Intervention
by Yvonne
Gustafsson
State Secretary for Defence of Sweden,
at the Meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
Mr. Secretary General, Colleagues,
Sweden is committed to contribute to the strengthening of European security.
The last years have shown the need for a pragmatic and innovative approach
in this regard. The development of our common crisis management capabilities
is conducted within several institutional frameworks. The EAPC/PfP format
is unique by its versatility, inclusiveness and wide participation. It
provides for interoperability and substantial Partner contributions to
all forms of multinational Peace Support Operations.
The PARP process has proved to be a very useful tool in developing Partners'
capabilities to participate in multinational Peace Support Operations.
Sweden sees PARP as the central mechanism in developing its crisis management
capability.
The implementation of the Political-Military Framework for NATO-led PfP-operations
will soon be discussed at the working level. Building on the experiences
of the latest six-month review of SFOR and KFOR, Sweden welcomes further
enhancement of the involvement of troop contributing nations in political
and military consultations and decision-making, operational planning and
in command arrangements.
Mr. Chairman,
Today, we endorse/note the PMSC Chairman's report on the Enhanced and
More Operational Partnership and a progress report on the Operational
Capabilities Concept for NATO-led PfP Operations. These initiatives are
substantial contributions to the Partnership, and will increase the effectiveness
of training and education. They will also be essential tools in setting
up future PfP operations. Sweden welcomes the establishment of the common
database for Allied and Partner resources and a feedback and assessment
program. PARP together with TEEP, OCC and the CJTF-concept should be important
instruments in developing interoperability also for a common European
crisis management capability.
Mr.Chairman,
Management of Partnership for Peace is a question of resources. One important
resource is personnel. For management of Partnership for Peace, Partner
countries have the opportunity to contribute to the PSE- and Internship
Programs. Sweden has contributed and is committed to further contributions
to these programs.
Mr Chairman,
During the last years, the EAPC has increasingly assumed responsibility
for the environmental aspects of military activities. Sweden considers
environmental aspects of military activities as an important area of co-operation.
The Ministries of Defence of Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland
have invited the EAPC countries to a workshop on Environmental Management
Systems in the Military Sector in Switzerland in January. The workshop
is a combined follow-up activity of the NATO/CCMS Pilot Study on Environmental
Management Systems in the Military Sector and the NATO/CCMS EAPC Workshop
on Military Activities and Environment in Warsaw, Poland in 1998.
Mr. Chairman
The Swedish Minister for Defence Dr. von Sydow and his German colleague
last summer initiated a process to exchange views between involved countries,
concerning practical PfP cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region - the Kiel-initiative.
The aim is to take stock of achievements so far, and to discuss steps
to further develop practical PfP cooperation at a Defence Ministers' meeting
during the second half of next year.
The process itself began with a meeting of high officials from the Ministries
of Defence of the relevant countries in Stockholm November 13 and 14.
The meeting was organised to discuss ideas and proposals how to further
develop the practical co-operation in the Baltic Sea region and to prepare
for the informal meeting of Defence Ministers next year. Under Swedish-German
co-chairmanship, senior officials from fourteen countries (Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland,
Russian Federation, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States) discussed
topics that could be on the agenda of the Defence Ministers next year.
A proposal by Denmark, Germany and Poland concerning naval co-operation
in the Baltic Sea region was presented. Russia added a set of proposals,
amongst others to hold a meeting of the naval commanders. It was agreed
that a working group (or points of contact) will be convened by Denmark.
Its task will be to discuss practical steps that can be taken to enhance
and co-ordinate practical naval co-operation in the Baltic Sea region,
e.g. by exchanging information on bilateral or multilateral naval activities
in the region that are open for expanded participation.
The keyword of the meeting was "practical". Practical co-operation
and the development of interoperability were deemed important for building
confidence and strengthening security in the Baltic Sea region. The co-operation
ought to be based on the principles of transparency, non-institutionalisation,
non-regionalisation, non-duplication and inclusiveness. It should form
a flexible framework within the spirit of PfP.
Mr. Chairman,
Allow me to conclude with a few words about the incoming Swedish Presidency
in the European Union. Naturally, we will focus on bringing forward the
work achieved during the French Presidency and in particular the results
from the Nice European Council. I would like to emphasize the following
objectives for the Swedish Presidency:
- Implement the Nice decisions on EU permanent structures contributing
to a basic crisis management capacity. This will require internal workshops
and exercises to secure the proper function of the structures.
- Produce guidelines in the form of a roadmap for making EU fully operational
for crisis management by the end of 2003. This includes an exercise
policy.
- Follow up the outcome of the Capability Commitments Conference including
a review mechanism.
- Bring forward the work on strengthening civil crisis management capabilities
and the relationship between civil and military crisis management.
- Continue to work on agreements between EU and NATO. These agreements
are essential for a credible European crisis management capability.
- Continue to develop the relationships with the NATO members not being
members of the Union, the candidate states and also with countries such
as Russia and Ukraine.
- Develop the co-operation with the UN.
For Sweden, a successful European Crisis management requires transparency
and a broad participation.
Thank you for your attention.
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