Madrid, Spain 3 June 2003

Intervention by Mr. Franco Frattini, Mnister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, at the Meeting of the North Atlantic Council, Madrid, 3 June 2003 Mr. Secretary General, dear colleagues: NATO has had a fundamental role in allowing the Allies to address the challenges together, to share risks and responsibilities, and to work in a common framework, taking into account different opinions and positions. I believe that this commitment, the essence of the Alliance itself, is worth repeating here today in Madrid. The significant changes that have occurred in the international strategic context following the tragic events of September eleventh, the increasingly threatening challenges posed by terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, should lead us to rediscover, in a world searching for stability, the advantages to working together for our common security. This is why we agreed to strengthen our military capabilities at Prague. At the NAC meeting on May twenty-eighth, we were pleased to verify that the process is on the right track. We know that NATO will be able to guarantee a more secure future if its members make the efforts needed to address these new challenges. The tragic sequence of attacks during the last few months and the serious crises in several crucial areas in the world, from the Balkans to Afghanistan, demonstrate dramatically our vulnerability faced with an invisible and unpredictable enemy. NATO, as always the bulwark of our security and the vehicle for strong ties between Europe and the United States, can no longer remain idle in face of the tremendous threats that hang over our populations. Along the lines of the Prague Summit, NATO must, without renouncing its critical function of collective defense, continue to develop its "global" vocation. This should be based on a security concept that it not limited to purely military aspects. The strengthening of our military capacities is certainly indispensable, but we also need to couple them with a long-term vision, so that the Alliance can maintain a dynamic role. Our efforts should be focused on creating an Alliance capable of acting outside of Europe, to address the challenges that matter. In other words, we hope that NATO can project security and democracy in the various regions of instability, from which threats originate. Our common values must also become common actions. In this perspective, aimed at redefining the Alliance's role in the new century, we fully supported the decision to take on the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. We are confident that this decision will, with time, help to bring stability not only to Kabul but also to larger areas of the country, as requested by the Afghan Authority and the United Nations. With the same spirit of openness, we supported Poland's request for planning assistance from NATO to prepare for its contribution to the international stabilization mission in Iraq. We intend to operate with pragmatism and flexibility so that, following this first, indirect type of NATO involvement in Iraq, other, more ambitious actions will follow. The recent approval of U.N. Security Resolution 1483 paves the way for this role. We know that it will be a laborious process. But we are confident, knowing that it will also help to relaunch the importance and validity of the transatlantic link. NATO, together with moderate Arab countries, could provide an international security presence, to which Italy is prepared to make a contribution. In this, evolutionary process, the relationship of the Alliance with its partners will play a fundamental role. The harmonious development of cooperation between NATO and the EU remains one of the fundamental objectives that inspires our actions in both organizations, linked by strong complementarity. We maintain that the progressive consolidation of ESDP will contribute to the strengthening of the European pillar of NATO, by taking advantage of synergies and avoiding duplication. The activation of the Berlin Plus agreements now allows the EU to do its part, in conjunction with the Atlantic Alliance, to provide security and stability. In this respect, we hope that the Concordia operation in FYROM will not remain an isolated event but rather become the reference point for future increased EU responsibilities in the Balkans. We believe that a window of opportunity is opening to design a peaceful future for the region. Therefore, now more than ever, also the Alliance should play a dynamic role in strengthening the cooperation and the trust of our Mediterranean partners. The security of the entire Euro-Atlantic region is linked with the security of the Mediterranean and surrounding countries.