Madrid, Spain 4 June 2003

Opening Statement by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson Meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in Foreign Ministerial Sesssion Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to this meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in Foreign Ministerial session. Last November, at our historic Prague Summit, we set out the blueprint for the transformation of NATO and the EAPC. Today, we meet as this blueprint is being put into practice. We are in parallel implementing the Prague transformation agenda, and beginning to meet threats and build security well beyond NATO’s traditional boundaries. The recent decisions that the Alliance will assume a leading role in the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul and support Poland in Iraq demonstrate NATO’s enduring resilience, flexibility and ability to deliver. The EAPC, the world’s largest permanent coalition, is playing an important role in contributing to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and in meeting new challenges to our common security. Many of our Partners are already contributing to ISAF, building on their experience of working with the Alliance in the Balkans over many years. As our Central Asian Partners know only too well, Afghanistan has been a major source of instability in the region. NATO and its Partners are committed to long-term stability for the Afghan people and their neighbours. Our meeting today is a unique opportunity to discuss these issues, and to strengthen our mutual understanding of the challenges that lie ahead. At Prague we agreed to move our Partnership to a new level. The introduction of Individual Partnership Action Plans and the adoption of the Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism were visible proof of our determination to expand our cooperation with our Partners. At our meeting today, we will reaffirm our commitment to facing security threats together and further tailor the Partnership to our common interests. We will look in particular at the threat posed by terrorism, and reflect on how we can further intensify our cooperation to defeat it. We will also focus on the challenge of democratic transformation in the Euro-Atlantic area. Without democratic institutions and respect for human rights, there can never be lasting security. This is why democratic transformation remains a major security investment. At today's meeting, we will discuss how to make our Partnership better able to support such reform. Mesdames et Messieurs les Ministres, Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs, En un an, sept Partenaires supplémentaires deviendront des membres à part entière de l’Alliance, ce qui changera le configuration du Partenariat. Cependant, son importance ne changera pas. Ensemble, nous nous assurerons que notre Partenariat garde toute son efficacité et sa valeur pour tous. A Prague, nous avons défini un nouveau Partenariat renforcé. Notre réunion de ce jour restera une étape essentielle vers sa mise en œuvre.