Madrid, Spain 3 June 2003 .MP3/2264Kb

Opening Statement by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson at the Meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the Level of Foreign Ministers Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to this meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Foreign Ministers session. We meet as the Atlantic Alliance prepares to take on new tasks, in new parts of the world. Once again, NATO is called upon to change and to face new challenges. And once again, we are succeeding. Because this Alliance is unique. Since the headlines are still peppered with gloomy predictions about transatlantic drift, let me remind everyone about the reality of our post-Prague Summit Alliance. First, NATO was, is, and will remain the ultimate guarantor of the collective defence of its member states. To be in NATO means never going to war with each other again and never having to face security challenges alone. Invoking Article 5 of the Washington Treaty on September 12, 2001, was one very clear example. Meeting our defence commitment to Turkey in difficult times earlier this year was yet another. Second, NATO was, is, and will remain the key forum for transatlantic consultation. Our agenda in Madrid ranges from the Balkans across the Euro-Atlantic area, into Afghanistan and Iraq. Dialogue of this kind builds common approaches to new security challenges. Third reason, NATO was and is, and will remain the keystone of an effective Euro-Atlantic security architecture. The Alliance is at the centre of a historically unprecedented web of partnerships, all contributing to peace and stability throughout the Euro-Atlantic area. The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council is developing closer and more tailored cooperation among 46 countries from Albania to Uzbekistan. The strategic Partnership that we have with the European Union has been formalised in the groundbreaking Berlin Plus arrangements and applied in the first EU military operation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1). The NATO-Russia Council has finally replaced Cold War hostility with real cooperation on shared interests. Together with the NATO-Ukraine Commission and with our Mediterranean Dialogue, these relationships ensure that this continent will never again be divided and devastated by war. So NATO and its partners are the world's largest permanent coalition. And NATO itself is the world’s most effective military organisation. We have an unsurpassed track record of meeting the most demanding military tasks. It was NATO's military effectiveness which stopped the bloodshed in the Balkans. Now, NATO’s members have agreed that the Alliance should take on the challenges of meeting threats and building security well beyond our traditional boundaries. Because real security requires engagement, not indifference. That is why we have taken on the demanding task of leading the International Security Assistance Force in the Afghan capital of Kabul. That is why we agreed only yesterday to provide planning and other support to our Polish Ally in helping to bring stability to Iraq. These new tasks reinforce an enduring truth: NATO combines flexibility and effectiveness like no other organisation. To be able however to undertake missions of this kind successfully, NATO and its member countries must be able to deal with today’s threats from wherever they may come and that means a comprehensive transformation of our national and collective military capabilities. The blueprint that was agreed at Prague is now being turned into reality: a new cutting edge NATO Response Force; the Prague Capabilities Commitment; a radically streamlined command structure; and a fresh look at missile defence. The result will provide the indispensable platform for NATO operations and missions undertaken by other organisations and coalitions. Prague gave new vitality to our Alliance and demonstrated why countries in Europe are queuing up to join us. Seven countries will do so next year. They are well on course in their preparations and we are well on course in our preparations to receive them and ensure that this largest ever enlargement of NATO truly strengthens the Alliance. So the reality is that with new members, new capabilities and deepened partnerships, we are ensuring that the new NATO will remain the bedrock of transatlantic security in the 21st century. I will now give the floor to the host nation of Spain. First I would like to put on record on behalf of the whole of the NAC our deep commiserations for the tragic air crash in Turkey and for the loss of so many brave Spanish soldiers, as well as our sympathy and solidarity for last week’s terrorist attack. We stand in sympathy and close solidarity. Fighting for peace is never easy. We all feel the grief of the Spanish people in these difficult days. Minister Palacio of Spain, you have the floor. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.