Press Release (2002)076 7 June 2002

Chairman's Summary of the Meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in Defence Ministers Session Defence Ministers and Representatives of the member countries of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) met in Brussels today to discuss the future of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) and the EAPC, and the role of PfP in the international fight against terrorism. Ministers also exchanged views on the situation in the Balkans. I informed Ministers about the main results of the North Atlantic Council meeting on 6 June. Ministers agreed that since its inception the Partnership has made a major contribution to building stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. Ministers noted the remarkable success of their cooperation across a broad spectrum of activities, including the NATO-led operations in the Balkans, defence reform, regional co-operation and programmes contributing to human security. Ministers stressed however, that the Partnership must continue to evolve, taking full advantage of the unique potential of its 46 nation membership and building on its success so far. This adaptation should be an integral and important part of the decisions at the Prague Summit. Ministers agreed that after Prague, the Partnership should be focused to better address the particular needs and circumstances of individual Partners and to ensure that it remains relevant and valuable to all participating nations, including those in Central Asia and the Caucasus. In this context Ministers discussed whether there was scope for expanding consultation and co-operation in defence-related matters, how the Partnership could contribute further to reforms in the defence and security areas, and how the regional dimension of the Partnership could be developed further. Ministers recalled that in the period following the attacks against the United States on September 11, Allies and Partners committed themselves to unite against terrorism. Ministers agreed that the EAPC has been, and will continue to be, an essential pillar of the international coalition against terrorism and exchanged views on how to develop further the Partnership's ability to respond effectively to terrorism-related security concerns. Ministers agreed that the requirements of the fight against terrorism should be taken fully into consideration in the review and adaptation of the EAPC and PfP, and they discussed what specific elements could be included in a possible Partnership Action Plan against terrorism. Ministers discussed the situation in the Balkans and reiterated their commitment to upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries in the Balkans and, in cooperation with other international organisations, to the development of a peaceful, democratic and stable region. Ministers also discussed how cooperation between troop-contributing Allies and Partners could be further improved, as well as how to ensure the necessary coordination among nations and international Organisations to support NATO's initiative on border security and interdiction operations in the Balkans. Ministers received a number of reports on the development and use of the existing Partnership mechanisms. In the context of discussion on the review and adaptation of the PfP, they considered the Chairman's Progress Report on the Review of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership and Chairman's Report on the Role of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership in the Response to Terrorism. They welcomed the progress of work to date and underlined the need to ensure that the Partnership continues to remain relevant to Partners and Allies in the future. They stressed the need to continue to work vigorously in order to present to the Heads of State and Government at Prague a concrete set of proposals to adapt the Partnership to respond to the new security challenges.