3 Feb. 2002

Lord Robertson addresses NATO's future at Munich Conference NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson addressed the question of NATO's future at the annual Conference on Security Policy in Munich, Germany, on 3 February. Lord Robertson emphasised NATO's relevance in the wake of 11 September terrorist attacks, but warned that the European Allies and Canada had to improve their military capabilities to avert US unilateralism. "The critics were wrong after the Cold War and the Gulf War," he told the audience of defence ministers and security experts. "They are wrong now. NATO is not only a part of the campaign against terrorism - it is an essential part." Lord Robertson urged the European Allies and Canada to invest in crisis-management capabilities, lest the gap between their forces and those of the United States became "unbridgeable". And he called on the United States to assist European and Canadian defence modernisation by easing restrictions on technology transfer and industrial cooperation. Additional information: "NATO's Future" - Speech by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson at the Munich Conference on Security Policy Webmodule: NATO and the Scourge of Terrorism The official website of the Munich Conference on Security Policy