8 Oct. 2002

NATO Secretary General addresses European Parliament NATO's Prague Summit will provide a good opportunity to finish building effective NATO-EU relations, said Lord Robertson in a speech to the European Parliament on 8 October. The Secretary General was speaking to the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Defence Policy and Common Security in Brussels. In his address, the Secretary General outlined the priorities on NATO's agenda ahead of the Prague Summit and called for the institutionalisation of NATO-EU co-operation. 'The progress we have made so far has been largely made by improvisation. These achievements could all disappear in a second, if we cannot 'lock them in' by putting in place permanent arrangements between NATO and the EU,' he said. The Secretary General also explained that NATO's Prague Summit goals ' including the proposed NATO Response Force ' are complementary to the European Union's initiatives. "We are not in competition but cooperating to achieve complementary goals. If we fail, you fail. And if you fail, we fail. It is that simple," he said. Lord Robertson was addressing the EU Parliament following his participation in the EU Defence Ministers meeting in Crete, 4-5 October. Additional information: Speech by the Secretary General at the EU Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Defence Policy and Common Security, Brussels - 8 October 2002