THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
Washington Summit Communique
Issued by the Heads of State and Government
participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council
in Washington, D.C. on 24th April 1999
An Alliance for the 21st Century
approved an updated Strategic Concept;
reaffirmed our commitment to the enlargement process of the
Alliance and approved a Membership Action Plan for countries
wishing to join;
completed the work on key elements of the Berlin Decisions on
building the European Security and Defence Identity within the
Alliance and decided to further enhance its effectiveness;
launched the Defence Capabilities Initiative;
intensified our relations with Partners through an enhanced and
more operational Partnership for Peace and strengthened our
consultations and co-operation within the Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council;
enhanced the Mediterranean Dialogue; and
decided to increase Alliance efforts against weapons of mass
destruction and their means of delivery.
5. As part of the Alliance's adaptation to the new security
challenges, we have updated our Strategic Concept to make it fully
consistent with the Alliance's new security environment. The
updated Concept reaffirms our commitment to collective defence and
the transatlantic link; takes account of the challenges the
Alliance now faces; presents an Alliance ready and with a full
range of capabilities to enhance the security and stability of the
Euro-Atlantic area; reaffirms our commitment to building the ESDI
within the Alliance; highlights the enhanced role of partnership
and dialogue; underlines the need to develop defence capabilities
to their full potential to meet the spectrum of Alliance missions,
including forces which are more deployable, sustainable, survivable
and able to engage effectively; and provides guidance to the NATO
Military Authorities to this end.
6. To achieve its essential purpose, as an Alliance of nations
committed to the Washington Treaty and the United Nations Charter,
the Alliance performs the following fundamental security tasks:
Security:
To provide one of the indispensable foundations for a stable
Euro-Atlantic security environment, based on the growth of
democratic institutions and commitment to the peaceful
resolution of disputes, in which no country would be able to
intimidate or coerce any other through the threat or use of force.
Consultation:
To serve, as provided for in Article 4 of the North Atlantic
Treaty, as an essential transatlantic forum for Allied
consultations on any issues that affect their vital interests,
including possible developments posing risks for members'
security, and for appropriate co-ordination of their efforts
in fields of common concern.
Deterrence and Defence:
To deter and defend against any threat of aggression against
any NATO member state as provided for in Articles 5 and 6 of
the Washington Treaty.
And in order to enhance the security and stability of the
Euro-Atlantic area:
Crisis Management:
To stand ready, case-by-case and by consensus, in conformity
with Article 7 of the Washington Treaty, to contribute to
effective conflict prevention and to engage actively in crisis
management, including crisis response operations.
Partnership:
To promote wide-ranging partnership, cooperation, and dialogue
with other countries in the Euro-Atlantic area, with the aim
of increasing transparency, mutual confidence and the capacity
for joint action with the Alliance.
7. We warmly welcome the participation of the three new Allies - the
Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland - in their first Alliance Summit
meeting. Their accession to the North Atlantic Treaty opens a new
chapter in the history of the Atlantic Alliance.
We reaffirm today our commitment to the openness of the Alliance
under Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty and in accordance
with Paragraph 8 of the Madrid Summit Declaration. We pledge that
NATO will continue to welcome new members in a position to further
the principles of the Treaty and contribute to peace and security
in the Euro-Atlantic area. This is part of an evolutionary process
that takes into account political and security developments in the
whole of Europe. Our commitment to enlargement is part of a
broader strategy of projecting stability and working together with
our Partners to build a Europe whole and free. The ongoing
enlargement process strengthens the Alliance and enhances the
security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic region. The three new
members will not be the last.
At the Summit in Madrid we recognised the progress made by a number
of countries aspiring to join the Alliance in meeting the
responsibilities and obligations for possible membership.
Today we recognise and welcome the continuing efforts and progress
in both Romania and Slovenia. We also recognise and welcome
continuing efforts and progress in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Since the Madrid Summit, we note and welcome positive developments
in Bulgaria. We also note and welcome recent positive
developments in Slovakia. We are grateful for the cooperation of
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1) with NATO in the
present crisis and welcome its progress on reforms. We welcome
Albania's cooperation with the Alliance in the present crisis and
encourage its reform efforts.
