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50th
Anniversary activities
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As part of NATO's 50th anniversary programme of activities, two
international conferences took place this week. One was held both
in Brussels and Bonn, 19-22 May, on "NATO's first 50 years:
From Security in the West to Securing Peace in Europe"; the
other was held in Toledo, 21-22 May, on "The Alliance in the
21st century". More information on these events can be found
by consulting the calendar
of activities.
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Opening
of NATO Archives
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On 19 May, the NATO Archives were officially opened by the Secretary
General, Dr Javier Solana, at NATO HQ, Brussels. Over 33,000 documents
have been declassified and made available to the public, with several
thousands more to follow in the near future. Documents are held
at the Manfred Wörner building.
Additional information:
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Kosovo
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The NATO air campaign has continued to inflict heavy damage on
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's military infrastructure. Over
half of the Yugoslav Air Force's frontline combat aircraft have
been destroyed, and 75% of the fixed surface to air missile sites.
NATO has also destroyed a third of all the Serb heavy equipment
in Kosovo and 50% of the ammunition storage, together with a large
proportion of the Serbs' command and control network and infrastructure.
Vigorous diplomatic efforts are being pursued in parallel for a
political solution to the crisis in line with the requirements set
out by the Washington Summit and the G8 Foreign Ministers' statement.
Military planning for a possible international security presence
in Kosovo after the conflict is also being updated to take account
of the changing situation.
As stated at the Washington Summit, NATO's aim is to make stability
in Southeast Europe a priority on its agenda. On 21 May, the Allies
restated, during a meeting with countries neighbouring the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, their readiness to support the nations of
Southeast Europe in forging a better future for their region. NATO
will work in close cooperation with other organisations to do so.
It will participate in the European Union meeting on the South Eastern
Europe Initiative to be held in Bonn on 27 May.
The Alliance's substantial support to help alleviate the refugee
crisis in neighbouring countries is fully underway in Albania and
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1). As well
as helping to care for almost half a million refugees in Albania
and a quarter of a million in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(1), NATO forces have built 6 major refugee camps with
7 more under construction, and have helped distribute over 13,500
tons of humanitarian aid.
The plight of internally displaced persons inside Kosovo is a major
cause for concern. NATO has therefore been working with the UNHCR
and other organisations to assist third party humanitarian missions,
while the air campaign is under way. Humanitarian air drops into
Kosovo by aid organisations are due to start this week.
1. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia
with its constitutional name.
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Visit to NATO by Italian Prime Minister, Massimo D’Alema. He issues
a statement proposing a halt to the bombing in Yugoslavia for three days
pending an accord by NATO nations and Russia on a draft UN Security Council
resolution.
Additional information:
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NATO Speeches:
Press Conference by NATO
Secretary General, Mr Javier Solana, and the Italian Prime Minister,
Mr Massimo D'Alema 
- High
resolution photos of the visit to NATO by Italian Prime Minister,
Massimo DAlema
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Workshop
on scarce water resources
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A NATO workshop dealing with technological support systems for
the management of scarce water resources took place in Amman, Jordan,
from 23-26 May. Organised under NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue initiative,
and with the support of the NATO Science Programme, the workshop's
goal was to develop strategies for practical, productive Decision
Support Systems (DSS applications) in the Mediterranean area. The
presentations consisted of both case study descriptions of existing
decision support systems which demonstrated practical and affordable
DSS technologies, and discussions of the opportunities and challenges
in integrated water quantity and quality management. The 25 workshop
participants included experts from Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia,
and Jordan, as well as from NATO countries with experience of water
resource problems.
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Co-operative
Guard 99
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For the first time since its accession to the Alliance, the Czech
Republic is hosting a NATO/Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercise,
23 May to 4 June. This will also be the first time that EUROCORPS
- the 5-nation European army corps - will exercise under NATO command
and use the Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters (CJTF HQ) concept
(2). The exercise focuses on peace support operations
and promoting PfP. 12 of the 26 participating countries are PfP
members.
2. The CJTF HQ concept is based on a deployable,
multinational multi-service Alliance HQ of variable size, to command
and control contingency operations including peace support operations.
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Visit to NATO by the Prime Minister of Albania, Pandeli Majko.
Additional information:
- NATO Speeches:
Press Conference by
NATO Secretary General, Mr Javier Solana and the Albanian Prime Minister,
Mr Pandeli Majko
- High
resolution photos of the visit to NATO by the Prime Minister of
Albania, Pandeli Majko
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Visit to NATO by the President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain,
José María Aznar.
Additional information:
- NATO Speeches:
Press Conference by
NATO Secretary General, Mr Javier Solana, and the Spanish Prime Minister,
Mr Aznar
- High
resolution photos of the visit to NATO by José María
Aznar, President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain
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