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| Updated: 25-Jun-2003 | June 2003 |
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Lord Robertson visits Germany Lord Robertson travelled to Germany to address a conference organised by the Ministry of Defence and the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine on defence policy, security strategy and the future of the German armed forces. The Secretary General emphasized that while differences remained,
there was agreement on strategic priorities among NATO members.
“Any credible security strategy must start from an analysis of threats and challenges. This analysis is now essentially the same whether in NATO, the EU or our member countries,” he said. NATO is now putting these strategies into practice, by taking on new missions in Afghanistan and the Mediterranean, developing key new capabilities and transforming its military structure, he explained.
“Perhaps most striking is the fact that these once unthinkable decisions now appear quite natural. So that NATO Ministers can debate seriously the pros and cons of a more direct Alliance role in Iraq, or even in the Middle East, without storms of theological protest. This is real evidence that our strategies have evolved but remained in step.” The Secretary General however pointed out that European NATO members are “still spending too much on cold war legacy capabilities and unnecessary prestige projects, and not enough on what really matters today.” This could open a “growing disconnect” between what Europe’s aspirations are and what it can actually deliver he added. During his visit, Lord Robertson also held a press conference together with German Minister of Defence, Peter Struck, and addressed the German Atlantic Treaty Association.
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