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<TITLE>WEU Secretary General Jose Cutileiro's Address to 1998 NATO Workshop, Vienna, Austria</TITLE>
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CONTENT="NATO, XVth NATO Workshop, NATO Workshop on Political-Military Decision Making, European Security and Defense Identity, ESDI, WEU Secretary General Jose Cutileiro, SACEUR,
Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Wesley Clark, Dr. Roger Weissinger-Baylon, Atlantic Alliance,
North Atlantic Alliance, Albania, Petersberg Tasks, European Union, EU, Western European Union, WEU,
Partnership for Peace, PfP, PFP,
Security, European Security, Common European Foreign Policy, Common European Security Policy">
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<BODY LINK="0000ff" BGPROPERTIES="FIXED" BGCOLOR="ffffff"><BASEFONT SIZE="3">
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="6" FACE="Palatino">The WEU
Today and its Relations with NATO </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="+1"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Western
European Union Secretary General José Cutileiro<A HREF="0_FN0.htm"><SUP></SUP></A>
</FONT> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>OPENING
REMARKS</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Just as it
is for NATO, the rationale behind WEU’s new and enhanced role as the
tool for European crisis management is rooted in the changed security
environment that has been in evidence since the end of the Cold War. And as we all know, modern-day crises such as Bosnia and Kosovo
require more than collective defense; they require a comprehensive
approach to security, one that combines political, humanitarian, and
economic means with politico-military capabilities which, in most cases,
remain essential.. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">To achieve
and support that comprehensive approach, and to maintain and strengthen
the transatlantic link, we are hearing a clear signal from the other side
of the Atlantic that a more equitable sharing of risks and
responsibilities must be evident in future Euro-Atlantic relations. This
means, in real terms, that we Europeans must assume a greater and indeed
the primary responsibility for managing crises that affect us directly.
</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">I believe
that the answer to taking on this responsibility and achieving a strong,
comprehensive approach to security lies in the development of a European
Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) in NATO, the European Union, and WEU.
ESDI means that Europeans will be politically and operationally
ready to act in cases of distinct European responsibility. We will
both share the transatlantic burden and be responsible for European
interests. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Standing at
the confluence of the transatlantic link through NATO and of European
integration through the EU, WEU is uniquely placed to shoulder the
responsibility for European crisis management operations that Europeans
wish to undertake but for which North Americans—for whatever reason—wish
not to accept the military and political lead. We would almost
certainly take on such a role at the request of the EU, most probably
using NATO assets and capabilities. As we build WEU, therefore, we
are focusing on three areas: relations with the European Union, relations
with NATO, and WEU’s operational development. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>A
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Effective
crisis management requires that Europeans have at their disposal the full
range of options—not only in the politico-diplomatic and economic
fields but in the military field as well. The Amsterdam Treaty of
1997 and the attached WEU Declaration took the EU-WEU relationship to a
new level by granting guiding status to the EU Council, by including WEU
crisis management tasks—the so-called Petersberg Tasks—in the
Treaty, and by providing opportunities for increasingly close cooperation.
In concrete terms, the EU can now avail itself of WEU to carry out a
mission in support of European interests and policies. Through WEU,
the European Union has access to a politico-military crisis management
capability. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>WEU-NATO
RELATIONS</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Close
practical cooperation between the WEU and NATO is now a daily reality at
all levels as we continue to prepare for the use of NATO assets and
capabilities to meet the needs of a particular European deployment. Over
the last few years, WEU and NATO have worked hard at turning a theoretical
possibility into this practical reality. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">At present,
work with NATO concentrates on three areas: </FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><I>Defense planning.</I>
WEU participates actively in the force planning process with
regard to the specific requirements of its future operations. The
aim is to ensure that Europeans have the military forces and equipment
required to handle the range of future crisis management tasks. </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><I>Operational
planning<B>. </B></I>WEU and NATO are working hard on the issue
of crisis scenarios that would employ WEU and NATO capacities in
operations ranging from the lower to the higher end of the Petersberg
scale. Our two organizations are nearing agreement on the general
mechanism for consultation and institutional interaction in all stages
of a crisis. </FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><I>A Framework
Agreement. </I>We are working to draw up an agreement on the
modalities of WEU use of NATO assets. Such an agreement will fix
the technical and procedural modalities for the transfer, monitoring,
and return of NATO assets and capabilities, enabling the two
organizations to react rapidly if and when an operation must be
launched. </FONT></LI>
</UL>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">WEU and NATO
have agreed that the implementation of these key decisions on ESDI will be
completed in time for the 1999 NATO Summit. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>OPERATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">WEU has made
good progress in developing its own operational means, which NATO’s
capabilities are designed to complement. Over the last few years,
WEU has developed a comprehensive set of instruments and procedures for
conducting Petersberg operations. A permanent Military Delegates’
Committee is now operative and will provide constant and coherent military
advice to the Council, a strong docking-point for national Defense
Ministries and military staffs, and a clear counterpart to NATO
structures. In short, we have the tools and the know-how to run WEU
operations. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>THE
WEU TODAY</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">The WEU is
making a positive contribution to European security and to the upkeep of
the transatlantic link. It is also able to operate in partnership
with the EU and NATO, the two organizations that are the basis of the
European security architecture. WEU is ready, and putting it to work
does not require further institutional engineering, a full-fledged EU
Common Foreign and Security Policy, or further advances in the
establishment of ESDI within NATO. While it is true that we are
still working to clarify and agree on mechanisms and procedures to
cooperate with the other two organizations, real crises do wonders to
quicken the pace of things political and military. As it stands now,
WEU could take care of a Petersberg operation at the request of the
European Union using NATO assets and capabilities. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">But now that
we have a European crisis management instrument, we must be prepared to
use it should this political-military option be chosen. The issue,
however, is not one of decision-making mechanisms; WEU will be able to
launch a military operation only with the consensus of its members. The
issue is rather that European administrations—particularly the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense and general staffs—must
become better aware of the existence of this crisis management tool at
their disposal—one that was not there only two or three years ago.
The alternative would be “coalitions of the willing,”
which were used last year in Albania. But while such coalitions can
certainly do the job in the technical sense, in my view they are
politically risky instruments. If they are resorted to often, they
will lead us to the renationalization of defense policies, foster disunity
among Europeans, and take us back to undesirable ways that we thought we
had abandoned. </FONT> </P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>CONCLUDING
REMARKS</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">There may
come a day when the European Union and NATO will be able to work together
directly. Then WEU will be superfluous. But we are very far
from that day. In the meantime we cannot afford to lose the momentum
gained over the last few years. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">This takes
me back to burden sharing. An organization can do no more than what
its members are prepared to afford. A lot of institutional work has
been carried out in WEU; many WEU nations have been rationalizing and
modernizing their armed forces; and European multinational headquarters
and forces have been set. Through subsidiary bodies WEU has also
been making a contribution to much-needed European cooperation in
armaments and is focusing on harmonizing operational requirements. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">In other
words, we are a politico-military tool for crisis management but we are
also a framework that European nations can use to strengthen the
capabilities needed for the proper use of that tool. The two roles
are complementary and are indispensable to the building of a meaningful
European Security and Defense Identity.</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="cutileiro98.htm">Go to Top of Page</A></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="workshop98.htm">Return to Vienna '98</A></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="../index.html">Return to Home Page</A></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT">Copyright © 1998 Center for Strategic Decision
Research</P>
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