We welcome the efforts and progress aspiring members have made,
since we last met, to advance political, military and economic
reforms. We appreciate the results achieved, and look forward to
further progress by these countries in strengthening their
democratic institutions and in restructuring their economies and
militaries. We take account of the efforts of these aspiring
members, together with a number of other Partner countries, to
improve relations with neighbours and contribute to security and
stability of the Euro-Atlantic region. We look forward to further
deepening our cooperation with aspiring countries and to increasing
their political and military involvement in the work of the Alliance.
The Alliance expects to extend further invitations in coming years
to nations willing and able to assume the responsibilities and
obligations of membership, and as NATO determines that the
inclusion of these nations would serve the overall political and
strategic interests of the Alliance and that the inclusion would
enhance overall European security and stability. To give substance
to this commitment, NATO will maintain an active relationship with
those nations that have expressed an interest in NATO membership as
well as those who may wish to seek membership in the future. Those
nations that have expressed an interest in becoming NATO members
will remain under active consideration for future membership. No
European democratic country whose admission would fulfil the
objectives of the Treaty will be excluded from consideration,
regardless of its geographic location, each being considered on its
own merits. All states have the inherent right to choose the means
to ensure their own security. Furthermore, in order to enhance
overall security and stability in Europe, further steps in the
ongoing enlargement process of the Alliance should balance the
security concerns of all Allies.
We welcome the aspirations of the nine countries currently
interested in joining the Alliance. Accordingly, we are ready to
provide advice, assistance and practical support. To this end, we
approve today a Membership Action Plan which includes the following
elements:
the submission by aspiring members of individual annual national
programmes on their preparations for possible future membership,
covering political, economic, defence, resource, security and
legal aspects;
a focused and candid feedback mechanism on aspirant countries'
progress on their programmes that includes both political and
technical advice, as well as annual 19+1 meetings at Council
level to assess progress;
a clearinghouse to help coordinate assistance by NATO and by
member states to aspirant countries in the defence/military field;
a defence planning approach for aspirants which includes
elaboration and review of agreed planning targets.
We direct that NATO Foreign Ministers keep the enlargement process,
including the implementation of the Membership Action Plan, under
continual review and report to us. We will review the process at
our next Summit meeting which will be held no later than 2002.
8. We reaffirm our commitment to preserve the transatlantic link,
including our readiness to pursue common security objectives
through the Alliance wherever possible. We are pleased with the
progress achieved in implementing the Berlin decisions and reaffirm
our strong commitment to pursue the process of reinforcing the
European pillar of the Alliance on the basis of our Brussels
Declaration of 1994 and of the principles agreed at Berlin in 1996.
We note with satisfaction that the key elements of the Berlin
decisions are being put in place. These include flexible options
for the selection of a European NATO Commander and NATO
Headquarters for WEU-led operations, as well as specific terms of
reference for DSACEUR and an adapted CJTF concept. Close linkages
between the two organisations have been established, including
planning, exercises (in particular a joint crisis management
exercise in 2000) and consultation, as well as a framework for the
release and return of Alliance assets and capabilities.
9. We welcome the new impetus given to the strengthening of a common
European policy in security and defence by the Amsterdam Treaty and
the reflections launched since then in the WEU and - following the
St. Malo Declaration - in the EU, including the Vienna European
Council Conclusions. This is a process which has implications for
all Allies. We confirm that a stronger European role will help
contribute to the vitality of our Alliance for the 21st century,
which is the foundation of the collective defence of its members.
In this regard:
a. We acknowledge the resolve of the European Union to have the
capacity for autonomous action so that it can take decisions and
approve military action where the Alliance as a whole is not engaged;
b. As this process goes forward, NATO and the EU should ensure the
development of effective mutual consultation, cooperation and
transparency, building on the mechanisms existing between NATO
and the WEU;
c. We applaud the determination of both EU members and other
European Allies to take the necessary steps to strengthen their
defence capabilities, especially for new missions, avoiding
unnecessary duplication;
d. We attach the utmost importance to ensuring the fullest possible
involvement of non-EU European Allies in EU-led crisis response
operations, building on existing consultation arrangements
within the WEU. We also note Canada's interest in participating
in such operations under appropriate modalities.
e. We are determined that the decisions taken in Berlin in 1996,
including the concept of using separable but not separate NATO
assets and capabilities for WEU-led operations, should be
further developed.
