Athens, 27/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - Cooperation between NATO and the European Union was one of the subjects addressed last week in Washington by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who held meetings with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his Deputy Paul Wolfowitz.
According to Mr Papandreou, the Americans do not seem willing to discuss amendments to the Ankara document, the compromise negotiated by the US, the United Kingdom and Turkey in order to overcome Turkish objections to an agreement between NATO and the EU on the use of NATO assets by a planned European crisis management force. Washington nevertheless hinted that the Greek reservations could be waived through the addition of a declaration to the Ankara document, but without renegotiating the accord with Turkey, reported the Greek news agency ANA.
After a meeting with Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Mr Papandreou highlighted the efforts being made by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to find a compromise solution on access to NATO assets and voiced the hope that the efforts being made with Spain would lead to an early solution.
It will be recalled that the European Union would like to take over the Amber Fox operation in Macedonia, currently led by NATO. The Amber Fox mandate under NATO was prolonged on 21 May for another four months, to 26 October, it being understood that the EU should enter into action at that time. It is therefore vital to reach an agreement soon, so that European military authorities have time to prepare for this first ESDP mission.