The Alliance is pleased and honoured today to welcome
Foreign Minister Andrews of Ireland. As a member of the European Union,
Ireland has long been an important factor in the building of a more
integrated and peaceful Europe. And by joining the Partnership for Peace
and the EAPC, Ireland today marks another step in her contribution to
a new, more stable, and more secure Europe.
In today's interconnected world, security means more than safeguarding
our national territories. We must also seek to shape our wider security
environment. The destabilising effects of regional conflicts, for
example, can be felt far from their point of origin. That is why security
today means putting engagement over indifference.
Ireland has long acted in accordance with this logic. For many years
Ireland has been one of the foremost contributors of well-trained
troops to international peacekeeping missions. Our operations in Bosnia
and Kosovo have also benefited greatly from the Irish contribution
of a military police company to SFOR and a transport company to KFOR.
Ireland's participation in NATO's Ad Hoc Group on Cooperation Peacekeeping
is another clear sign of her determination to contribute to wider
security and stability in Europe. Participation in PfP and EAPC will
make Ireland's contribution even more effective.
Like some other countries which have joined the Partnership, Ireland
first debated whether such a step would possibly compromise certain
longstanding national principles concerning security. Your presence
here today, Minister Andrews, indicates that such fears have been
laid to rest. Let me use this opportunity to stress once again that
Partnership for Peace does not imply a commitment to join or participate
in a military alliance. It provides an opportunity for practical military
and defence-related cooperation in a framework flexible enough to
accommodate countries with widely different security traditions.
The next step will be to agree on an Individual Partnership Programme
for Ireland, a Programme which suits your needs and accords with the
goals of the Partnership. We also look forward to our consultations
in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. The EAPC has become an invaluable
asset for wide-ranging political consultation and practical cooperation
between more than 40 nations from the Euro-Atlantic area. Ireland
will be a most welcome addition to this forum.
By signing the Partnership for Peace Document today, we are opening
a new chapter in relations between Ireland and the 19 NATO Allies.
It is our hope and our desire that this new relationship will contribute
substantively to security and stability in the entire Euro-Atlantic
region.
Minister Andrews, once again welcome, and I now give you the floor.
