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Updated: 11-Mar-2003 NATO Speeches

NATO HQ

11 March 2003

Press point

by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson and Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy

LORD ROBERTSON (NATO Secretary General): Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We’ve just completed the 18th meeting between the North Atlantic Council and the Political and Security Committee of the European Union. This meeting was of particular significance, because it marks the virtual completion of what is known as the Berlin Plus agenda, that is the detailed and complicated set of relationships that will bind NATO and the E.U. together in handling future crises in Europe.

And a very large volume of people has been exchanged between us, which will make up the body of documentation that will allow the European Union to take over operations in the Balkans from NATO, but also provide the basic framework for the future relationship between us, providing another option in the European theatre for crisis management.

On the basis of our discussions today and the exchange of information, we are virtually at the point of making that decision, where the NATO operation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will be taken over by the European Union, on a basis of just as robust, just as tough, just as strong commitment to preserving peace and security in that country has been on display since NATO first deployed some two years ago.

We’re working very closely together, NATO and the EU, both on these operations, but also on civil emergency planning, consequence management if terrorists should attack, on terrorism as a whole, and indeed on developing a broad framework for a strategic relationship between the two countries. But the framework, the Berlin Plus framework is a very considerable achievement and follows on the historic agreement at Copenhagen between NATO, with the EU leaders, which was paralleled by discussions in here on the 13th of December as well.

So a big step today in NATO - E.U. relations, leading, we hope, in the near future, to a very historic hand-over of a crisis management operation, the first one to be taken on by the European Union under its E.S.T.P. plan.

Javier...

JAVIER SOLANA (High Representative, EU): Thank you very much, George.

The first thing I would like to say is a word of thanks, of thanks to all the people who have worked in such a short period of time towards the big achievement of today. I remember, as Lord Robertson said, that we started working at the end of the month of December, when we finished. And the European Union is keen for the Berlin plan and therefore, we’ve been working a few weeks, if I may say, but at such a rhythm, that proves the capability of both organizations to work together and to work in an efficient manner together.

So my first words of thanks to all the people here, and in the European Union, who have spent many hours working together in order to come to this conclusion. I’d like to say that Berlin Plus, as Secretary General Lord Robertson has said, is a strategic key, whereby the European Union and NATO are going to relate to each other. That is a very important strategic concept and that is really something that we allowed both organizations to do their job, which is a job which can be defined as common in some matters: Security, stability - not only in the region in which we are now, but even beyond the region that we are in now.

So therefore, it’s a very important strategic document. We’re going to continue working along those lines, to evaluate what we can do together strategically in the Balkans, but as the Secretary General has said, we have talked today about the operation in fYROM.

I’d like to say that we have finished, in the European Union, the operation of a plan. We have passed it to NATO. NATO is going to analyse it, is going to give it back to us in a question of days, and therefore, we’ll be in a position to do the appropriate transfer of the operation.

As I said and I would like to emphasize one again, that has been done in a very short period of time, proving that both organizations are not only willing, but ready to work efficiently together. This is an example that I think is very important and very reassuring for all the people of Europe and all the people from the Balkans.

Thank you very much.

NATO SPOKESMAN: Questions please, starting with...

Q: Mister Solana, when do you think that the European Union could take over, exactly in Macedonia? And mister Robertson, you say that today, there was a virtual conclusion of the set of Berlin Plus. What do you mean by that? There are still some problems to overcome?

ROBERTSON: Well, there’s no new problems to overcome, but there are some final details that still have to be put in place. This is one of the biggest projects, that really has ever been embarked upon by NATO and by the European Union and getting the details into place is going to be critically important, not just for immediate operations, but for the future as well.
So today did mark almost the end of that process and the small details that still remain as now seen as being shoe-stoppers, but they are small technical details that need to put in place before the actual decision can be taken by both organizations. But that will happen very soon.

SOLANA: Maybe let me answer part of your question. We will take over Allied Harmony, which is the operation that now has been granted by NATO. But of course, it will be adapted to the needs of the new times and I’d like to say also that the European Union has had the responsibility already in their countries. Responsibilities are more related to our economic beliefs, etc..., etc... So we will be able to have a comprehensive approach to a country that we would like to help to be part of the European Union.