10. On the basis of the above principles and building on the Berlin
decisions, we therefore stand ready to define and adopt the
necessary arrangements for ready access by the European Union to
the collective assets and capabilities of the Alliance, for
operations in which the Alliance as a whole is not engaged
militarily as an Alliance. The Council in Permanent Session will
approve these arrangements, which will respect the requirements of
NATO operations and the coherence of its command structure, and
should address:
a. Assured EU access to NATO planning capabilities able to
contribute to military planning for EU-led operations;
b. The presumption of availability to the EU of pre-identified NATO
capabilities and common assets for use in EU-led operations;
c. Identification of a range of European command options for EU-led
operations, further developing the role of DSACEUR in order for
him to assume fully and effectively his European responsibilities;
d. The further adaptation of NATO's defence planning system to
incorporate more comprehensively the availability of forces for
EU-led operations.
We task the Council in Permanent Session to address these measures
on an ongoing basis, taking into account the evolution of relevant
arrangements in the EU. The Council will make recommendations to
the next Ministerial meeting for its consideration.
11. We have launched a Defence Capabilities Initiative to improve the
defence capabilities of the Alliance to ensure the effectiveness of
future multinational operations across the full spectrum of
Alliance missions in the present and foreseeable security
environment with a special focus on improving interoperability
among Alliance forces (and where applicable also between Alliance
and Partner forces). Defence capabilities will be increased through
improvements in the deployability and mobility of Alliance forces,
their sustainability and logistics, their survivability and
effective engagement capability, and command and control and
information systems. In this connection, we endorse the Council
decision to begin implementing the Multinational Joint Logistics
Centre concept by the end of 1999, and to develop the C3 system
architecture by 2002 to form a basis for an integrated Alliance
core capability allowing interoperability with national systems. We
have established a temporary High-Level Steering Group to oversee
the implementation of the Defence Capabilities Initiative and to
meet the requirement of co-ordination and harmonisation among
relevant planning disciplines, including for Allies concerned force
planning, with the aim of achieving lasting effects on improvements
in capabilities and interoperability. Improvements in
interoperability and critical capabilities should also strengthen
the European pillar in NATO.
12. We reaffirm our commitment to the 1995 Peace Agreement, negotiated
in Dayton and signed in Paris, which established Bosnia and
Herzegovina as a single, democratic and multi-ethnic state, and to
the full implementation of the Peace Agreement. We reiterate our
readiness to work constructively with all Parties that support the
Peace Agreement and seek to implement it.
13. The Madrid Peace Implementation Council meeting in December 1998
confirmed that the next two years would be vital in strengthening
the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina and recognised that
SFOR's presence remains essential, both to keep the peace and to
provide the secure environment and support for civilian
implementation. Return of refugees to areas in which they are a
minority will remain vital for political stability and
reconciliation. We will support efforts to take this process forward.
14. SFOR will continue to work closely and effectively with the High
Representative, whose role we support, the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the OSCE and other major
international organisations, the UN International Police Task Force
and other agencies implementing the civilian aspects of the Peace
Agreement. We commend the crucial contribution of men and women of
both NATO and Partner countries serving in SFOR, who are helping to
bring peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
15. SFOR's presence cannot, however, be maintained indefinitely. SFOR
is being streamlined through efficiency measures. We note that the
Council in Permanent Session is examining options on the future
size and structure of SFOR.
16. The continuing crisis in and around Kosovo threatens to further
destabilise areas beyond the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).
The potential for wider instability underscores the need for a
comprehensive approach to the stabilisation of the crisis region in
South-Eastern Europe. We recognise and endorse the crucial
importance of making South-Eastern Europe a region free from
violence and instability. A new level of international engagement
is thus needed to build security, prosperity and democratic civil
society, leading in time to full integration into the wider
European family.
