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Speech by Chancellor Helmut Kohl to the North Atlantic Cooperation Council
Berlin, Volume XIX , No 9 It gives me great pleasure to welcome you today to the 11th session of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in Berlin, the capital of Germany. No city better reflects the fundamental changes which have taken place on our continent during the last few years. For us Germans, Berlin was for many years a particularly painful symbol of the division of our fatherland. It also epitomized the division of Europe as a whole and was often a gauge of the East-West conflict. Today Berlin is the capital of reunited Germany at the heart of a free and democratic, integrating Europe. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners for supporting German reunification. I invite you to gain your own firsthand impressions, here in Berlin and in the surrounding area, of our country's process of integration. Overcoming the division of Europe is a dream come true. Who would have dared predict ten years ago that the foreign ministers of the alliance would meet their colleagues from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, as well as from the states of the former Soviet Union here today in Berlin within the framework of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council? This meeting reflects the radical transformation which our continent is undergoing. We are faced with the task of uniting Europe in peace and freedom at a time of dramatic change. We must seize this historic opportunity to build our common European house on the threshold of the 21st century. We can only solve the great problems of our time together - through cooperation, partnership and integration. At their meeting yesterday, the foreign ministers of the Atlantic alliance sent a signal from Berlin by emphasizing NATO's determination to play its part in mastering these tasks. The message is clear: founded on close transatlantic partnership, the alliance is to be an anchor of stability for the whole of Europe in the 21st century. The alliance's success lies in the fact that from the outset it regarded itself not only as a military alliance but rather as a union of free nations based on common values and beliefs! With the division of Europe now overcome, our continent has become more secure. At the same time, however, we must be able to deal with continued uncertainties and risks. The dangers of nationalism, as well as ethnic and religious antagonisms which seemed to be a thing of the past, are still very much alive, as is shown by the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The joint peace efforts undertaken by the North Atlantic alliance and its partners demonstrate the will of all Europeans, together with the North American democracies, to safeguard peace in this region. The alliance has thus proven its determination to act and its ability to tackle new tasks. A look back halfway through the IFOR operation is encouraging. Cooperation on the ground points the way ahead for safeguarding peace in Europe and for living together in harmony on our continent. However, the international peace force in Bosnia can only create a secure environment in which the long-suffering people of the region can at last live in peace. We expect the former conflicting parties to be mindful of their own responsibility for comprehensive and lasting peace, as well as for economic reconstruction. The international community can merely help them to help themselves. Only if the parties concerned are determined to live together in peace can the assistance of the international community be successful. We expect all parties concerned to strictly observe the timetable for the implementation of the Dayton agreements, including the elections scheduled for the late summer. Without democratic structures based on the rule of law there can be no lasting and viable peace in Bosnia. This is also the prerequisite for the successful reconstruction of the country and for the repatriation of refugees. This issue is of particular importance to us Germans. We have taken in about 350,000 civil war refugees, twice as many as all other European countries put together. This has placed a considerable burden on us. We would rather use these resources in Bosnia for reconstruction. Ladies and gentlemen, this December the North Atlantic Cooperation Council will be able to look back on five years of successful work. It has proved to be a useful forum for dialogue and a political framework for cooperation in the fields of security policy and defense. This is evident, for example, from the fact that all major NATO committees now regularly hold joint sessions with the cooperation partners. At the NATO summit held in Brussels in January 1994 the alliance stated its readiness to cooperate with the states of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and with the successor states of the Soviet Union. The "Partnership for Peace" is already making a valuable contribution towards the alliance's practical cooperation with these countries and towards a new mode of thinking in Europe. Numerous joint exercises and a lively exchange of information have heightened awareness that in the future European security can only be guaranteed jointly. We should increase our efforts to develop and intensify practical cooperation. Ladies and gentlemen, at the NATO summit in Brussels, the alliance also reaffirmed its readiness to accept new members. At the same time, it is prepared to develop and intensify cooperation with Russia and the Ukraine. The opening up of the alliance is of fundamental importance for security and stability in the whole of Europe, meaning that we must approach these issues with great care, circumspection and prudence. We intend to make the necessary decisions in the course of 1997. I would like to state again here in Berlin