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<CENTER><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+3">NATO's
Role in the New Security Architecture</FONT></FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+2">Minister
of Defense of Norway Jørgen Kosmo</FONT></FONT></FONT> </CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Over the last few years,
the European continent has witnessed historic and dramatic change. Not
only have we seen fundamental changes in the political and strategic
landscape, but the very substance of our security policies has also been
altered.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">More than ever before, we
realize that our security rests on several pillars. This broad approach to
security reflects our increased awareness of the significance of
political, economic, social, and environmental factors. European security
is no longer only a question of territorial integrity and national
independence; it requires a peaceful, just, and secure social order for
all. But in order to gain that security it will be necessary for civilian
and military elements to work together. We must also look for solutions
across the old dividing lines in Europe. Only by cooperative effort will
we succeed in securing peace and stability in our part of the world.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">A number of organizations
have a role to play in shaping this new European security architecture. It
will be a constant challenge to ensure openness and transparency among all
of these interlocking institutions.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">WORKING FROM ITS
STRENGTHS</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The fact that NATO is
playing a central role in Europe's quest for peace and stability has been
confirmed over the last few years. Not surprisingly, the Alliance has been
able to adapt to the new political and strategic landscape in Europe,
continuing in its ability to adapt to new situations. But transformation
of NATO has yet to reach its final form. While it stands ready for the
challenges of the next century, NATO still must restructure, plan for new
missions, embrace new democracies, ensure the success of enlargement, and
develop its relationship with Russia. And all of these tasks need to be
accomplished while preserving the elements that have made it so
successful.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">NATO's political strength
has been built on military credibility and on a strong sense of solidarity
among its members. These critical factors should continue to be NATO's
backbone in the future as it maintains its core functions, the very key to
stability in Europe. NATO's core functions are the bedrock on which its
new missions must be based.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">New Operations and
Concerns</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Crisis management,
including peace-support operations, has increasingly become a central part
of NATO's activities. The success of IFOR and SFOR operations in Bosnia
confirms NATO's ability to undertake these new kinds of missions, which
are possible only because we have retained our hard-defense capabilities;
it is my strong conviction that only forces that have been trained for
high-intensity warfare can take on other, less demanding military tasks.
Hard-defense capabilities remain vital in meeting the post-Cold War
security needs of Europe.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Since the end of the Cold
War, we have been faced with numerous and diverse risks and challenges.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is an increasingly
serious problem, which we must do our utmost to halt. The prospect of
nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons in the hands of so-called
rogue nations on NATO's periphery also gives us reason to worry. While
these regimes do not pose a massive threat to NATO, their behavior is
unpredictable because traditional forms of deterrence do not apply. I am
also concerned about the large number of substrategic nuclear weapons
remaining in Russia and the country's reluctance to ratify the START II
Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Despite these concerns,
conflict is less likely to arise from deliberate aggression than from
instability that could spread to NATO territory or threaten our lines of
communication or other vital interests. The dangers associated with such
risks will vary over time, and social as well as political developments in
regions close to NATO borders will determine their gravity. However, they
remain factors that we must take into account when assessing the security
needs of Europe.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The Need for
Continued Commitment and Resources</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">To meet the various
challenges, each of us must maintain our national commitment and invest in
the highly trained forces and equipment necessary for undertaking the full
range of missions. Unfortunately, however, there is a growing imbalance
between the tasks assigned to NATO and the resources available for them.
In the long term, this may weaken the Alliance. The reluctance to allocate
resources to NATO could result in the fragmentation and renationalization
of NATO's integrated military structure. This in turn could weaken
solidarity within NATO and eventually reduce NATO's ability to handle the
whole spectrum of missions--a situation that must be avoided. Shared
values and assessments, backed by firm solidarity, will ensure NATO's
continued relevance as well as its military credibility and political
strength.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The Need for
Continued Transatlantic Cooperation</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The transatlantic bonds
must also be preserved. Our Alliance is built on the premise that Europe's
and North America's interests and destinies are closely linked. The active
involvement of our North American friends remains crucial to European
security and stability, and is a necessary condition for any sizable
peace-support operation on the European continent. This fact has been
pointed out in Bosnia over the last years.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">But it is equally
important for Europeans to be willing to carry a fair share of the burdens
and to assume a fair share of the responsibility for peace and security.
