Meeting of the Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers Session 13 Jun 1996

Speaking Notes for the Chairman Introduction Good morning. It is a great pleasure to see you at this meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers Session. As you know this is a historic occasion. We are present today at the first meeting of the Council in this format in nearly 30 years, with the participation of all 16 NATO Defence Ministers. Let me therefore express my belief that this meeting will be a milestone in the Alliance's development. It is itself a key step in our continuing adaptation to the new opportunities and challenges for transatlantic security. But it is also a symbol of the progress we have already achieved in that adaptation. Depuis la fin de la guerre froide, et en particulier depuis le Sommet de janvier 1994, l'Alliance est confronte de nombreux dfis nouveaux mesure qu'elle volue et qu'elle se modifie pour faire face aux nouvelles ralits en matire de scurit. C'est particulirement vrai pour les travaux auxquels les Ministres de la dfense vont devoir procder pour donner suite aux dcisions de grande porte qui ont t prises au dbut du mois, Berlin, sur l'adaptation des procdures et des structures de l'Alliance. Et ce sera galement vrai pour les autres questions que nous allons examiner aujourd'hui, comme la situation en Bosnie-Herzgovine et notre lutte contre la prolifration des armes de destruction massive. We have much to do. But as I said in Berlin, we have given birth to a new Alliance and a stronger Alliance, and so I am delighted that we are meeting in this forum to tackle the important agenda before us. May I now ask the press to depart.