NATO, Brussels 31 Oct. 2006

Interview with Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Martin Erdmann Multimedia Audio file of the speech (.MP3/6662kb) Video file of the speech INTERVIEWER: We're speaking today to the Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy at NATO Headquarters, Martin Erdmann.  Mister Erdmann, thank you for taking time to speak to us. MARTIN ERDMANN (Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy at NATO Headquarters):  With pleasure. INTERVIEWER:  Now Riga is just a month away.  NATO summits happen, I believe, every two or three years, not as often as EU summits.  Tell my why NATO summits are so important. MARTIN ERDMANN: You just made the point.  I think we have to be aware that NATO summits are relatively rare events.  As you said, every two to three years.  So in comparison to other institutions like the European Union, a summit is something very special.  Why is it special?  It's so special because heads of State and government take decisions on the future evolution of NATO.  Let's recall the summit of 1991 in London where the open-door policy was decided upon.  Let's take the summit in 1999 in Washington where the current strategic concept was adopted; and the Istanbul summit when NATO agreed to take contacts with the countries of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative which means the Near and Middle East area.  So summits tend to be a very important stepping stone in the evolution of NATO.  And this is, I think, true for all the summits that we have experienced in the past almost 60 years. INTERVIEWER:  Tell me:  What is the role of your division in a summit? ERDMANN:  My division which is the political affairs division is supporting the Secretary General in preparing for the summit and assisting him to achieve consensus on all the questions that are at stake during a summit.  And we will come to these questions, I'm sure, at a later moment.  The NATO international staff has to prepare the relevant documents.  We have to prepare the draft for the communiqué of the summit declaration.  In other words, we are the support staff for the Secretary General who is the enabler himself to come to a consensus among nations. INTERVIEWER:  In the months preceding the Riga Summit, it is often being mentioned that a signal be given to Membership Action Plan or so-called MAP countries. What could the signal consist of, and why is it so important? ERDMANN:  Yes, let us have a brief look into the most recent NATO history when NATO in 1999 and 2004 invited countries altogether 10 countries of Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.  These countries have been engaged with NATO in the so-called Membership Action Plan and there are currently three nations who are still engaged and who have not yet received an invitation.  And these countries are Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania.  And these countries being in the seventh cycle of the Membership Action Plan, in other words being engaged with NATO for some seven years do seriously hope that they will receive a signal who will join NATO, who will be invited and when this will happen.  And the signal they are hoping for is exactly this question which is too early to answer at this stage because we have not yet entered into the preparations for the summit declaration.  The summit declaration will contain the answer.  INTERVIEWER:  The North Atlantic Council recently offered Georgia an intensified dialogue.  What does that mean? ERDMANN:  Intensified dialogue is an upgrading of the political dialogue between NATO and the country concerned, in this case Georgia. Currently, two countries do enjoy the intensified dialogue, namely Ukraine and Georgia most recently.  Intensified dialogue means that the NATO international staff first of all and nations are engaged with the country concerned, with view to all issues related to the reform process and with view to preparations in order to become one day a member on the Membership Action Plan.  So it's a precursor to the Membership Action Plan.  There are no timelines.  There are no time limits.  The intensified dialogue may take a couple of months or much longer period.  That depends on the performance of the individual country. INTERVIEWER:  Can you elaborate on … if the Riga Summit will hold anything for countries outside the MAP process? ERDMANN:  Indeed, one of the main political issues for the summit will be the question of restructuring, possibly restructuring and having a fresh look at our partnership relationships and these are namely three, notably our Partnership for Peace Framework, the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative namely the contacts with countries of the Gulf Region. Now, the task ahead of us is to look which tools of the partnership toolbox we can offer to countries that currently do not yet enjoy the whole range of tools and how we can enhance our practical relationship.  So in other words, we will have to see how we can improve our current partnership framework, which tools we can make available in order to foster the relations between NATO and these countries. INTERVIEWER:  What are "contact countries"?  Has there been any indication in NATO's relationship with these countries that will change the result as a result of Riga? ERDMANN:  Yes, the term "contact country" really is a very strange term.  I think there are only a few people at NATO who are happy with this.  The majority is not, including myself.  Let me, first of all, qualify what a "contact country" is.  Namely, it's not a NATO country, of course; it's not a Mediterranean Dialogue country; and it's not a "partner country".  So it's something else.  Come to be a "contact country" mainly is done through self-differentiation.  Countries who want to be engaged with NATO both in political and operational terms. INTERVIEWER:  Like Australia? ERDMANN:  Like Australia; it is a very good example, yes indeed; and New Zealand, both operationally engaged with NATO in Afghanistan, may call themselves and we call them then accordingly "contact country".  So these are countries not being part of the established partnership frameworks and on the basis of self-selection choosing in which areas the individuals countries want to be engaged with NATO and to what extent they want to be engaged. INTERVIEWER:  Thank you very much for answering all these questions, Mr. Erdmann, and good luck with the Road to Riga.  ERDMANN:  Thank you very much.