Press Release
(2006)064
8 June 2006 |
Final communiqué
Meeting of the North Atlantic Council
In Defence Ministers session
held in Brussels on Thursday, 8 June 2006
-
The North Atlantic Council
met in Defence Ministers’ session on 8 June 2006 to review NATO’s
current operations and missions, and discuss defence aspects of the
Alliance’s transformation. Our meeting was an important part of the
Alliance’s preparations for the Summit of Heads of State and Government
that will be held in Riga on 28-29 November 2006.
- We are greatly indebted to all those who have taken part in NATO-led
operations and offer our deepest sympathy to the families and loved
ones of those who have lost their lives and to those who have been injured
in the course of their service. We are grateful to our Partners and
other non-NATO nations for their valuable contributions to our operations
and missions.
- Afghanistan remains our number one operational priority. While
progress has been made in bringing peace and stability to this country,
serious challenges remain. ISAF will be expanding to the south of the
country later this summer, bringing additional Provincial Reconstruction
Teams under NATO leadership and increasing significantly ISAF's overall
force levels. ISAF forces will be robust, well-equipped and will operate
with the necessary rules of engagement to respond forcefully to any
security threats and challenges that may arise. While ISAF’s and Operation
ENDURING FREEDOM’s missions will remain distinct, the recently agreed
command arrangements will shortly be put in place to ensure close coordination
between them. NATO will continue to assist the Government of Afghanistan
as part of the international community's broader efforts to strengthen
security and to enable reconstruction and development throughout
the country, with increased emphasis on supporting the reform of the
Afghan Security Forces and conducting security and stability operations
in coordination with them. We remain committed to continuing our close
cooperation and coordination with the United Nations, the European Union,
other international institutions and the international community at
large, in accordance with the Afghanistan Compact.
- We will remain engaged in Kosovo throughout the UN-led status process
and the implementation of a settlement on the future status of the
province. The new task force structure of KFOR will further improve
NATO’s ability to contribute to maintaining a safe and secure environment,
particularly during this highly sensitive period. We support the efforts
of UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari and of the Contact Group to achieve
a lasting settlement that promotes stability for Kosovo and the entire
Balkans region. We call on Belgrade and Pristina to work together with
the UN Special Envoy in a constructive manner and to show flexibility
in the status talks. We attach great importance to standards implementation
by the concerned parties. NATO will continue to monitor and assist
in the development of a safe and secure environment, working with other
international organisations, especially with the UN and the EU, in
the process of building a stable, democratic, multi-ethnic and peaceful
society in Kosovo. We welcome the close cooperation between NATO and
EU including in their headquarters in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the continued
successful use of the Berlin Plus arrangements in support of the EU’s
Operation ALTHEA. This confirms the value of close NATO-EU cooperation
more generally. We are determined to give more substance to the agreed
framework of the Alliance’s strategic partnership with the EU.
- Countries in the Western Balkans must continue to cooperate with
each other, promote good neighbourly relations, and reach mutually
acceptable solutions to outstanding issues. We remain committed to helping
the countries of the Western Balkans, especially through assistance
in defence reform, on their path towards Euro-Atlantic integration.
The three countries participating in the Membership Action Plan – Albania,
Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1) – have taken
significant steps in this process. We welcome their efforts and encourage
them to continue to make progress on the work still to be done. We welcome
the arrest of Ante Gotovina in December last year. We recognise the
efforts made so far, but urge the countries of the region to ensure
full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY). In particular, the failure to bring to justice the
remaining fugitive indictees, notably Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic,
remains the key obstacle to consideration for accession to Partnership
for Peace. We note Montenegro’s declaration of independence, which follows
a referendum conducted in line with OSCE and Council of Europe standards.
- We welcome the formation of the new Iraqi Government, and we reaffirm
our support for the Iraqi people, and for the stability, democratic
development, unity and territorial integrity of the Republic of Iraq,
consistent with relevant UNSC resolutions. All Allies continue to contribute
to the NATO mission, consistent with UNSC Resolution 1546, to support
the Iraqi security forces through training, in or out of the country,
equipping, or contributing to trust funds.
- We strongly condemn terrorism, whatever its motivations or manifestations,
and will fight it together as long as necessary. Our efforts to fight
terrorism will continue to be conducted in conformity with international
law, including the United Nations Charter and relevant international
conventions and protocols. In this context, we reiterate our commitment
to Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR, NATO’s maritime surveillance and escort
operation in the Mediterranean, as a contribution to the fight against
terrorism. We welcome the anticipated support of Russia and Ukraine,
as well as the interest of the other Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
and Mediterranean Dialogue partners.
