Statement

Mr. Secretary-General,

Next year a series of high level meetings will take place. NATO and the EAPC, the European Union, the Union and the United States, and finally the OSCE will meet at summit level. These events will pave the way for more security and prosperity in the Euro-Atlantic area in the coming millennium.

The new NATO oriented to broad co-operation will be one of the cornerstones of stability. NATO's reforms and the enlargement process will contribute to the enhancement of international security.

NATO members and partners share the same basic security interests. Security of the Euro-Atlantic area is indivisible. However, we have to work harder to develop the already existing means to achieve it.

In a fairly short time we have created the instruments for Euro-Atlantic cooperation: the EAPC and the PfP programme. They should also in the future serve the needs of all countries of the Euro-Atlantic region, whether Nato members or Partners, which aspire for membership or for active cooperation. We should bear that in mind when we will strengthen the EAPC and the Partnership.

Mr. Secretary-General,

Military crisis management is the competitive edge of NATO. At the same time, cooperation with other relevant organisations is increasingly important.

We appreciate NATO's role in the Western Balkans. The operation in Bosnia has been a success. The Kosovo crisis is another test case for the crisis management skills of the international community. There we are now breaking new ground for the relations between NATO and the OSCE. These two security organisations are developing ways to cooperate as they implement the verification missions. Other actors, such as the European Union and the Council of Europe, will join the effort to build peace and democracy in the region. Finland and Sweden have recently joined the reborn debate on European security policy. The relationships between the EU, WEU and NATO play a key role. We have reminded our partners that with the Amsterdam Treaty, the European Union will have at its disposal the tools it needs for crisis management.

Mr. Secretary-General,

We all are making the Partnership for Peace programme more operational and setting guidelines for Partner participation in NATO-led PfP crisis management missions.

I am confident that the new Political Military Framework will involve Partner troop contributors more closely in the planning and decision making. Partners are likely to participate in most non-article 5-operations in the future. Therefore, it is in the interest of us all to involve potential troop contributors in early preparations and political and military consultations of Nato-led PfP-operations. One of the challenges of the EAPC is the need to create an effective Euro-Atlantic disaster response capability. This is practical work in order to respond to real-life needs. The new Coordination Centre is already established, but its operating tool, the Response Unit exists only on paper. It is time to translate good intentions into deeds and activate the Unit. Finland supports this effort and is developing its own national resources in order to better contribute to international cooperation in this field.

It is important that the Centre is developed in good cooperation with the United Nations, which has the global responsibility for coordinating disaster relief activities.

Mr. Secretary-General,

The vision of the new Nato will be captured particularly in the new Strategic Concept. Nato might consider offering the Partners an opportunity to express their views on some issues reflected in the Concept, and thereby benefit from the ideas that such dialogue would produce.

It is in the interest of the entire Euro-Atlantic community that NATO is able to safeguard stability, while adapting to the changing environment. Deepening partnership can offer a dynamic element in the cooperative security emerging in the Euro-Atlantic area. Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General.