IISS London Sept. 19, 1996

Summary "The Alliance's effectiveness and cohesion have grown measurably in recent years." Secretary General Solana LONDON: The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Mr. Javier Solana, said on Thursday that the next year or two will see the culmination of the transformation process set in train at the beginning of the decade. The result will be a new Alliance, far removed in purpose and structure from its Cold War ancestor. Addressing the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Mr. Solana added that the Alliance is moving fast towards a series of decisions - on enlargement; on enhancing PFP; on a strengthened, permanent and institutionalised relationship with Russia; on the future security requirements in Bosnia; and on a renewed military structure for the future which will enable the full participation of all Allies and reflect visibly a European Security and Defence Identity . In the view of the Secretary General, this agenda will keep the Alliance centre stage and would justify holding a NATO Summit next year . Commenting on the situation in Bosnia, Mr. Solana stated his belief that the international community, including NATO, must remain engaged in Bosnia beyond this first year after the entry into force of the Dayton Peace Agreement. On the security side, there may well be a requirement for a continued military presence in Bosnia after IFOR, albeit smaller and for a strictly limited term. Its objective would be to assist progress towards stability in the region and provide an environment of security while durable institutions are established and the parties fully assume their responsibilities . In this respect, he underlined that external pressure on the Dayton parties has to be sustained... If the international community is unflinching and resolute in its treatment of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a single state, that will be the best incentive for the parties to accept that reality and work with it, not against it . The Secretary General also told his audience that the enlargement of NATO is inevitable...NATO s opening to the East is an indispensable step to transcend finally the artificial boundaries of Cold War Europe . He added that the Allliance had now reached the point where the preparatory stages are near completion and that the states who want to join have a much clearer picture now of what the process involves in terms of civilian and military structures, democratic accountability, operational capabilities and ability to work alongside NATO forces...If all goes well, I believe that a decision should be taken by Heads of State and Government at a NATO Summit in 1997 to invite several Partners to begin accession negotiations . It was equally important to keep the door open for future members by continuing the intensified dialogue and also by enhancing the mechanism which has already created unprecedented links between NATO and non-NATO countries: the Partnership for Peace. PFP has already become the most successful military cooperation programme in Europe s history. Nonetheless , added Mr. Solana, PFP has to be upgraded and deepened to reflect the new situation which will exist after NATO enlargement...In short, a PfP plus should generate the necessary reassurance that the security of an enlarged NATO and its Partners remains closely linked . The Secretary General said that cooperation with Russia would also be part of a new NATO in which there will be constant two-way dialogue and interchange . In particular, he hoped that the experience of NATO and Russia working together in IFOR would mark a key watershed and our cooperation will not end when IFOR ends...There are a number of imaginative, positive proposals in the air, including a formal Charter which would create standing arrangements for consultation and joint action between Russia and the Alliance...Whatever the final form of our relations, the content of a Russia-NATO relationship will be substantial . Finally, Mr. Solana addressed the internal adaptation of the Alliance. He said that NATO was currently looking at a new military structure which will have all the lessons of the 1990s built into it...it will, in my view, make no sense for new members to stay out of the structure . The future NATO command structure would also reflect a growing and visible European responsibility in defence and security terms... All Allies now agree that the ESDI should be developed inside NATO, and not outside it. Creating ESDI inside NATO means that we can make the best use of resources already devoted to defence by carving out a European operational capacity through the coherent organisation of Eurpean forces within NATO . The Secretary General was confident that the new flexibility will also allow for WEU-led operations drawing on NATO assets - thus fulfilling a longstanding European ambition to move toward a strategic partnership with the US and not to remain perpetually strategically dependent . While advocating this agenda of change, Mr. Solana also appealed to his audience not to lose sight of some fundamental truths. No other institution epitomises more visibly the enduring commitment of Europe and North America to each others security than NATO. This will not change. Indeed, in an increasingly interdependent world, where risks such as those posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction can threaten us all, the notion that each side of the Atlantic could provide for its security in isolation remains the stuff of dreams or - more accurately - of nightmares .