The decision made in Berlin in June 1996 to develop the European Security
and Defense Identity (ESDI) within the Alliance was of historic
importance. With this decision WEU is able to develop its operational
capacity without duplicating existing structures. This has opened a window
of opportunity for Europe and for European crisis management.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Now we have to make
certain that our ambition to develop the ESDI is matched by a readiness to
allocate the necessary resources. Today, most European Allies spend a
smaller proportion of their GDP on defense than does the United States. In
addition, European Allies have been more reluctant to allocate resources
to research and development than our North American ally. This has
resulted in a growing gap between the United States and Europe regarding
defense-related technological know-how. If such a gap is allowed to widen,
it could weaken Europe's crisis-management capacity and eventually NATO
interoperability as a whole.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">THE ROLES OF EAPC,
PFP, AND THE PERMANENT JOINT COUNCIL</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">A comprehensive,
cooperative approach to security must remain the basis for the Alliance's
security policy. With the establishment of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership
Council and the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, NATO has entered
into new relationships with countries outside the NATO family.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">I believe that the EAPC
will be a cornerstone of Europe's new security structure. This
organization provides a permanent joint forum that will allow Partner
countries to establish a direct political link to the Alliance on a wide
range of political and military issues, following up NATO Ministerial
decisions to enhance both political and military cooperation between NATO
and PFP Partner countries. Regional cooperation will be an important part
of the EAPC framework and should contribute to the overall stability of
Europe. Cooperation on a regional level, however, must remain open-ended
and firmly embedded in a wider NATO-PFP context.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The enhanced PFP-NATO
relationship will ensure stronger Partner involvement in the planning and
decision making necessary for joint activities, in particular
peace-support operations. There is also a need to further develop the
current Planning and Review Process in order to make it more like NATO
force planning. This process should play a significant role in enhancing
interoperability and cooperation between the armed forces of the Alliance
and those of Partner countries.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The signing of the
Founding Act between NATO and Russia is another cornerstone in the new
European security architecture. I expect its newly established Permanent
Joint Council to be a forum of consultation and cooperation that will
benefit all of Europe. Within this framework, NATO and Russia will discuss
all security policy issues of common interest, including potential crises,
crisis prevention, joint operations, arms control, and nuclear safety. The
Permanent Joint Council will also provide the basis for an enhanced
dialogue between Allied and Russian military authorities and act as an
important instrument for broadening NATO-Russian cooperation related to
military and defense policies.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">While this formal
cooperation framework is a good beginning, it is not sufficient to ensure
Russia's integration into the new European security structure. The extent
to which Russia will participate in a strategic partnership cannot be
assessed yet. But if Russia chooses to play an active and constructive
part in its dealings with NATO, we will enter an entirely new era in
European security.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">THE CHALLENGES OF
ENLARGEMENT</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">At the Summit in Madrid,
NATO is expected to formally invite a number of countries to start
negotiating for membership. When this occurs, it will be the fourth
enlargement in NATO history. Enlargement is not a new phenomenon. The
Alliance always has been--and should continue to be--open to those
European democracies that are willing and able to share the
responsibilities of membership.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Successfully integrating
new member-states will be a major challenge in the years to come.
Considerable costs will be incurred, and all of us will have to bear our
share of the burden to maintain NATO's credibility in its core mission of
collective defense. New member-states will need to modernize their armed
forces to ensure their ability to operate with forces from other NATO
countries. They will also need to develop the necessary infrastructure,
particularly in command and control, communication, air defense, and host
nation support for reinforcement.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">CONCLUDING REMARKS</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">As we work toward adapting
the Alliance to the new world order, we must remember to keep in mind what
has made NATO so successful. We must remember that its political strength
is built on transatlantic solidarity and military credibility. I strongly
believe that continuing to maintain its core functions is the key to
enabling the Alliance to meet the new challenges that lay ahead.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
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