NATO HQ 13 Apr . 2005

Video interview with the Maurizio Moreno, the Permanent Representative of Italy to NATO Multimedia Audio file .MP3/2475Kb Video interview Q: Ambassador Moreno, welcome. You are the Permanent Representative of Italy to the North Atlantic Council, thank you for joining us today. Your Excellency, how would you summarize the legacy of NATO's former Secretary General Mr. Manlio Brosio? MAURIZIO MORENO (NATO Permanent Representative of Italy): Well Manlio Brosio's term as Secretary General of NATO in 1964 to 1971, coincided with a period of major transformation of the international security environment and of a critical and uneasy moments in the life of the Alliance. The new propsects opened in East-West relations in Europe by Germany's Ostpolitik ; and the repercussion of the policy of the détente on transatlantic links; France's decision to withdraw from NATO's integrated command; the storm of Middle East crisis of 1970; the explosion of the first Chinese nuclear device; and the transition of the Alliance strategic thinking from massive retaliation to flexible response were I think among the major challenges Brosio had to face. Manlio Brosio, the only Italian who held the position of Secretary General in more than half a century life of the Alliance, I think had remarkable credentials for the job: Minister of Defence from '45 to '46 immediately after the war; he served as Italian Ambassador to the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and France. An experienced diplomat, strongly committed to a transatlantic cohesion, he was I think a man of principle and vision. A patient, skilful negotiator, convinced of the importance of building confidence through dialogue, of maintaining consensus, and of preserving the Alliance's credibility and values. I think that Brosio made an invaluable and lasting contribution to the process of transformation of the Alliance. In his years of service the Harmel Report put for the first time the search for progress towards a more stable relationship with Eastern Europe high on NATO's agenda. While reaffirming the defensive function of the Alliance, Brosio intuition was that European challenges could not be addressed only through the prism of confrontation and rivalry with the Soviet Union. He was convinced that mutual and balanced force reduction could lead then to relaxation of tensions in Europe. An advocate of the political dimension of NATO as a form of discussion and strategic choices, Brosio was able to navigate the Alliance through one of the most difficult periods in its history with uncommon insights, with a sense of responsibility and dignity. In a sense the former Secretary General was a precursor of that process of transformation that constitutes a fundamental benchmark of NATO's today agenda. Q: Given this legacy of Mr. Brosio, what is your view on the current efforts to transform NATO to cope with today's security challenges? MORENO: Well I think that the Alliance is, the Alliance continues to be, the cornerstone of our collective defence and common security. Threats, however, have radically changed and have increased in number and scope. The Alliance should therefore pursue its efforts to adapt a strategy to shape its institutional framework to new challenges. The process of NATO's transformation outlined by the Prague Summit in 2002 has received a new and fresh impetus at the Istanbul Summit in June 2004. The Secretary General, Mr. de Hoop Scheffer, has been recently tasked to put forward a package of concrete proposals for fundamental review of the structure and of the working methods of the Alliance that has already been transformed in recent years through new members, new capabilities, and new relationships. In our view, in the view of the Italian government, the main objectives of the review should be to adapt the present structure to the transformation process with a view to enhancing Alliance equation; Alliance solidarity and effectiveness; to ensure greater coherence between the ambitions and the budgetary process through a more cost-effective use of resources; to further enhance the political dimension of NATO; in order to promote a better understanding of the new security challenges and the ability of NATO to be proactive. I think these are the main problems we have on our agenda and we trust that the Secretary General and the proposals he will put forward.