what I have said a number of times before: the desire of our Eastern neighbors to accede to the alliance is legitimate. It is primarily an expression of their wish to regain their traditional European identity. Germany supports the alliance's policy on enlargement which also enjoys widespread backing in the parliaments and among the people in the NATO member states. This policy is not directed against anyone, but nor does anyone have the right to veto it! At the same time, European security requires a constructive contribution to be made by Russia and the Ukraine in the form of cooperation and partnership. Russia and the Ukraine are part of Europe. We must take their security interests into consideration, and therefore we seek good relations with these countries. As early as 1994, the European Union concluded a partnership and cooperation agreement with Russia. We want NATO-Russian cooperation based - for example - on a "charter" to result in a special relationship as well, a relationship which can form the core of the future European security architecture. Russia's involvement in the peace process in the former Yugoslavia is already a reflection of the new quality of relations between Russia and NATO. This cooperation can serve as a model for future cooperation in Europe. Ladies and gentlemen, NATO has undergone sweeping changes over the past few years. Yesterday, the alliance took fundamental decisions to adapt its structures to the new situation in Europe. In the future, it must be capable of fulfilling both its core responsibility, i.e. collective defense, and of taking on new peace-keeping tasks in Europe. One of the German government's central concerns is to reinforce Europe's capability to act in the fields of security and defense. Our goal is a substantial European security and defense identity. NATO's new structures must allow Europe, in individual cases, to carry out military tasks on its own within the framework of the Atlantic alliance. In addition, the alliance must be enabled to better cooperate with outside partners during crisis-management and peace-keeping missions. Ladies and gentlemen, the key to increasing cooperation across Europe is the consistent continuation of the policy of European integration. An effective European Union with a stronger Common Foreign and Security Policy is in the interests of our integrating continent, and thus also serves the cause of even greater cooperation within NATO. It contributes towards pan-European stability. For us Germans, with more neighbors than any other European country, European integration is a highly significant, indeed vital issue. Our historical experience has led us to pursue a policy of compromise and conciliation with our neighbors and to strongly commit ourselves to further progress towards European unity. We all need a united Europe, which in the final analysis is a prerequisite for the preservation of peace in the 21st century, and we must do all we can to enable the European Union to meet future challenges. This is why, during the ongoing Intergovernmental Conference on EU reform, the German government is sparing no effort in further advancing European unity and making it irreversible. The first priority will be to increase the EU's efficiency and widen its scope for action, especially with a view to the Union's plans for eastern and southern enlargement. A major item on the IGC's agenda is that of further developing EU foreign and security policy. We must create the instruments and structures needed to enable the EU member states to take truly effective joint action in foreign and security policy. Europe can only bring its influence to bear on the international stage if it speaks with one voice. Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday the Alliance reaffirmed in no uncertain terms that we must both increase Europe's effectiveness and strengthen transatlantic links. Europe's security and stability still fundamentally depend on its transatlantic relations. Europe's partnership with the United States is vital to us, and therefore we seek to deepen it even further. The Transatlantic Agenda and the Action Plan for the coming years, adopted during the summit meeting between the Spanish EU Presidency and President Clinton on December 3, 1995, provide the framework for this process. Our task now is to give substance to and make use of this framework. Ladies and gentlemen, from the very beginning the North Atlantic Cooperation Council has also set itself the aim of bolstering and assisting the OSCE. These two organizations can, and indeed should, complement each other in shaping security and cooperation in Europe. They are already doing this in the former Yugoslavia, and in addition the OSCE is performing a useful role as mediator in many crisis regions, for example Chechnya and the Trans-Dniester region. Ladies and gentlemen, at the inaugural meeting of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, almost five years ago, the participating states declared their commitment to a new, lasting order of peace in Europe, one based on dialogue, partnership and cooperation. We all remain committed to achieving this aim together. If we cast our minds back to that time, five or six years ago, we can say that together we have made good progress! Our European history teaches us that concepts of equilibrium, coalition thinking or models of "spheres of influence" have never led to lasting security and stability. We must learn from these negative experiences. Only the persistent development of international cooperation and pan-European integration holds out the promise of lasting peace. The North Atlantic Cooperation Council is and will be called upon to contribute towards that effort. These consultations here in Berlin can lead to significant progress for all of us. German Information Center |
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