We have signed with them. They were the first country with which we signed a stabilization and association agreement. They were the first and then, we’ve been working in a very, very intense manner in the last period of time, and we intend to continue working with them.

I think that the date that we have fixed with them, which is at the end of this month - I would have liked to say exactly the date - it will be before the end of the month.

Q: How many (inaudible)... European Union, this weekend will participate in formal defence Minister’s Council in Athens? What exactly are you trying to do in order to improve the common foreign and security policy, especially on defence? Thank you.

SOLANA: I don’t know if I follow properly. It’s true. We have a meeting of ministers of defence. Lord Robertson will be with us Friday and Saturday morning and from our point of view, we are going to analyze, basically, fundamentally - and I’d like to underline that - capabilities.

I’d like to say once again that we can have structure, we can have discussion, we can have meetings, but if we don’t have the development capabilities, that amounts to very little. So to get a good meeting, a solid meeting in what... the effort that has been made in the last period of time on capabilities is reassessed and also, to continue working in upgrading the capabilities. That is important for us, the European Union. It’s important for NATO also and that is why we are going to...

The Secretary General is invited, Lord Robertson, to see how we can, together, work all for the development of capabilities. As I said meeting, structures are very important, but without capabilities, amount to very little.

ROBERTSON: I agree with that.

Q: A question for Lord Robertson. If there is a war in Iraq, is there any question that you would postpone the 26 March signing ceremony for the protocols, for the seven new members.

ROBERTSON: Well, you’re making a presumption which I’m not going to accept for the moment. I hope that Saddam Hussein will comply with resolution 1441, in which case there will no need for the U.N. Security Council to contemplate what they meant by severe consequences in resolution 1441. And the signing of the protocols is scheduled to take place and I see no reason at all why it should be postponed or cancelled.

NATO SPOKESMAN: Last question please.

Q: Mondère Nemry, ABO-DHABI T.V. Une question pour monsieur Solana et une question pour Lord Robertson. Monsieur Solana, il semble que les positions sont divisés au sein du Conseil de la Sécurité. Au cas - et il semble que les États-Unis sont décidés, quand même, à aller à la guerre - quelle sera, finalement, la position de l’Union Européenne?

Deuxième question, pour Lord Robertson: Vous avez résolu la problématique de la Turquie au sein de l’OTAN, mais on remarque aujourd’hui que la Turquie déploie aussi ses troupes militaires vers le nord de l’Irak. Donc, la question aujourd’hui: La Turquie n’est plus menacée par l’Irak. Quelle sera éventuellement la position de l’OTAN?

SOLANA: Pour répondre à la première partie de la question, comme vous le savez bien, l’Union européenne n’a pas une position dans le Conseil de sécurité. Il y a des pays qui sont représentés là, mais il n’y a pas de représentation formelle de l’Union européenne. Première chose.

Deuxième chose. Je ne crois pas que la décision d’aller à la guerre n’ait été prise par personne. Et donc, il faut continuer, comme le Secrétaire général a répondu à la question précédent, il faut continuer pour éviter la guerre, pour faire tous les efforts pour éviter la guerre. Pour ça, c’est nécessaire la coopération de Saddam Hussein. Il faut qu’il se désarme. Et nous voudrions sans doute qu’il se désarme de manière pacifique. Mais c’est la situation actuelle, et je ne veux pas aller plus loin maintenant. Et on verra comment les choses se dérouleront dans les prochaines heures, dans les prochains jours. Mais pour l’instant, la position de l’Union, c’est la position que je viens d’expliquer.

ROBERTSON: I hope you’ll let me reply in English, because I think it is likely to be more comprehensible. NATO is giving assistance to Turkey because Turkey, as an ally, has asked for help at a time when it believes that there could be a threat from Iraq of pre-emptive... a possible pre-emptive attack and we are following that too. That does not stop Turkey making its own provisions from its own defence in its own way, because the nations of NATO are quite sovereign in making those decisions.

So I have no knowledge of what you’re talking about, but Turkey will inevitably want to defend itself as it believes that it is under threat, in addition to those elements of help that it gets as being part of this alliance.

NATO SPOKESMAN: Merci beaucoup. Thanks very much.

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