington Summit.
The establishment of the Kosovo Verification Mission has opened a new stage in cooperation between NATO and the OSCE and demonstrates our ability to work together in crisis situations. This strengthening of relations between mutually reinforcing institutions is important for the role of security organisations in the future European security architecture. In this context we continue to support the efforts of the OSCE to develop a Document-Charter on European Security, based on the decision of the OSCE Ministerial Council of 2nd - 3rd December 1998.
The proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons and their means of delivery continues to be a matter of serious concern for the Alliance. In this context, the principal goal of the Alliance and its members is to prevent proliferation from occurring, or, should it occur, to reverse it through diplomatic means. We continue to attach the utmost importance to full implementation and rigorous verification of international disarmament and non-proliferation regimes which remain essential instruments in this field. We nevertheless recognise that proliferation can continue to occur despite our preventive efforts and can pose a direct threat to Allies' populations, territory, and forces. It is therefore equally important to continue to improve the Alliance's defence posture against NBC weapons by providing the necessary capabilities to our forces and adapting our doctrine, plans, training and exercises to reflect more fully the risks posed by these weapons. We are determined to prepare our forces to succeed in the full range of missions that they might have to face despite the threat of use, or actual use, of chemical or biological weapons. In this context, we are also exploring opportunities for an exchange of information and practical cooperation between Allied civilian and military authorities. Building on the successful work of the NATO groups on proliferation, we are prepared to expand NATO's efforts to address the evolving proliferation threat. We join Alliance Foreign Ministers in tasking the Council in Permanent Session to prepare for the Washington Summit proposals for an initiative to ensure that the Alliance has the political and military capabilities to address appropriately and effectively the challenges of the proliferation of NBC weapons and their means of delivery.
We recall the importance which our Governments attach to the arrangements in the Alliance for consultation on threats of a wider nature, including those linked to illegal arms trade and acts of terrorism, which affect Alliance security interests. Terrorism constitutes a serious threat to peace, security and stability which can threaten the territorial integrity of States. We therefore reiterate our condemnation of terrorism. We reaffirm the determination of our Governments to combat it in all its forms, in accordance with our international commitments and national legislation. Close international cooperation is an essential means of preventing and suppressing this scourge.
We continue to consider the CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of European security both today and in the future. Our overall aim is enhanced security, stability, and predictability, not only for each CFE Party but also for Europe as a whole. We are committed to a successful adaptation of the Treaty and will play our full part in seeking to complete this by the time of the OSCE Istanbul Summit. To this end, we will support efforts aimed at the resolution of key outstanding issues and the start of drafting work in the first months of next year. In this regard, we reaffirm the Alliance's proposals put forward in Vienna and we associate ourselves with the statement on CFE restraint and flexibility issued by our and the Czech, Hungarian and Polish Foreign Ministers on 8th December. Pending Entry into Force of the Adapted Treaty, we regard continued strict implementation of the current Treaty and its associated documents as vital.
We continue to place great importance on the need for effective NATO armaments cooperation and in this context we noted that our National Armaments Directors are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of NATO's future role in the armaments field. We look forward to their report on ways to improve the armaments process. We further noted the progress made in the Alliance Ground Surveillance programme to obtain an overall system composed of a NATO-owned and operated core capability supplemented by interoperable national assets. We took the opportunity to reaffirm the need for such a capability to support political and military decision-making, particularly during crisis management.
Important steps have been taken by the NATO Air Defence Committee, and approved by the Council, to adapt its planning to take full account of new air defence requirements while still ensuring the maintenance of existing capabilities. In particular the agreement on a policy for the future adaptation of the NATO Integrated Air Defence System will support an effective extended air defence contribution to collective defence and peace support operations within an enlarged Alliance, and promote greater air defence flexibility and an enhanced level of integration with maritime forces. The Alliance's long term Air Defence Programme is being revised to take account of possible future air threats.
With regard to the Year 2000 date change problem, we are taking determined action to ensure the continuing effectiveness of NATO's political consultation processes, crisis management, and military command and control. We strongly support testing and verification for Year 2000-compliance and formulating plans for those systems which cannot be made compliant in time.
The integration of the three invited states into the Alliance, NATO's operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Kosovo, NATO's new command structure and other initiatives undertaken by NATO underline the undiminished importance of the military common funded programmes. They are tangible manifestations of cooperation and cohesion among Allies. Joint projects and common funding could also take on added value and importance in the context of any Summit initiative on defence capabilities. We remain determined to ensure that sufficient resources are made available to maintain the ability of the Alliance to perform the full range of its missions. We welcome further steps taken to give greater transparency to the budgetary process and to enable Council to take a broader, more strategic overview of NATO's military common funded expenditure.
