Meeting of the Euro- Atlantic Partnership Council in Defence Ministers Session Brussels, 13 June 1997

Statement by the Swedish Minister of Defence, Mr. Bjrn von Sydow

Mr Chairman (Secretary General), Sweden is committed to contribute to the strengthening of European security. Many events during these last years have shown the need for a pragmatic and innovative approach in this regard. Most obvious of these has of course been the conflict in former Yugoslavia. In connection with the IFOR and SFOR operations, new ways of cooperation and international peace support have been developed, and new lessons have been learned. It is now time to draw conclusions, to make sure that the Dayton Peace Agreement is fully implemented with the Parties living up to its letters and spirit and to plan the way ahead for a credible post SFOR strategy. This is of course ultimately a question for the UN Security Council, but the EAPC should provide a useful forum for such discussions. Sweden supports the expansion of the Planning and Review Process. We are now undertaking a thorough review of the proposed "partnership goals", using past experiences of participation in peace support and humanitarian operations as a point of departure. This review will be finalized autumn 1997. The Partnership for Peace has been instrumental in preparing countries for the IFOR and SFOR operations. Through joint training and enhancement of interoperability, the value of the contributions of countries to IFOR and SFOR has been increased. As the Planning and Review Process moves to its second phase, we welcome the ambitious approach and I would like to emphasize the importance of involving Partners in the process of developing the process further. In doing so, let me emphasize the still most valid criteria of self selection and self- differentiation in the enhanced Partnership. Sweden is in support of an increased transparency between all PARP participating states, including Allies. It is of great importance that NATO and Partners equally share their experience and lessons learned from the PfP process in general and IFOR/SFOR in particular. The lessons learned in former Yugoslavia, however, also implies that much work needs to be done in order to improve our ability to cooperate in peace support operations. This includes both cooperation on the political level, where participation in planning and decision making is of essence, and on the operational level, where increased interoperability and preparedness are important. Both the EAPC and the NATO/Russia Council will deal with issues related to European security in general, and with matters of military crisis management in particular. They should do so in parallel. All partners should have an equal say on issues affecting their security. The first important task for the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council will be to set up a framework that will permit all troop contributors to participate in planning and decision making related to operations in which they take part. Governments cannot be expected to put their soldier's lives at risk unless they have a say in the conduct and political oversight of the operation. Sweden welcomes the enhanced PfP cooperation and is prepared to give its contribution to a strengthened practical cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region. Likewise, we expect NATO- and Partner-countries to make their contributions. We will continue to initiate both peace support and other activities in the spirit of PfP. Tomorrow, I will officially inaugurate the Partnership for Peace Regional Training Centre outside of Stockholm. The training centre, which is being set up on a national basis, is open to all countries participating in the PfP. It will contribute to the strengthening of partner countries' ability to participate in PfP activities. The centre will conduct training and exercises in line with the overall objectives of the Partnership for Peace.