Reykjavik, Iceland 15 May 2002

Statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Solomon Passy at the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Third Panel: The adaptation of the Alliance and its impact on Partnership Secretary General, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me first thank the Icelandic Government for the hospitality and excellent organization of this meeting. I would also like to express my definitely positive attitude towards the new arrangements for the EAPC ministerial meeting that allow an efficient and free discussion and useful and unprompted exchange of opinions. In the aftermath of the 11 September tragic events the Alliance demonstrated eloquently its' capacity for adaptation to the dramatically changed security environment in the world. The NAC decision on invoking Article 5 of the Washington Treaty triggered an unprecedented broad coalition against international terrorism. My country was among the first to react as a de facto NATO Ally and will resolutely continue this policy. The crucial issue now is not whether, but how efficient and how quick the Alliance will be in responding to the new situation. The adaptation of the Alliance has to be approached in the context of the process of globalization, which inevitably will dominate the logic of progress in the twenty-first century- Whatever complications and constraints we might face, the vitality of NATO will be measured against our ability to respond adequately to the security challenges on a global scale. Even if we take the burning and extremely complicated Middle East problem it is the Euro Atlantic community that is the main deterring factor and generator of the major initiatives to find a real and lasting solution. As a current member of the UN Security Council Bulgaria represents this community and spares no effort in supporting these initiatives. The future belongs to flexible and long-range crisis response capabilities based on specialization and division of labour. To respond to this, both the internal structures and procedures of NATO and the mechanisms of partnership need deep readjustments. I would argue in favour of further differentiation and tailoring of the partnership schemes. Another priority is the optimization of burden-sharing underpinned by an adequate level of resource commitment. This should be a key element of the common effort we need to bridge the growing capabilities gap, which, if allowed to deepen further, can endanger the very fabric of the Alliance. My country as a NATO aspirant is fully aware of the responsibilities stemming from that. That is why we are allocating more than 3% of our GDP for defence and will continue doing so to build up and sustain our ability to be an efficient Ally and a net contributor to security both in our region and in the anti-terrorist campaign. The largest possible enlargement in Prague will be the best response to the new security, political and economic realities in the world- Politically, it will mean restoration of the homogeneity of the living tissue of Europe arbitrarily disrupted after World War 11. It will have also an economic impact by creating stable and trustworthy environment for investments and sound economic growth- In terms of security, in Southeast Europe our accession will bridge the security gap among Central Europe and the Southern flank thus bringing new geo-strategic advantages to the Alliance in the anti-terrorist campaign and in projecting stability towards adjacent regions. To sum up, the adaptation of the Alliance means also broadening of the zone of security in Europe thus projecting stability and prosperity. Alongside with enlargement, another facet of this inclusive approach is the building of a new quality of NATO-Russia relations, which we very much welcome. The further deepening of the regional approach is another important adaptation instrument for NATO- The successful implementation of the NATO South-East Europe Initiative (SEEI) through processes and documents like SEEGROUP and SEECAP is clear evidence to that. The NATO-oriented cooperation is the main logic underpinning the quadrilateral dialogue "2+2" between Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Turkey, which was launched by the Foreign Ministers in February and expanded to include the Ministers of Defence in April. The success of this format inspired also an unprecedented joint meeting on May 13 of the Foreign Policy and Defence Committees of the Bulgarian and Romanian Parliaments especially dedicated to our two countries common goal of joining NATO. In other words, similarly to the regions of Northern and Central Europe, the Alliance continues to generate impulses of solidarity and cooperation to the Balkans and the applicant countries are its best proponents. This is another regional, "Balkan", contribution to globalisation. It is important to stress also that the second wave of the enlargement should not be last. Furthermore, the partnership should be farther worked out and differentiated. It proved to be an important political and military instrument for crisis management, as demonstrated in the operations in the Balkans. It also breeds new security approaches and culture featured with shared responsibility and solidarity in action. Tailoring the partnership to the new challenges is an indispensable part of the NATO adaptation. Thank you for the attention.