Address
by
Mr. Anton Grizold,
Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia
at the Meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
Mr. Secretary General, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure
for me to join you this morning at the Defence Minister session of the Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council. This is the first session in my term of office as well.
As a newly appointed Defence Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, I
would like to take this opportunity to reassure the Alliance that the
policy of the new Slovenian Government towards NATO has not changed. Membership
in the Alliance continues to be one of the two priorities of the newly
elected Government.
All of the aims and goals that have already been put forward in our Annual
National Programme for the implementation of the Membership Action Plan
will be carried out and implemented energetically, taking into account
the economic realities we face. Since we anticipate a steady economic
growth, we are confident that we can fulfil continuing our plans.
Slovenia has clearly shown its commitment and willingness to be an active
player and contributor in the Euro-Atlantic security arena. We have supported,
contributed and participated in the crisis management operations of the
Alliance and intend to do so in the future as well. We are prepared to
share the burden of full NATO-membership. Therefore we anticipate that
by the time of the next NATO Summit in the year 2002 the Allies will recognise
this fact by inviting Slovenia to join their ranks. In this context let
me just inform you that Slovenia is currently investigating how to start
a dialogue with NATO on the exchange of data on the air situation.
I would also like to inform the Council that Slovenia has participated
at the recent Conference of the EU Headline Goal. At this time Slovenia
made a commitment towards the catalogue of forces, which would constitute
the future European Rapid Reaction Force.
In the light of recent discussions about the role of the EAPC,
let me point out the fundamental importance of the EAPC framework
and Partnership for Peace in increasingly important efforts towards
implementing preventive measures for deterring conflicts, managing
crises and dealing effectively with security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic
area.
In this regard I would like to stress the work underway in the
EAPC and PfP to promote further practical regional co-operation
in South-Eastern Europe in order to complement the work of the Alliance
and the Stability Pact. Slovenia remains firmly committed to the
promotion of security, stability, peace and democracy in the Balkans.
This implies that we are an active player and provider in the concerted
efforts of the international community to stabilise the region.
This is not only the case in the security arena but also across
the spectrum of economic investment, humanitarian assistance, educational
projects and humanitarian demining. We want to transmit and export
our stability across the troubled region.
Slovenia is optimistic about the current developments in the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, and encouraged by the introduction of democracy
in this country. This represents a quantum leap towards stabilising
the region. However as a sign of our continued commitment to peace
in the region, given the six-month manpower review of both SFOR
and KFOR, we would like to reassure the Alliance that Slovenia's
contribution to both operations and the UN run Civilian Police will
continue to remain at least at the same level as it is now. Furthermore
we are currently in the process of investigating possible ways to
enhance our level of commitment in the future.
Finally, Slovenia would like to welcome the progress made in the implementation
of an enhanced and more operational Partnership, including the implementation
of the Political-Military Framework for NATO-led PfP operations. We believe
that the ongoing operations in the Balkans are living proof of the dividend
the Partnership for Peace is already paying to the alliance. We expect
that the improved Partnership, together with all its sub-initiatives,
will - when fully developed - reinforce PfP and Alliance capabilities.
This is why we are a strong advocate of further timely development of
its methods and mechanisms.
Thank you.
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