17. NATO is determined to play its full part in this process by
contributing to the building of a more secure and cooperative
relationship with and between the countries of the region. Given
the differences in economic development and the diversity and
complexity of the problems of each country in the region,
international efforts to develop and stabilise the region must be
comprehensive, coherent and well coordinated. To achieve these
ends, NATO, the WEU, the EU, the OSCE and the UN must work closely
together. The international financial institutions also have a
crucial role to play. The Alliance's efforts to enhance regional
security and stability in South-Eastern Europe and to help resolve
humanitarian problems, and the efforts by other international
organisations, as well as those by the countries of the region,
should be mutually reinforcing.
18. We will be meeting with colleagues from the countries of
South-Eastern Europe tomorrow. We intend to build on that meeting
by maintaining NATO's consultations with the countries of the
region. Accordingly, we will propose to them a consultative forum
on security matters which brings together all NATO members and
countries of the region at an appropriate level.
19. We direct the Council in Permanent Session, building on, as
appropriate, the existing EAPC and PfP framework, to give substance
to this proposal, inter alia, in the following areas:
19+1 consultations where appropriate;
the promotion of regional cooperation in the framework of an
EAPC cooperative mechanism, taking into account other regional
initiatives;
targeted NATO security cooperation programmes for the countries
in the region, as appropriate;
regionally focused PfP activities and exercises;
better targeting and coordination of Allies' and Partners'
bilateral assistance to the region.
20. The Alliance's efforts to enhance regional security in
South-Eastern Europe complement those by other international
organisations, as well as those by the countries of the region. We
welcome the forthcoming European Union conference on a Stability
Pact for South-Eastern Europe on 27th May 1999, and the
South-Eastern Europe Cooperation process, as well as other regional
efforts. Coherence and coordination between the various initiatives
will be of great importance.
21. The security of the Balkan region is essential to achieving lasting
stability throughout the Euro-Atlantic area. Our goal is to see the
integration of the countries of the region into the Euro-Atlantic
community. We want all the countries and peoples of South-Eastern
Europe to enjoy peace and security and establish normal relations
with one another, based on respect of human rights, democracy,
individual liberty and the rule of law.
22. We reaffirm our commitment to consultation, partnership and
practical cooperation through the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
and the Partnership for Peace. We commit ourselves today to build
an enhanced and more operational relationship with Partners for the
21st century that strengthens stability, mutual confidence, and
security throughout the Euro-Atlantic area. The EAPC and the PfP
have transformed political-military relations across the continent
and have become the instruments of choice when the Alliance and its
Partners consult and act together in the pursuit of peace and
security. We look forward to consulting with our Partners at
tomorrow's EAPC Summit meeting.
23. The EAPC, founded in 1997, contributes substantially to stronger
political consultation and practical cooperation between the
Alliance and its Partners, for solutions to security issues. We
applaud this expanded dimension of political consultations, which
has enhanced transparency and confidence among all EAPC members.
The Alliance and its Partners have consulted regularly on regional
security issues, such as on Bosnia and Herzegovina and on Kosovo.
We have also developed new areas of cooperation such as
peacekeeping, humanitarian de-mining, control over transfer of
small arms, and the coordination of disaster relief and
humanitarian assistance.
24. We welcome the successful fulfilment by the Alliance and its
Partners of five years of Partnership for Peace and the full
implementation of PfP enhancements launched in 1997. Enhanced PfP
has ensured that NATO-Partner cooperation contributes concretely to
Euro-Atlantic stability and security. The participation of 15 PfP
Partners in IFOR/SFOR demonstrates the real-life benefits of PfP's
focus on interoperability and provides valuable lessons for future
Alliance-Partner co-operation. The presence of Partner officers in
an international capacity in NATO military headquarters enables
Partners to participate in planning for NATO-PfP exercises and
NATO-led PfP operations. Enhanced PfP has also permitted NATO to
take action to assist Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia with their unique security concerns.
