Press Point

Lord Robertson: Certainly we've just completed the very substantive meeting of the North Atlantic Council meeting with the Political and Security Committee of the European Union; one of our regular meetings discussing a wide range of subjects.

And this meeting, yet again demonstrates that relations between our two institutions are close and fully transparent.

Both of us committed to working together, building security in Europe and indeed, beyond Europe.

Tonight we discussed the Western Balkans in some detail and had a briefing from General Mini, who has just stepped down, the Italian commander of KFOR, who gave us a review of his time in Kosovo.

And Javier Solana briefed us on the forthcoming trip by himself to the region and I will be going there shortly after him. And of course, we had briefings on Operation Concordia in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which has been fully supported by NATO under the Berlin Plus arrangements.

In all of what we discussed this evening we have agreed on the need to consolidate the NATO-EU relationship. There is still enormous potential for us to work together in the face of the many security challenges that we both face. And naturally each institution will fully respect the autonomy of each other.

And of course, we agree and today was an example of it, of informing each other of developments in our organization, our respective organizations, especially at a time when we're both having to transform very fast.

As a result of today's meeting I'm confident that the EU will be consulting NATO closely on its thinking on all matters that concern NATO and European security. And indeed, the discussion we had on the EU's security document is a good example of our open and close consultations.

It's clear we want to avoid duplications. We want to maintain complementarity and work together on the basis of the arrangements that we have already, at some length, worked out, and which have proven their value already.

Unnecessary duplication or competition between NATO and the EU must be avoided, and that was the unanimous view of all who were at this evening's meeting.

NATO-EU relations are good. They're getting better and we're moving together in tandem. Javier.

Dr. Javier Solana: Thank you very much. I have very little to add to what Lord Robertson has said. It seems to me it has been a very constructive meeting in a very good climate as always in the meeting between the European Union and NATO.

Let me say a word about the Balkans. I'd like to emphasize that both Lord Robertson and myself were in Vienna not long ago, in the first contacts to start the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. That, as you know, is not an easy task, but we're going to continue helping both sides to continue their dialogue, which for us is very, very important.

The second point that we have touched today, as the Secretary General has said, is the relation between the European Union and NATO. I think that everybody has recognized that if we were to look back to the beginning of this relationship, nobody, well at least Lord Robertson and Javier Solana, never would have believed that we will be in the position we are today.

I still remember, in my previous incarnation, when I was in the position that Lord Robertson has today, that the European Union and NATO had not at all relationship. Today we meet just about every other day. We have contacts periodically. We have formal meetings at all the levels, from ministers to ambassadors, to people from the secretariat.

So therefore, a lot has been done. And I think we're going to continue doing that. The world of today needs a good co-operation between NATO and the European Union.
But I'd like to say also that the European Union is going to continue strengthening ESDP. That is something that the leaders of the European Union have decided to continue and we're going to continue working in that direction. The relation between NATO and the European Union is not a zero sum relationship. Therefore, when the ESDP of the European Union is stronger, as most of the countries of the European Union are members of NATO, that means that NATO also has strengthened itself.

Therefore, we have to also think in those ways, in those terms, in order to look in a constructive manner what is being done in the European Union.

I had the opportunity also to explain how the European defence strategy is going to be moving from here to the end of the presidency of the... Italian presidency. We have had, as you know, probably three seminars. In the three seminars representatives from NATO have participated also and that would enrich, no doubt, also the product, the final product, that we expect to finish by the end of December.

So a good meeting, a constructive meeting, as it could not be otherwise.

Thank you very much.

Ambassador Maurizio Melani: Thank you very much. Well, I would like just to say that the atmosphere was excellent. We had a very good exchange of views and of information in our respective activities and operations going on. We've heard the strong support from all those who intervene of ESDP, of the development of ESDP, and of course, there was an unanimous view expressed by everybody on the complementarity which exists between the EU and NATO.

Therefore, it has been an excellent meeting and we're very happy of this.

Questions and answers

Q: I have a question to both gentlemen, to Mr. Robertson and Mr. Solana. I guess you know about my question, what I will put you. So it's concerning your visit to Ukraine and your impression concerning the tension and confrontation which is growing up between Russia and Ukraine concerning island Tuzla. Today just maybe 15 minutes ago I've been talking with officers in Tuzla. They told that there are creators of this dam came up to less than 300 to the territory of Ukrainian... of Ukraine. Not Ukrainian border. So it's beyond of the bilateral agreement. This could be a scenario like in Yugoslavia probably. What do you think about this?

