NATO HQ 21 Feb. 2000

Remarks to the Press by the Secretary General following the Joint Meeting of NATO and WEU Councils during CMX/CRISEX Exercise Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, As Secretary General Solana has just pointed out, we have just finished a very useful and interesting meeting of the NATO and WEU Councils. As you know, this was not one of our usual meetings because we have met half way through our crisis management exercise, CMX - CRISEX 2000. We have thus been discussing not real life events but developments in a fictitious scenario on which the exercise is based. Nonetheless, this is for both NATO and the WEU a very important joint meeting and a very useful exercise. We have made this exercise even more demanding by including a NATO only collective defence scenario as well. This will really test our capacity to manage a crisis of our own while simultaneously helping the WEU to handle an altogether different situation. The WEU is taking the lead in this peace-keeping operation, and NATO is providing assets and capabilities to support the WEU. This is the first time that we are testing the crisis management mechanisms and procedures as well as the consultation arrangements between the WEU and NATO that we have built up over the last few years. The two NATO Commands, SHAPE and SACLANT, and the capitals of 30 WEU/NATO nations are all involved. Through this exercise, we are demonstrating that NATO and the WEU are indeed able to work together to address an emerging crisis. As both Councils agreed this morning, the exercise so far has gone smoothly. This has been helped by the fact that over the last few years, our two organisations have developed a culture of close cooperation. We regularly exchange information, send representatives to each other's meetings and cooperate closely on planning. This exercise is also a demonstration of NATO's long standing support for the development of a European Security and Defence Identity. Once the exercise finishes this Wednesday, we will immediately begin to examine the lessons learned. I am certain that we are going to gain plenty of valuable experience to enable us to improve our procedures so that they could stand the test of a real crisis in which NATO would support a European-led operation, whether led by the WEU or the EU. As I share this platform today with Javier Solana, as well as with Ambassador Fernando Andresen-Guimaraes, whose country currently holds the presidencies of both the WEU and the EU, I would like to make the point that NATO's work continues in real life to support the current initiative in the European Union to develop its own security and defence capabilities. In just a few days' time, the EU will establish its own interim security and defence structures. It is already committed to its "headline goal" which calls for 60,000 troops to be available at two months' notice. This dovetails with NATO's initiative at Washington to improve its defence capabilities in fields such as long range transport and precision weapons. It is crucial for the credibility of Europe and a healthy transatlantic relationship that these goals be achieved. Resources and real defence capabilities are what will count at the end of the day. Europe's clear determination to make rapid progress in developing its capabilities as a security actor demonstrate that this rebalancing of roles and responsibilities between Europe and North-America is an idea whose time has come. This determination bodes well for the future of both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, a stronger Europe will mean a stronger NATO, which will only enhance the safety for future generations. Working closely together, in the spirit of today's excellent meeting, I am convinced we are going to succeed. Thank you.