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<TITLE>Austrian President Thomas Klestil's Speech to 1998 NATO Workshop,
Vienna, Austria</TITLE>
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<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="6" FACE="Palatino">Indivisibility
of Security and Austrian Contributions to European Security</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="4" FACE="Palatino">President
of Austria Thomas Klestil</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">The XVth
NATO Workshop was held at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna at a very
propitious moment. On June 21, only a few meters away, His Holiness
Pope John Paul II reminded us of the spiritual dimension of the greater
Europe. On June 23, I left Vienna to join other heads of state and
government at the Central and Eastern European Economic Summit in Salzburg
to discuss European Union enlargement. And on July 1, Austria
assumed, for the first time, the presidency of the European Union. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">This
panorama of events is symbolic of the new Europe. It shows that we
are building what a great European once called “a Europe full of
doubt and faith, a Europe full of diversity and unity, a Europe full of
freedom and order.” This great European was the famous
philosopher Salvador de Madariaga, the great-uncle of the present
Secretary General of NATO. I am very happy that Javier Solana
Madariaga has been able to attend the Workshop, considering his
outstanding role in making NATO a key element of the new Europe. </FONT>
</P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>THE
INDIVISIBILITY OF SECURITY</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">NATO’s
enlargement, the Partnership for Peace, and the NATO-Russia Founding Act
are also key elements of the new Europe. But along with these
positive elements, the new Europe confronts us with new risks and perils,
with ethnic strife and major regional conflicts—and here NATO has
repeatedly proved to be the last source of hope. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">More than
anything else, the tragic experience of Bosnia—and now the conflict
in Kosovo—underline the importance that the new NATO and the new
cooperative Alliance structures have for the security of Europe. The
tragic fate of the Balkans has also taught us that Europe’s security
is indivisible and that we can only safeguard it through common efforts
and by joining forces in a spirit of solidarity. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino"><B>AUSTRIA’S
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOLIDARITY</B> </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">In the face
of these new realities, Austria has taken major steps to demonstrate its
solidarity. We have joined the European Union, which for us is not
only a marketplace but a community of common destiny, and we actively
participate in the Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. We
also are serving in the NATO-led multinational peace operation in Bosnia,
and will continue to do so. Additionally we participated in the “coalition
of the willing” in Albania. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">Because of
our central geographic location, Austria has also been able to make
another important contribution to solidarity and to the success of IFOR
and SFOR. We have done this by permitting convoys through and
flights over Austrian territory since the beginning of this operation.
You can rest assured that we will continue to support our Partners
on other occasions as the need arises. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">I have long
been convinced that our position at the heart of the new Europe entails
specific responsibilities as far as European security is concerned. The
fundamental changes in Europe have transformed our security environment.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to respond actively and
constructively to the new situation. </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">At NATO
Headquarters in Mons, the emblem bears the motto “Vigilance is the
price of freedom.” Austrians of my generation can still
remember the times when NATO’s vigilance also helped us to safeguard
our freedom. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT COLOR="000000" SIZE="3" FACE="Palatino">But the
threats of those times belong to the past. Vigilance, solidarity,
and functioning European security structures, however, remain necessary if
we want to strengthen stability in the new Europe. I say “we”
because each and every European nation must participate in keeping Europe
secure and stable. And you can be certain that we Austrians will not
stand aside when freedom and European values are at stake. </FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="klestil98.htm">Go to Top of Page</A><BR>
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<P ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="workshop98.htm">Return to Vienna '98</A><BR>
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<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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