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Updated: 13-Jun-2001 NATO Speeches

At the North
Atlantic Council NATO HQ,
Brussels
13 June 2001

Speech

by Gerhard Schröder,
Federal Chancellor of Germany

Mr Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Strengthening the transatlantic relationship is fundamental to peace and stability.

Our Euro-Atlantic community of states is the most essential factor for democratic stability and economic prosperity across the world today.

The current situation in the Balkans is again a matter of serious concern. Stability of South East Europe remains a crucial issue which requires close coordination and joint action by all allies on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

I seize this opportunity to expressly thank President Bush for the preparedness of the new US Administration to continue to share responsibility with us Europeans (and of course with Canada) in the Balkans.

Unfortunately, our hopes for a peaceful development in South East Europe, after the change of government in Belgrade, have not yet been fulfilled.

The violent action by Albanian rebels in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the polarization of the ethnic groups are jeopardizing the future of the country.

There can be no military solution to the crisis in FYROM. Europe and the Balkans need to see a swift end to violence and substantial results in the internal political dialogue that will preserve FYROM as a multi-ethnic and democratic society.

All energies of the EU and NATO must now be concentrated on that goal. EU High Representative Javier Solana needs the Alliance's full and continuing support for his intensive efforts to bring peace to FYROM.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The leitmotif of partnership and solidarity is also the determining factor for the members of the European Union in their efforts to develop a Common European Security and Defence Policy.

We Europeans want to enhance the EU's capability for action in the field of security policy, and by doing so, we want to strengthen our Alliance. We do not want the EU to be obliged to put in place structures parallel to NATO.

This is why Germany attaches particular importance to a close and early coordination between the EU and NATO.

The Federal Government emphatically supports an adequate participation of the European NATO members that are not part of the EU in the European Security and Defence Policy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

More than ten years after the fall of the Wall, we must thoroughly review the instruments and structures developed to ensure security in what used to be a bipolar world.

Potential new threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery require, in the opinion of Germany, a comprehensive response which must include considerations on possible defensive measures in the same way as, most importantly, the question of how to contain and prevent such threats, with a view to creating the prerequisites for disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation.

In this context we are committed not least to strengthening the arms control architecture, and in particular the Missile Technology Control Regime, as well as to creating the conditions for further steps towards nuclear disarmament, on the basis of international agreements.

On the issue of a missile defence system Germany welcomes the wide-ranging dialogue with the allies that the US Administration under President Bush has initiated.

In this connection, however, we still see a host of issues that need to be clarified and therefore we must and indeed will be continuing intensive discussions on this subject within the framework of the Alliance.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At our next summit in Prague we will be reviewing the process of NATO enlargement.

The Alliance has declared its doors open to all European democracies and offered them comprehensive partnership. The Federal Government remains committed to that offer.

The continuation of the enlargement process in Prague will form part of our joint efforts to create a stable all-European peace order.

Four years after the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, the Federal Government is particularly keen that we should further expand this cooperation with a view to strengthening peace and stability in Europe.

We invite Russia's leaders to continue along the path of democratic reform, and we remain ready to cooperate with them in this endeavour.

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