Reykjavik, Iceland 15 May 2002

Remarks by H.E Kristiina Ojuland, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Estonia at the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council "The Future of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership - adding substance" Mr Chairman, I would like to make just a few remarks: First, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership has been a success and this view has been reflected in the Chairman's Progress Report as well. The necessity for such a security policy instrument is still evident, because, while facing less Cold War-type risks, we are confronted with new and equally dangerous threats. The EAPC has its coalition-building aspect, which has proven to be particularly useful after the 11th of September- But in addition to coalition-building, the partnership mechanisms should also be used for capacity-building. Second, the point of departure for every discussion about the value of the EAPC/PfP should remain clear - it is a forum for providing a link to and a framework for cooperation with the Alliance. It has no life without NATO's continued commitment. It is a tool for maintaining a constant relationship with NATO as a whole rather than with a subset of members and partners. Everything that is to be undertaken within the partnership must be relevant to all, and have the full backing and participation of NATO as a whole. Third, our cooperation should have an issue-oriented basis, addressing matters whereever and whenever they occur. I think that sometimes we should be more precise when speaking about the regional dimension, or the regional approach of the partnership. In this world of ours, everything is inter-connected, and security problems anywhere in the Euro-Atlantic area should and must concern all of us. For example, the anti-terrorist assistance to the Central Asian countries is an important issue for all the EAPC members. Everyone can and should provide what they are best at. For example, Estonia and the other Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania could even more actively pass on, inter-regionally, their common experience, which has been gained within the framework of the Membership Action Plan and PfP, as well as their experience in the fields of fighting corruption, implementing civil control of the military, and utilizing information technology- For instance, our cooperation with Georgia, in this particular aspect, has been encouraging, and we are planning to widen this exchange of experiences geographically. Thank You, Mr Chairman.