- Following the signature of the Darfur Peace Agreement on 5 May
2006, we continue to support the African Union Mission in Sudan, in
its efforts to ensure the effective implementation of the Peace Agreement.
We are ready, following consultation with and with the agreement of
the AU, to extend that support. NATO is committed to continued coordination
with all actors involved, in particular the AU, the UN and the EU. NATO
is considering possible support to the follow-on UN mission.
- NATO’s earthquake relief operation in Pakistan and humanitarian
assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina brought critical
relief to tens of thousands in need. We reviewed the lessons drawn
from these operations.
- We attach particular importance to relations between NATO and
Ukraine and reaffirm our determination to make full use of the NATO-Ukraine
Commission. Ukraine has demonstrated significant progress under Intensified
Dialogue in the past year. We encourage Ukraine to continue to demonstrate
concrete and measurable progress and resolve in implementing key reforms
and policies to make it possible to meet its aspiration for participation
in the Membership Action Plan. Georgia has made substantial reforms
in the defence, economic, and judicial sectors over the past year. Allies
support Georgia’s ambitious reform agenda, and will evaluate Georgia’s
aspirations to conduct an Intensified Dialogue with the Alliance in
light of its performance.
- We welcome the emergence of several initiatives aimed at optimising
the planning and conduct of NATO’s operations and missions. While
NATO has no requirement to develop capabilities strictly for civilian
purposes, it needs to improve its practical cooperation, taking
into account existing arrangements, with partners, relevant international
organisations and, as appropriate, non-governmental organisations
in order to collaborate more effectively in planning and conducting
operations.
- We are determined to continue the broad transformation of the
Alliance in order to ensure that NATO is able to perform the full range
of its missions more effectively and efficiently in a challenging security
environment, which is characterised by the threat of terrorism and the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as a range of
other risks and challenges, including the disruption of the flow of
vital resources.
- We reviewed the progress that has been made in our transformation
efforts and directed further efforts in preparation for the Riga
Summit later this year. In particular:
- We are firmly committed to ensuring that the NATO Response
Force is a success. We welcomed recent progress towards achieving
full operational capability this autumn, stressed the importance
of sustaining this in the future, and assessed steps being taken
to improve contributions to this key element of NATO’s military
transformation and to increase opportunities for the involvement
of Partners. We look forward to STEADFAST JAGUAR, the major
NRF validation exercise, which will be held later this month in Cape
Verde.
- We endorsed the Comprehensive Political Guidance tasked by the
Heads of State and Government at Istanbul and agreed to present it
to them in Riga for their consideration. It provides a framework for
the Alliance’s continuing transformation and sets out the priorities
for all Alliance capability issues, planning disciplines and intelligence.
We will continue to monitor its implementation with interest.
- We noted the results to date of the capability initiatives launched
in Prague to foster improvements in our capabilities and provided
further guidance on the way ahead . We noted in particular the progress
achieved by the nationally-led initiatives on strategic airlift and
sealift capabilities, including the implementation of the Strategic
Airlift Interim Solution (SALIS), and the establishment of a permanent
structure for managing sealift assets.
- We reviewed progress in our initiative, launched at the Istanbul
Summit, to make our forces more usable through the implementation
of political targets for the proportion of each nation’s land forces
which are structured, prepared and equipped for deployed operations
(40%) and the proportion undertaking or planned for sustained operations
at any one time (8%). At Istanbul, we also agreed on the need for national
usability targets to supplement these high level political targets,
taking into account national priorities and obligations. These efforts
have had positive effects, and we agreed to pursue them further.
- We also noted the completion of the missile defence feasibility
study initiated at the Prague Summit to examine options for the
protection of Alliance territory, forces and population centres.
We encouraged further work on political-military considerations
prior to any decision in this domain.
- We welcomed the completion of the risk reduction study in support
of an Alliance Ground Surveillance Capability and noted initial responses
from industry to the Design and Development Request for Proposals.
- In addition, we considered a range of possible new capability-related
initiatives in such areas as resources, deployability, defence against
terrorism and training for consideration by our Heads of State and
Government at the Riga Summit. We directed the Council in Permanent
Session to conduct further detailed work and to prepare a further report
by the time of our informal meeting in Slovenia in September.
- We also continue to pursue transformation at NATO Headquarters
through the adoption of more efficient and effective ways of working
and by continuing to prioritise resources in accordance with Alliance
objectives.
- The continuing transformation of our forces will help to ensure
that NATO can continue to provide for collective defence and contribute
to our security by making a fitting contribution to the international
community’s efforts to promote stability, with the confidence born
of our mutual solidarity and in particular of the indispensable transatlantic
link.
- Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional
name.
|