NATO HQ 26 October 2001

Presentation by Mr. Rafael Estrella President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Seminar "Ten Years of Partnership and Cooperation" Lord Robertson, Ministers, ladies and gentlemen, I am very honoured to be here this morning in the company of so many distinguished individuals to whom we owe Europe's radical transformation and our improved security through the past decade. And it is a pleasure for me to share with you some thoughts on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's experience in this transformation. Your letter of invitation, Lord Robertson, speaks of the "pioneering role of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in forging cooperative ties with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe". We appreciate this recognition. The Assembly has, indeed, been at the forefront of efforts to accompany and accelerate change on the continent these past 10 years. As the winds of change blew across Europe, new nations were born and others recovered their independence. The Assembly decided in 1990 to embrace the Parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe by granting them the status of "associate delegation". This development was fully consistent with the nature of the Assembly as the democratic embodiment of the Atlantic Alliance. The status of Associate delegation has enabled the representatives of the new democracies to participate in almost all Assembly activities. And we have clearly seen the benefits of this involvement: first, we created a forum where the new requirements of international security can be discussed by all the political forces represented in all the Parliaments from the Atlantic to the Urals, making clear that security was now based on co-operation not confrontation. On October 9, in Ottawa, our Assembly unanimously adopted a Declaration on The Fight Against Terrorism. Our Associated delegations expressed their desire to be associated formally with this Declaration. It is worth noting the gesture by the Russian Delegation in announcing the withdrawal of all the amendments they had submitted and fully adhering to the Declaration.. second, we have helped colleagues from Central and Eastern Europe understand that it is the responsibility of parliamentarians in a democracy to participate in national security and defence choices, a role which is particularly important in today's strategic environment. Finally, we have helped to build a basis of expertise and knowledge on defence and security issues in the parliaments of the partner countries. In doing so, the principle of democratic control of armed forces has been at the forefront of our partnership activities, always acknowledging that each of us has to find our own route to achieving this fundamental principle. Our main tool for all this has been the Rose-Roth programme, which was generously funded for 10 years by USAID. Now, we benefit of the generosity of the Swiss Government. At this very moment, Romania is hosting our 50th Rose-Roth seminar. These seminars - and the staff training programme that has been running in parallel - offer parliamentarians and their aides what I would characterise as a "systematic educational curriculum on defence issues and their own role in overseeing government policy in this field". This expertise, I believe, is directly useful to NATO, as NATO needs the understanding and support of the political leadership if it is to succeed in fostering the transformation of the armed forces of the Partner countries. In this context, I believe it is important to ensure the closest possible co-operation between NATO's PfP programme and the Assembly's work. Looking back, therefore, the role of the Assembly has been to directly reinforce NATO's new mission - security through co-operation - by encouraging and strengthening democratic structures and forces. Looking ahead, in your invitation, Mr Secretary General, you asked me for some thoughts on how this partnership and cooperation should develop. We live in a new scenario that raises dramatically the role of parliaments in defence and security matters. When addressing the responses to crisis and the requirements in the new security environment, the need for social support and for political cohesion becomes compelling. Even Governments enjoying a comfortable majority are aware of the need to resort to national parliaments as a means to be domestically accompanied in the delicate decisions they have to adopt That became clear in Kosovo, it is even more evident after September 11. On top of it, an increase of the defence budget, as advocated by the Secretary General, will require building a solid parliamentary constituency. As our Assembly, I would at once stress that the events of 11 September overshadow all of our future activities. They sharpen and intensify the need for partnership and co-operation. Bearing that in mind, in the framework of the Assembly, I would see four priorities for the future: the first would be "more of the same". We should continue to provide assistance to entrench democratic institutions, but our focus should be on the regions of greatest need. At the moment, this would be in South East Europe, particularly developing relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. But we are also turning our attention more towards the Caucasus and Central Asia. second, following the events of 11 September, the Assembly has endorsed the decisions of the Council to invoke Article 5, as the maximum expression of solidarity and the commitment to deliver assistance to our Allies. We will contribute to the struggle against terrorism by supporting the many changes required: adaptation of our intelligence services, our police, our justice systems, our diplomacy, and, of course, our armed forces. And it is clear that this re-thinking must involve co-operation among all EAPC countries, as all of us are equally at risk. The Assembly is determined to play its part in this debate. We have tasked to that end our five Committees in their respective area of specialisation. Third, and in this context, I see a particular role for the development of our co-operation with the Russian parliament, which has resumed with a new intensity. It is not an easy relation. Psychological elements appear sometimes among the most salient aspects of our dialogue. For example, when we address the mutual perceptions on NATO's changes and Russia's identity as a European power and as our partner in building security and stability. A few monts ago, General Ivashov told me: "if you had only changed NATO's name". Recently, I signed a "Framework of Co-operation" with the leadership of the Russian delegation to the Assembly. This outlines the areas of disagreement but more important, the areas where co-operation will be of mutual benefit. Terrorism will be high on this list. This will enable us to build upon the success of our Monitoring Group in which, jointly with our Russian colleagues, we together examine the implementation of the NATO-Russia Founding Act. This, along with a parallel effort with Ukraine, is underlining the complementary role that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly can play. Fourth, the Assembly will continue to accompany and support the accession of new members to the Alliance. We want enlargement to happen. Our ambitions go well beyond the zero option and most members would not be satisfied with just two or three new Allies. We help prepare the ground for debates that have to on in all our parliaments; but we also provide practical assistance to the applicants to prepare them for membership. And we are grateful to NATO for generously lending us its expertise to assist us in this work. Last, but not least, the Assembly will pursue its dialogue with partners on the Southern and Eastern rims of the Mediterranean, an area where yet again we have to address mutual perceptions alongside with visible and tangible crisis. That is why I particularly welcome the recent meeting at 19+7 of NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue. At this particular juncture, as the question of the relationship between Islam and the West is raised anew, and the Arab-Israeli conflict requires a solution more urgently than ever, it is essential that we think about Cooperation and Partnership not only in East-West terms, but also along the North-South dimension. Thank you very much for your attention.