At the Lunch offered to the Participants in the NAC and the EAPC Ministerial Meetings Queluz Palace Sintra, Portugal 30 May 1997

Speech by the President of the Portuguese Republic Unofficial Translation

Mister President of the North Atlantic Council, Mister Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Mister Secretary General of the Western European Union Ministers Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives Ladies and Gentlemen On welcoming you in the name of Portugal and in my own name, I would like, in the first place, to emphasise the significance, and the honour for my country, of hosting the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council that has been institutionalised today. I wish to underline the far-reaching consequences of the creation of this new forum and the increased possibilities it offers to an increasingly strong political and military cooperation among all partners in the Euro-Atlantic area. With the Lisbon Summit of the OSCE - and the major contribution then given to the revision of the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe - a new cycle has begun of important meetings designed to define what I would call a formula for stability and security for the new political map of Europe, arising from a total re-encounter of its States with democracy and with the essential values of our civilsation. Never, as now, have such propitious existed for the consolidation of the spirit of trust and co-operation between every European country and for the decided strengthening of the conditions for peace and security in Europe. However, one must also recognise the fact that the indispensable restructuring of the strategic balances is going ahead under conditions of uncertainty and crisis. We have an obligation to provide Europe and the future generations of Europeans with the conditions allowing them to deepen democracy right across the entire continent, to build more developed, more just societies, to prevent crisis and conflict and to ensure peace. Today, here in Sintra, tomorrow at the Madrid Summit, at the European Council in Amsterdam, and at the Council of Europe Summit in October, the European and Euro-Atlantic organisations are called upon to give from this hope for peace, freedom and progress. To this end, may I be allowed to stress, for its scope and historic significance, the agreement that has just been signed in Paris between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Russia Federation. It is undoubtedly, a good agreement, based on solid principles that reiterate our common commitment to the defence of the values of freedom, of law and of democracy, to the indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic security and to the renunciation of the use of force and the very threat of use of force in the relations between the transatlantic community and Russia. From the outset, the "Founding Act" that now governs our relations represents a milestone on the path to reconciliation between former adversaries, establishing the principles and the institutional framework appropriate to the reinsertion of Russia into a common space, while recognising its legitimate security interests. To this end, the Paris Agreement reflects our determination not to create new divisions prejudicial to peace and democracy in Europe. On the other hand, it creates better conditions to pursue the NATO enlargement process and the inclusion of the new European democracies into our collective defence community. Lastly, the agreement that has been achieved preserves the autonomy and the essential presuppositions that will ensure the continuity of NATO as the irreplaceable guarantor of the collective defence of the Allies. Mister Secretary General Ministers I think that this is a good opportunity to look back over the long path that has already been travelled since the foundation of the Atlantic Alliance, the more so when one suspects that there appears to be, in the public opinion, some doubts as to its importance at the present time. Ironically, the same attitude was prevalent when the North Atlantic pact was concluded. Few - very few - anticipated the fundamental role that the Alliance was to play during the subsequent decades, and even less did they expect so exceptional a duration. It was certainly not merely by chance that Dean Acheson drew attention to Gershwin's two themes that were played at the time of the signature of the Treaty in Washington: "I've got plenty of nothin" and "It ain't necessarily so". It was indeed not the best of omens for an alliance that was taking its firsts steps after long, arduous negotiations. Nevertheless, the Atlantic Alliance went a great deal further than the predictions of even the most optimistic of its founder members. This proved possible not only on account of its constant and effective capacity, over a period of forty years, to face up to the threat that had let to its creation, guaranteeing freedom for the States of Western Europe, but also because the decades of effective co-operation, both military and political, also served to institutionalise a transatlantic security community resting on a common civilizational heritage, on the sharing of the values of freedom, democracy and law, and on the growing homogeneity of the political systems and economical models. In this way, the Alliance has become synonymous with regional security and integral part of the defence policy of all its members States. And it was also in this way that, once the Soviet Union has disappeared, once Germany had been reunited and once the new European democracies had been consolidated, a new Alliance was ready to play a decisive role in the restructuring of the European balances. But we must not forget that the triumph of democracy in Europe was not straightforward nor that European security can be considered a given fact. The return of war and the tragic consequences of the dissolution of Yugoslavia - for which we largely seemed unprepared - constitute serious warnings, just as we must give due thought to the risks and threats that arise from the persistence of tensions within our continent. Allow me to recall the women and men of our Alliance who together with the military of Russia of our co-operation partners, of the countries of the southern bank of the Mediterranean, are stationed in Bosnia-Herzegovina to ensure peace and security, respect for human rights and for the minorities, and economic reconstruction and social rehabilitation. To all, without exceptions, I pay a heartfelt tribute and express my sincere gratitude. Allow me also to make a solemn appeal, in the name of all our States, to the political leaders of the republics born of former Yugoslavia - some of whom have honoured me with their presence here today - to commit themselves decidedly so that dialogue and tolerance may prevail between all the people of the region, so that the guns may be silenced once and for all, so that peace, stability, democracy and progress may finally come about in this martyred corner of Europe. I am certain that their commitment will be matched by the International Community, as seen in the determination and efforts of its High Representative and in the direct involvement of the European Union and of the Atlantic Alliance. Minister Excellencies The next steps have been clearly set forward, in July, in Madrid, the first stage will begin of the enlargement of the Atlantic Alliance, the agreement between NATO and the Ukraine will be concluded, which I deem to be of the greatest importance for the political stability of Europe and the reform of the internal structure will be completed. On the other hand, I hope the Intergovernmental Conference may make an important contribution to the definition of the relations between the European Union and the Western European Union, and that a rapid advance may be made in bringing about the European Defence and Security Identity, in order to consolidate between the major multilateral and Euro-Atlantic institutions. I am sure that all European Allies have a clear conscious of their additional responsibilities in regional security and, on the other hand, that United States give due worth to the importance of greater autonomy of their Allied in response to situations of crises on Europe's borders, without prejudice to the indispensable cohesion of NATO. Lastly, the conclusion of the Intergovernmental Conference will mark the beginning of the process of extension of the European Union to whole of the European democracies, essential if we are to achieve the old ideal of European unity. And, immediately thereafter the passage to Economic and Monetary Union will, with the single currency, provide a decisive boost to the process of European integration. The forthcoming months will put to the test the leadership of the politicians and the quality of the European and the Euro-Atlantic institutions. I, for my part, am confident. Portugal, as a founding member of the Atlantic Alliance, as a member of the European Union and the Western European Union, is deeply committed to the definitions of the post-cold war security framework and to the consolidation of the new NATO. We shall carry on giving, as with did until now, our active cooperation to reach these aims. A century of war and destruction, that called into question the very survival of Europe, has taught us to recognise the value of peace, stability and democracy. This memory, inscribed in the foundation of the Atlantic Alliance and of the European Union, continues to be the guiding light that points out the proper path at this cross-roads of our common future. I ask all present to join me in a toast to the prosperity of the peoples here represented to the Atlantic Alliance and to the Euro-Atlantic Partnership. Thank you.