Lord Robertson: Well, it's a matter for the bilateral relationship between Ukraine and Russia. It's not a matter for NATO. It certainly wasn't a matter raised at the NATO EU meeting this evening. And as I said in Kiev yesterday, I've no doubt that Russia and Ukraine will find a way of resolving this particular problem together and quietly.

Dr. Javier Solana: We have, as you know, a summit in Yalta not long ago between the European Union and Ukraine and we're going to be having another summit with Russia in the coming days.

I've been in touch with both ministers and I hope very much that, as Secretary Robertson has said, that they will be resolved and diffused among themselves, or between themselves.

Q: I would like to ask both of you if you think that the European Union's defence initiative could be strengthened by having an independent operational capacity in some form? And also if I could ask Dr. Solana if you could give us your opinion on the events in Iran today regarding the nuclear issue.

Lord Robertson: We already have arrangements in terms of planning under Berlin Plus, whereby the European Union has automatic and unconditional access to NATO's planning capabilities. And that has been working well, and it's working in practice on the ground in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (ª).

The Berlin Plus arrangements recognize that the European Union can and will undertake autonomous operations. That was foreseen right back in the days when I was party to the Saint-Malo Agreement at the British-French Summit in 1998. The European Union has already done it, will undoubtedly do it again, and it's inside the spirit and the letter of Berlin Plus.

Dr. Javier Solana: Well, let me say, as the Secretary General has said, the possibility of autonomous operation by the European Union is a possibility. And we have done already one in Ituri. I think it was very successful. And of course, there is a need to have planning capability today to do that and in eventually headquarters. And today we have used the headquarters that belong to a country and there are several countries that do have headquarters that can be multi-nationalized and that is what we have done.

Let me answer the second question that you've asked. I am very pleased, we are very pleased to see how things have evolved, are evolving in Tehran, in the relationship between the Tehran and the European Union. I think that... we hope that what... the agreement that has been reached, although they are not definite yet, it will conduct, it will allow for what is the objective of the European Union, for Tehran not to have the capability of going into the construction of weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear, but at the same time, Iran had the right to have nuclear power plant for civilian uses. That has been the objective of the European Union, I think of the majority of the countries of the international community.

We have been in contact... permanent contact with Mr. ElBaradei. I had a long talk yesterday with him and I have talked with the three ministers a while ago. The situation apparently is, as I said, very, very constructive, very positive, and we hope very much that those agreements will be implemented, implemented rapidly; the past, the present and in particular the future of Tehran.

Q: Yeah, Dr. Solana, just on that Iran question, given that the initiative to push Iran to the decision that it came to today came from the French, German and British foreign ministers, can we call this an EU initiative, given that neither you were there, nor the Italian presidency?

Dr. Javier Solana: Well, let me tell you that the initiative of engagement by the European Union with Tehran is not new. Let me remind you that I was in Tehran late days of August and we started talking about the possibility, as you'll remember very well, about doing something on the... also on the nuclear issue.

From there we went to talk to ElBaradei at length. There are three countries in the European Union that do have a certain level of technology that not everybody has, and therefore has some interest that those countries that do have a certain capability and technology take the lead, but this is within, within the policy of the European Union, no doubt about that.

And let me say that I am in contact with Mr. Elbaradei, Dr. Elbaradei just about every day.

Q: A question for Lord Robertson. Some European... member states of the European Union are still asking an independent planning capability. In your opinion, for example, France, Germany, Belgium too, in your opinion is it complementarity or is it competition? What's the red line on this issue in your opinion?

Lord Robertson: Well, if Europe is going to share the burdens correctly in the world today then it has to focus on producing the capabilities that are going to be required for the future. And NATO and the EU work on that together. That is in terms of useable... more useable soldiers and fewer paper armies. It's heavy lift transport to take troops to where a crisis is and air-to-air refuelling tankers, better communications and much better logistic support to back up those things.

That is going to be the priority and is the priority for both sides.

Berlin Plus, the Berlin Plus arrangements between NATO and the EU were constructed to give the EU access to NATO's planning facilities here, and SHAPE and to make them available unconditionally and at the demand of the European Union. It was also part of that great bargain to give presumed access to many of the capabilities that European nations don't at the present moment have.

It was also foreseen that the EU might do as it has done autonomous operations and individual nations have produced the planning capabilities that were required for that. There is an ongoing discussion in say the European Union at the moment about how best these autonomous operations can be done, that is being done in a spirit of openness with NATO and NATO's offer as part of Berlin Plus remains and I believe remains a firm foundation for both of us to act in unison and with complementarity.
As I said, the strong unanimous feeling this evening was that we must avoid any unnecessary duplication and any competition between NATO and the EU.

(ª) Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.