Today's Date:

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THE MINISTER – NATO is still the alliance which ensures the defence of the members’ common interests and is at the heart of Europe’s defence system. Admittedly, the strategic environment has changed considerably since NATO’s creation and the Atlantic Alliance is no longer the shield which protected us against a possible Soviet attack, but its defence role is not at an end.

NATO’s missions have undergone a far-reaching change: by supporting the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul in Afghanistan, the Atlantic Alliance is carrying out its first “out-of-area” mission. This reflects a major change in its priorities in accordance with the strategic concept approved in Washington by the heads of State and government in April 1999. This mission will also be a test for the Alliance which will perhaps one day move towards targeting its missions on theatres in which peace is threatened.

Like NATO, the European Union is duty-bound to adapt to the challenges of the contemporary world, which are radically different from those obtaining at its creation, and in particular Europe's crisis-management missions. The permanent arrangement between the European Union and NATO, approved in March this year, thus makes it possible to settle potential questions arising in the event of the use of NATO capacities and assets. It is on this basis that the European Union took command of a peace force in Macedonia on 31 March, taking over from NATO. It is also this framework which could allow the EU, at the beginning of 2004, to take responsibility for the stabilization force in Bosnia.

There is therefore genuine complementarity between NATO and Defence Europe. The preservation of the transatlantic link will continue to play a crucial role. Since 1998, there has been provision for Defence Europe acting where the Alliance, as such, is not committed.

IRAQ/POLAND/FRANCE/INTERNATIONAL STABILIZATION FORCE

THE MINISTER – Any participation by France could be envisaged only in the framework of a United Nations action, based on a specific Security Council mandate and thereby enjoying the support of the whole international community. (...)./.