Rome 25 Jan. 1999

The Fiftieth Anniversary of The Atlantic Alliance "NATO: Its 50th Anniversary - The Washington Summit - The Next Century" Speech by Dr. Javier Solana, NATO Secretary General Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Fundamental, structural changes in international relations generally take place slowly. The effects of those changes can take even longer to materialize. I am reminded of something Chou-Enlai said on a visit to Paris in the 1950s. When asked what he thought of the effects of the French Revolution, the Chinese Prime Minister paused, reflected, and then said, "It's too soon to tell". In April, the Alliance will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a Summit meeting in Washington, the city where the North Atlantic Treaty was signed. On that occasion we will celebrate the achievements of the organisation that has already ensured the longest period of peace in Europe. In doing so, we will also take note of the essential contribution NATO has made to the fundamental transformations to which we are witness today. This is in many ways a period as formative as the years after the Second World War. Nothing could illustrate this better than the launching of European Monetary Union three weeks ago. It is visible proof that the face of Europe is changing -and that much of the goals set by our predecessors half a century ago - by De Gasperi, Adenauer or Monnet - have been realised. Today, the vision of a united Europe is no longer just a vision. Nor is the goal of a Europe whole and free still a seemingly-unattainable objective. As the process of European integration deepens and widens, our continent will finally overcome the remnants of its erstwhile division. At the end of this turbulent 20th century, we can say that Europe has seized the chance for a new beginning it was given 50 years ago. If the story of European integration is a success story, it is not because of Europe alone. North America must get equal credit. It was North America's role in Europe that helped plant the seeds of European integration. The democracies of North America helped in protecting those of Europe against an existential threat, but they also persuaded - indeed urged - the Europeans to get their act together and unite. Today, Europe and North America have evolved into the strongest community of like-minded nations anywhere. Their ability to shape the strategic environment has never been greater. It is a community that others are eagerly awaiting to join. It is a community that is preparing for the 21st century. NATO, the Atlantic Alliance, has been the centrepiece of this community from the very beginning. It has never been just a military Alliance - it has been an Alliance of values as well. It has never been concerned only with the defence of territory, but also with the defence of common values. What unites us are shared interests, not shared threats. That is why this Alliance has remained so strong beyond the end of the Cold War. And that is why this Alliance has been able to change the security landscape in Europe for the better. NATO's 50th Anniversary, therefore, gives us every reason to celebrate this historic achievement. Yet celebration must not be mistaken for complacency. The project of managing security is far from over. Indeed, the 21st century will confront us with a set of entirely new challenges, for which we need to be prepared: Globalisation, for example, offers our societies the opportunity to become more creative and prosperous; but it also makes them more vulnerable. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction may result in new threats to our territories and societies. And perhaps most immediately, regional conflicts will confront us with a cruel choice between costly indifference and costly engagement. Now that the Cold War is over, we are faced not with one single all-embracing threat but with a multitude of new risks and challenges. Many of them are here in the southern region of the Alliance, and particularly in the Balkans. In the former Yugoslavia the collapse of communism has not brought democracy and the move towards integration, as elsewhere in Europe, but rather disintegration, ethnic intolerance and the use of force to impose solutions. In this new strategic context, Italy has become, even more than in the past, a key member of the Alliance. None of our efforts to stabilize the situation in Bosnia and now Kosovo would be possible without the solidarity, political guidance and active contribution of Italy. Our air and naval operations to support the United Nations in Bosnia, and today to support the OSCE in Kosovo, all depend on the use of Italian bases and facilities. If force has to be used tomorrow to bring about a political solution to the crisis in Kosovo, Italy's support will be a crucial factor. In the Kosovo crisis, NATO is engaging, as is the rest of the international community, to try bring an end to hostilities. The current state of constant violence and political oppression cannot continue. NATO must be ready to act if that is the only way to bring about a political solution to this crisis. Our objectives will be clear. First, to help prevent a humanitarian catastrophe caused by refugees and displaced persons fleeing the violence - a catastrophe that we narrowly averted last autumn. Second, to help to protect the