Informal Meeting of the Defence Ministers in Birmingham, UK 10 Oct. 2000

Statement to the Press by Lord Robertson, NATO Secretary General Birmingham, 10 October 2000 Good evening. Today's meeting was not intended to take decisions, but is an informal gathering to exchange views - and there can rarely have been a more appropriate time for such a meeting to debate and discuss historic events in train elsewhere. We all welcomed what's happened over the past week in Yugoslavia as offering the prospect of closing a tragic chapter in Balkan history, but I can perhaps best sum up the tenor of the discussion by repeating a phrase I used earlier today - of the imperative to turn the hope - the hope of a more stable and secure Balkan region - into a reality. For so long isolated, Yugoslavia now has the opportunity to become a full part of the new Europe. We look forward to exploring with the new government opportunities for enhanced co-operation in implementing the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina and UN Resolution 1244 in Kosovo. But these are early days. The situation is still evolving and while we need to start thinking about the future, we must also see through the work we have already begun in the region. Certainly we remain committed to fulfilling our mandate to guarantee security in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. NATO also has much else to work on, in particular building a new relationship with the EU, and also improving and reforming our national armed forces through the Defence Capabilities Initiative. Last year's Kosovo conflict demonstrated where we needed to improve and I have been pleased both by the real progress that's been made since then and Ministers' continuing commitment this afternoon. But ultimate success depends on their being enough resources. On co-operation with Europe, Defence Ministers realise they have particular responsibilities, because they know better than anyone the need to put in place arrangements that really work in practice. We can't afford to have our forces committed to operations in the future without the best possible planning, command and control and political/military direction. We've made good progress in laying the foundations for successful links with the EU, but we are not there yet. However, what I saw today was a real determination to meet the remaining challenges.