Paris, 05/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - The new President of the Assembly of the Western European Union - the interim European Security and Defence Assembly, Dutch Liberal Jan Dirk Blaaw, said at a conference of the "Association Aéronautique et Astronautic de France", in Arrachon, that Europe should become "an equal partner of the United States in the development of an all-encompassing global missile defence system". If it wants to have a full range of instruments to assure the security and stability of all its citizens and "make the world a safer place", Europe must also have a missile defence, even if setting up such a system still runs up against many technological uncertainties, he says, noting that the experience of the Gulf War demonstrated to NATO Allies that "their armed forces were in need of an antimissile defence system". The Atlantic Alliance is in the process of completing a theatre missile defence feasibility study, Mr. Blaauw recalls.
According to the President of the WEU Assembly, faced with the threats that long-range missiles could pose in future, Europe must not just focus on the protection of its forces; under these conditions, European involvement in a future global missile defence system seems to him probably inevitable. In particular, stresses Blaauw, Europe should react positively to the offer to participate in the American missile defence system, in order to prevent a further widening of the existing gap in military technology. While admitting that it may seem difficult to create a single transatlantic system, the Dutch deputy suggests a "missile defence architecture" as solution, reflecting the specific position and capabilities of each participant, to lead, in the long-term, to a system in which the United States would be responsible for intercepting missiles during the boost phase and mid-course, while Europeans could be responsible for terminal phase defence on their territory.