25. We welcome and take special note of the initiatives designed to
make the Partnership more operational and ensure greater Partner
involvement in appropriate decision-making and planning, as we had
envisioned in our Madrid Declaration. These steps will ensure that
the Partnership will be better able to address its objectives, and
will provide a solid foundation for its continuing evolution as the
core of a co-operative security network between NATO and its
Partners for the 21st century. To further this goal, we have today
approved the following comprehensive package. We have:
approved a Political-Military Framework for NATO-led PfP
operations, which will enhance Partners' roles in political
guidance and oversight, planning, and command arrangements for
such operations;
endorsed the expanded and adapted Planning and Review Process,
which will further enhance interoperability of Partner forces
declared available for PfP activities, and will allow for more
focused and increased Partner contributions of valuable forces
and capabilities for future NATO-led PfP operations;
endorsed the outline Operational Capabilities Concept for
NATO-led PfP operations, which will provide for deeper military
co-operation between the Alliance and Partners with the goal of
improving the ability of Partner forces and capabilities to
operate with the Alliance in NATO-led PfP operations and
directed the Council in Permanent Session to pursue its further
development;
endorsed the outline programme on enhancing PfP training and
education to optimise and harmonise NATO and national PfP
activities in order to meet the current and future demands of an
enhanced and more operational PfP. The outline programme
includes the role of three new PfP tools - a PfP Consortium of
Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes, a PfP
Exercise Simulation Network and PfP Training Centres. We
directed the Council in Permanent Session to develop a PfP
Training and Education Enhancement Programme.
26. We remain firmly committed to our partnership with Russia under the
NATO-Russia Founding Act. NATO and Russia have a common objective
in strengthening security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Throughout the Kosovo crisis, NATO and Russia have shared the
common goals of the international community: to halt the violence,
to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, and to create the conditions
for a political solution. These goals remain valid. Consultation
and dialogue are even more important in times of crisis. NATO and
its member countries are determined to build on the areas of common
ground with Russia concerning the international response to the
crisis in Kosovo and remain ready to resume consultations and
cooperation in the framework of the Founding Act.
27. Close relations between NATO and Russia are of great importance to
stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. Since the
conclusion of the Founding Act in May 1997, considerable and
encouraging progress has been made in intensifying consultation and
cooperation with Russia. The NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council
has developed into an important venue to consult, to promote
transparency and confidence-building, and to foster cooperation.
Russia's participation in the implementation of the peace agreement
for Bosnia and Herzegovina was a significant step towards a new
co-operative relationship. We have developed an extensive dialogue
on such matters as disarmament and arms control, including the
adaptation of the CFE Treaty; peacekeeping and nuclear weapons
issues. Strategy, defence policy and doctrines, budgets and
infrastructure development programmes, and non-proliferation, are
further examples of this increasing cooperation.
28. We attach great importance to a strong, enduring and distinctive
partnership between NATO and Ukraine. Ukraine has an important role
to play in enhancing security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic
area and in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. We are
pleased with the progress reached since the signing of the
NATO-Ukraine Charter in Madrid, and will continue to strengthen our
distinctive partnership. We continue to support Ukrainian
sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic
development, economic prosperity and Ukraine's status as a
non-nuclear weapons state as key factors of stability and security
in Europe. We encourage Ukraine to carry forward its democratic and
economic transformation, including its defence reform, and reaffirm
NATO's support for Ukraine's efforts to this end. We applaud the
progress made in the Joint Working Group on Defence Reform. We
welcome the establishment of a NATO Liaison Office in Kyiv to
further enhance Ukraine's role as a distinctive Partner. We also
look forward to today's inaugural Summit meeting of the
NATO-Ukraine Commission.
29. The Mediterranean Dialogue is an integral part of the Alliance's
cooperative approach to security since security in the whole of
Europe is closely linked to security and stability in the
Mediterranean. We are pleased with the development of our
Mediterranean Dialogue. The Dialogue is progressive in nature and
we welcome the progress towards developing broader and deeper
cooperation and dialogue with the countries in the Mediterranean
region. We endorse the enhancements to the political and practical
cooperation of the Mediterranean Dialogue agreed by the Council in
Permanent Session and direct it to pursue their early
implementation. We encourage Allied nations and Mediterranean
Dialogue countries to organise events such as the Rome Conference
in 1997 and the Valencia Conference in 1999 as positive steps to
strengthen mutual regional understanding. We look forward to
further opportunities to strengthen cooperation in areas where NATO
can add value, particularly in the military field, and where
Dialogue countries have expressed interest. The Dialogue and other
international efforts, including the EU Barcelona process, are
complementary and mutually reinforcing and thus contribute to
transparency and building confidence in the region.
