Opening of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) Sintra, Portugal 30 May 1997

Introductory Statement by the Foreign Minister of Austria, Vice-Chancellor Wolfgang Schssel

"Regional Security and Cooperation in the Light of IFOR/SFOR experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina" The experience of IFOR and SFOR is undoubtedly a very fitting subject for this first meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. IFOR and SFOR have not only provided the stricken people of Bosnia and Herzegovina with their first chance of peace; these missions have also had a major impact on the European security architecture as a whole. And the EAPC is also an important institutional consequence of this development. I believe that the experience of IFOR and SFOR has, in particular, taught us the following six political lessons: Firstly, IFOR and SFOR provide us with an excellent and future-oriented example of effective cooperation between the global structures of the United Nations and NATO. Secondly, the experience of the peace operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has also shown us that truly effective European security structures cannot be born out of the blue. They will always be based on a division of labour between the existing organizations. NATO could not have organized the Bosnian elections; but OSCE could not have made them succeed the way they did if IFOR had not paved the way and then lent its protection to the entire election process. In view of IFOR and SFOR there can, thirdly, be no doubt that the transatlantic partnership remains essential for the security of Europe. Nobody can deny that Europe only came to grips with the war in the Balkans thanks to this partnership; and everybody is aware of the simple truth that IFOR could not have been realized the way it was if the US forces in Europe had not been at the heart of this operation. Fourthly, IFOR and SFOR present us with the most striking example of what "new NATO" is about. The military potential that NATO has developed in the interest of its core functions in the field of collective defence is now put to use in the biggest peace support operation in post-war European history; an operation that represents a common effort of the 16 NATO nations and 17 partner countries, including Russia. Against this background, it is my fifth point that IFOR has evidently also laid the base for the newly signed Founding Act of Russian-NATO co-operation; a document that can be seen as the "birth certificate" of a new pan-European peace order. My sixth and final political conclusion from our common experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the following: "Partnership for Peace" was the right initiative at the right moment and has its role within the European security structures; the experience of IFOR and SFOR can now help us to develop this concept further. In fact, the multinational peace operation in Bosnia has already provided us with valuable experiences beyond the original PfP aims. In accordance with the principle of self-differentiation, an enhanced PfP will give partners who so desire the possibility to move towards cooperation and inter-operability in the entire field of peace support operations. And our newly founded Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council will provide us with the framework for a regular multilateral dialogue and, hopefully, for increased decision making opportunities relating to activities in which they participate. By creating this Council, we have also overcome differences in status that existed, for historic reasons, between the members of the former NACC and other PfP partners. Countries that are seeking full participation in the structures and decision making processes of European and transatlantic security may see this Council as an improved interim solution; others may be content to develop the EAPC as a more permanent basis for cooperation in the field of European security. Speaking about regional security and cooperation in the light of SFOR we must, nonetheless, also look beyond today's festive occasion. What will happen to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the present mandate has expired at the end of June of next year? I know that this is a highly delicate issue, but I do believe that it needs to be addressed in the forthcoming months. I am concerned that civilian efforts to lay the political, economic and social foundations for lasting peace have been much less successful than the endeavours of the inter- national community in the military field. We have to admit that we have so far only been able to curb the worst symptoms of the terrible malady that haunts the Balkans; we have certainly not overcome the causes of this tragic conflict. But here we must probably also ask ourselves whether we are not approaching the limits of what outside involvement can achieve. Durable political solutions can undoubtedly only come from within. But this calls for arduous efforts. I therefore believe that the peace process in Bosnia will probably need the "backbone" of a stabilizing military presence, for some time to come. I also believe that this military presence will continue to provide partners on both sides of the Atlantic with a major challenge. New forms of transatlantic burden sharing may have to be found, on the basis of the various scenarios for Combined Joint Task Forces according to the Berlin Declaration. In this context, we should also study the role the Western European Union might possibly play in its dual function as an integral part of the development of the Union and as a means to strengthen the European pillar of the Atlantic Alliance. I am convinced that we shall only be able to cope with these major tasks if we understand that the security of Europe is indivisible and requires common efforts of every partner around this table, independently of what his past experience, present status and future perspectives in the field of European security may be. I am sure that this must also be the spirit in which we prepare ourselves for the next key event on the euro-atlantic security agenda, the Madrid summit. I take it that our new Council will reconvene at that occasion. I hope that Madrid will not only be another fundamental step in shaping the new NATO but it will also encourage our joint endeavours in the interest of a strengthened partnership.