human and civil rights of the people of Kosovo; and third to help to achieve a political settlement for Kosovo based on a large measure of autonomy for this region within the frontiers of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo is not only an immediate crisis - it is also an illustration of the complexity of today's security challenges. We cannot overcome these challenges with yesterday's formulas and recipes. For NATO, thus, celebrating its 50th anniversary can only mean looking ahead: getting ready for the challenges of the next century. NATO's evolution throughout the 1990s laid the groundwork. The Washington Summit will bring together the different aspects of NATO's adaptation and set out the way ahead. At the Washington Summit, we will welcome for the first time the Heads of State and Government of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland as full members of the Alliance. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a most striking change in the Euro-Atlantic system. In just ten years, these countries have made a startling, and historic transition. They have become vibrant democracies; they have thriving market economies; and they are, once again, active members of the international community. In becoming NATO members, these countries definitively rejoin the European family; and in so doing, they demonstrate concretely that there are no more dividing lines in Europe. This is only a stage along the way to NATO's further enlargement. Our policy in that respect is consistent: NATO's door remains open to countries willing and able to contribute to Allied security. Moreover, we are working on a package of measures to be approved by the Summit, designed to bring Partner countries closer to the Alliance and to help those countries who aspire to future membership in meeting NATO standards. The Summit will also strengthen our cooperation and involvement with countries throughout the Euro-Atlantic region spanning from Portugal to Finland, from Canada to Central Asia. We have created mechanisms to this end. First, a forum for consultation and cooperation bringing together Allies and Partners, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. It has proven its value most recently in connection with the crisis in Kosovo. But it can do more: areas like regional security cooperation, for example, need to be explored further. Second, a programme which, in its fifth year, has become an indispensable means of helping our Partner countries to restructure their armed forces and to improve their ability to work with NATO in responding to crises, including in Bosnia. We call it Partnership for Peace. One key area where this programme has proved invaluable in dealing with an immediate crisis situation is in Albania. From the outset of the Kosovo crisis, NATO held emergency consultations with Albania. Subsequently, we have given Albania practical assistance; for instance we have established a NATO Cell in Tirana; we have held an exercise last summer; we have provided support for the training of Albanian border guards and we have developed a programme for transporting stocks of ammunition into safe storage centres under government control. At the Summit, we will present a framework that will allow Partners to become even more involved in defining our programme. For instance, we will extend Partner involvement in political consultations, decision-making, command arrangements and planning for NATO-led crisis response and peace support operations. Interoperability between Allies and Partners will also increase. The Washington Summit will also highlight the importance of the NATO-Russia relationship. Russia may be a country of many contradictions; it may be uncertain of its role in this emerging new Europe; but one thing is clear: there can be no security in Europe without a stable Russia. Political and economic turmoil in Russia can have a wider effect. Indeed, in the Russian Government's latest national security assessment, they identified economic difficulties as their number one security challenge. Indeed, if we want to help bringing this country into the European mainstream, there is only one chance: that North America and Europe do this together. The EU and the US account for roughly 60% of the world economy. The close coordination of these two solid economic centres is essential if Russia - and others - is to be helped in a meaningful way. Helping Russia is not an act of charity, but of enlightened self-interest. For if we want to manage the challenges of the 21st century, we need to have Russia on board - a stable, democratic, self-confident Russia, a Russia that can make a major contribution to European security. The NATO-Russia Founding Act and the Permanent Joint Council provide us with the opportunities to achieve such a relationship. They have set the stage to cooperate with Russia on issues which may pose the greatest security challenges of the future - proliferation, environmental damage, nuclear safety, or terrorism. Again, a dramatic change in relations, in a very short period of time! The Summit will also give the emerging NATO-Ukraine relationship a strong boost. With NATO's help, a stable, democratic Ukraine can become a net contributor to security and stability in Europe. The Summit will also take stock of our Mediterranean dialogue. If our aim is to shape the security environment in the wider sense, then we cannot ignore the Southern shores of the Mediterranean. Even if the main challenges in this region are economic and political, NATO can provide useful functions by dispelling mistrust and encouraging multilateral solutions to regional security. If NATO's track record vis--vis Eastern Europe is any guide, then we will also be able to generate new relationships with the nations to our South. Our Mediterranean dialogue will grow in importance. We have established a Mediterranean Cooperation group to conduct a regular political dialogue with 6 Mediterranean countries. We have been cooperating with 3 of them in the military field in our SFOR mission in Bosnia. At the Summit, we will consider how we can develop this dialogue further. But, in doing so, we will be receptive to what our 6 Mediterranean dialogue countries want. They must also tell us how far - and how fast - they wish to go in terms of both political and military contacts with the Alliance. As we continue to strengthen our key co-operative relationships and programmes with non-NATO countries, we have also been putting the finishing touches on a far-reaching adaptation of the Alliance itself. It includes a reformed command structure and a new headquarters concept. This adaptation will keep NATO strong and able to function as a coherent politico-military alliance in a very different security environment. NATO's internal adaptation will allow us to provide for our collective defence and contribute to collective security. It allows us to continue to meet our fundamental collective defence commitments, yet also to deploy forces in support of peace missions. By the time of our Summit, this work will be completed. But the Summit will go beyond taking stock of NATO's adaptation. It will also launch new initiatives that will further improve NATO's military effectiveness. For example, we are preparing a defence capabilities initiative, to improve interoperability and sustainability among Alliance forces. This initiative will help ensure that the military forces of Allies remain on the same wavelength, and are able to move distances effectively and quickly. We are also preparing a Summit initiative on weapons of mass destruction. As I pointed out before, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will be a major challenge of the next century. These weapons can pose a risk not only to our national territories, but also to our troops which may be involved in peacekeeping missions. Sharing information among Allies on the proliferation problem should thus be the first step towards a more comprehensive strategy to deal with this problem. But in order to implement this agenda successfully, one more ingredient is required: a new transatlantic bargain. Today, we see a European Union with a common currency, a Common Foreign and Security Policy, and a commitment to take in new members beyond the present 15 EU countries. It is only natural that NATO, too, will reflect this evolution. That is why our Alliance must have a stronger European personality, where North American and European Allies have the means to decide how best to act in response to each challenge. The success of Operation Alba demonstrates the importance of European capabilities, and I congratulate Italy on the leadership role it played in that operation. The development of the European Security and Defence Identity within the Alliance will enable NATO to support European-led operations. Not only will this prevent duplication, it will also contribute to a more mature transatlantic relationship, where roles and responsibilities are shared more equitably. To achieve such a new transatlantic bargain is perhaps NATO's greatest challenge. But it also offers the greatest payoff: a dynamic NATO within a vibrant transatlantic community. All these elements of NATO's adaptation will be tied together at the Washington Summit into one single, coherent framework: a revised Strategic Concept. This document will also be published at the Washington Summit. In essence, the Strategic Concept will synthesize NATO's many innovations with its enduring tasks and principles. NATO's new roles in crisis management and non-proliferation will feature prominently in this new Concept, as will the new mechanisms of partnership and cooperation. The Strategic Concept will thus be a key document to explain and guide the activities of the Alliance in the years ahead. This is a formidable agenda. It will bring NATO more in line with the security environment of the next century. It confirms that the Washington Summit will be far more than a celebration of past achievements. It will be a major opportunity to look ahead and chart NATO's course into the 21st century. Ladies and Gentlemen, It may well be too soon to determine the effects of the French Revolution. But let me dare to assess the changes of the last ten years, and look into NATO's future. The NATO of the 21st century will be a promoter of security: taking on new missions to manage crises; tackling new risks; and, perhaps most important, working with every country in the Euro-Atlantic area to build security through cooperation. In so doing, we will go a long way towards fulfilling the vision of De Gasperi, Acheson and all those other wise men who set this Alliance on track - a mere 50 years ago. Thank you.