30. The proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons
and their means of delivery can pose a direct military threat to
Allies' populations, territory, and forces and therefore continues
to be a matter of serious concern for the Alliance. The principal
non-proliferation goal of the Alliance and its members is to
prevent proliferation from occurring, or, should it occur, to
reverse it through diplomatic means. We reiterate our full support
for the international non-proliferation regimes and their
strengthening. We recognise progress made in this regard. In order
to respond to the risks to Alliance security posed by the spread of
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery means, we have
launched an Initiative that builds upon work since the Brussels
Summit to improve overall Alliance political and military efforts
in this area.
31. The WMD Initiative will: ensure a more vigorous, structured debate
at NATO leading to strengthened common understanding among Allies
on WMD issues and how to respond to them; improve the quality and
quantity of intelligence and information-sharing among Allies on
proliferation issues; support the development of a public
information strategy by Allies to increase awareness of
proliferation issues and Allies' efforts to support
non-proliferation efforts; enhance existing Allied programmes which
increase military readiness to operate in a WMD environment and to
counter WMD threats; strengthen the process of information exchange
about Allies' national programmes of bilateral WMD destruction and
assistance; enhance the possibilities for Allies to assist one
another in the protection of their civil populations against WMD
risks; and create a WMD Centre within the International Staff at
NATO to support these efforts. The WMD initiative will integrate
political and military aspects of Alliance work in responding to
proliferation.
32. Arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation will continue to
play a major role in the achievement of the Alliance's security
objectives. NATO has a long-standing commitment in this area.
Allied forces, both conventional and nuclear, have been
significantly reduced since the end of the Cold War as part of the
changed security environment. All Allies are States Parties to the
central treaties related to disarmament and non-proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the Chemical
Weapons Convention, and are committed to the full implementation of
these treaties. NATO is a defensive Alliance seeking to enhance
security and stability at the minimum level of forces consistent
with the requirements for the full range of Alliance missions. As
part of its broad approach to security, NATO actively supports arms
control and disarmament, both conventional and nuclear, and pursues
its approach against the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and their delivery means. In the light of overall
strategic developments and the reduced salience of nuclear weapons,
the Alliance will consider options for confidence and security
building measures, verification, non-proliferation and arms control
and disarmament. The Council in Permanent Session will propose a
process to Ministers in December for considering such options. The
responsible NATO bodies would accomplish this. We support deepening
consultations with Russia in these and other areas in the Permanent
Joint Council as well as with Ukraine in the NATO-Ukraine
Commission and with other Partners in the EAPC.
33. The CFE Treaty is a cornerstone of European security. We reaffirm
our commitment to the successful adaptation of the Treaty
reflecting the new security environment and paving the way to
greater conventional security and stability in Europe. In the
course of the negotiations so far, Members of the Alliance have
already declared their intention to undertake reductions in their
equipment entitlements or holdings, and we strongly encourage
others to follow suit with similar substantial reductions. In this
context, we are pleased that agreement has been reached by CFE
States Parties in Vienna in March 1999 on the key outstanding
issues, permitting drafting work to proceed without delay. Allies
will do their utmost to complete an adapted Treaty for signature by
the time of the OSCE Istanbul Summit in November 1999. Until the
adaptation process is completed, the continued full implementation
of the existing Treaty and its associated documents will remain crucial.
34. We call on Russia to ratify the START II Treaty without delay. This
would pave the way for considerable reductions of nuclear arsenals
and would allow negotiations on a START III Treaty aiming at
further far-reaching reductions. We remain committed to an early
entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and call
upon all countries to accede to and implement the Treaty in due
course. We support the early commencement of negotiations on a
Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty.
35. We are determined to achieve progress on a legally binding protocol
including effective verification measures to enhance compliance and
promote transparency that strengthens the implementation of the
Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. We re-emphasize the
importance of universal adherence to, and effective implementation
of, the Chemical Weapons Convention. We support de-mining efforts
in Bosnia, the development of practical initiatives under the
auspices of the EAPC, and - for signatories - activities to meet
obligations under the Ottawa Convention.
36. We call on Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to ratify the Open Skies
Treaty without delay.
37. We will seek to intensify on a mutually reinforcing basis the
Alliance's contacts and co-operation with other international
organisations with a role to play in consolidating democracy and
preserving peace in the Euro-Atlantic area.
38. As stated in the Washington Treaty, we recognise the primary
responsibility of the United Nations Security Council for the
maintenance of international peace and security. The Alliance and
the UN have worked together effectively in implementing the Peace
Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We look forward to developing
further contact and exchanges of information with the United
Nations, in the context of cooperation in conflict prevention,
crisis management, crisis response operations, including
peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance. In the crisis in Kosovo,
the Alliance is using its civil and military capabilities to work
with the UNHCR, the lead agency in the field of refugee relief, and
other relevant international organisations, in providing
humanitarian assistance and refugee relief. The Alliance will
consider on a case-by-case basis future co-operation of this kind.
39. Cooperation and coordination between the Alliance and the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has expanded
considerably in the light of the support we have provided to the
OSCE-led Kosovo Verification Missions. We hope to make use of these
important bridges between our two organisations to work together in
conflict prevention, peacekeeping, crisis management and
post-conflict rehabilitation, in the spirit of the OSCE's Common
Concept for the Development of Co-operation between Mutually
Reinforcing Institutions. We continue to support the efforts of
the OSCE to develop a Document-Charter on European Security, worthy
of adoption at the OSCE Istanbul Summit in November 1999.
40. The Alliance and the European Union share common strategic
interests. Our respective efforts in building peace in the former
Yugoslavia are complementary. Both organisations make decisive
contributions to peace and stability on the European continent.
Cooperation between the two organisations on topics of common
concern, to be decided on a case-by-case basis, could be developed
when it enhances the effectiveness of action by NATO and the EU.
41. The Alliance, in order to adapt its structures to better prepare it
to meet future challenges, launched a comprehensive programme
including the continuing adaptation of NATO's command structure.
Accordingly, Allies welcome the activation decision of the
implementation phase of the Alliance's new command structure. This
will ensure NATO's ability to carry out the whole range of its
missions more effectively and flexibly; support an enlarged
Alliance and our more operational relationship with Partners; and
provide, as part of the development of the ESDI within NATO, for
European command arrangements able to prepare, support, command and
conduct WEU-led operations. After successful trials, we have
embarked on the full implementation of the CJTF concept, giving us
an important new tool for crisis management in the next century.
Allies also welcome the full integration of Spain into NATO's
military structure from January this year, another significant
milestone for the Alliance.
42. Terrorism constitutes a serious threat to peace, security and
stability that can threaten the territorial integrity of States. We
reiterate our condemnation of terrorism and reaffirm our
determination to combat it in accordance with our international
commitments and national legislation. The terrorist threat against
deployed NATO forces and NATO installations requires the
consideration and development of appropriate measures for their
continued protection, taking full account of host nation
responsibilities.
43. NATO Heads of State and Government believe that a key to the future
success of the North Atlantic Alliance is the efficient production
and availability of advanced weapons and technology in support of
security for all its members. We also believe that viable defence
industries on both sides of the Atlantic are critical to the
efficient functioning of NATO military forces. To that end, we
welcome continued transatlantic defence industrial co-operation to
help ensure interoperability, economies of scale, competition and
innovation. We will seek to ensure that NATO's armament activities
meet the Alliance's evolving military needs.
44. We welcome the presence in Washington of the President and other
representatives of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA). The NPA
plays a significant role in complementing NATO's efforts to project
stability throughout Europe. We therefore attach great importance
to enhancing our relations with the NPA in areas of common concern.
We also appreciate the contribution made by the Atlantic Treaty
Association in promoting better understanding of the Alliance and
its objectives among our publics.
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45. We express our deep appreciation for the gracious hospitality
extended to us by the Government of the United States on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Footnote: