Brussels, 02/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the NATO summit on 2-3 April in Bucharest, the ALDE organised a public hearing on 1 April on expanding the Alliance and the subsequent implications for European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). The “Enlargement of NATO-opportunities for European Security and Defence Policy” seminar reached a clear conclusion: NATO needs a strong Europe of defence capable of becoming its partner. Participants at the debate, however, were divided about whether the Alliance should be expanded to the east (Ukraine and Georgia) as well as other Balkan countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro).
Annemie Neyts Uyttebroeck (ALDE, Belgium), the coordinator of the ALDE group at the foreign affairs committee, and joint coordinator of the seminar with Pawel Piskorski (ALDE, Poland) affirmed, “is becoming increasingly obvious to all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but especially the Americans, that a stronger EU Security and Defence policy is a useful and even necessary complement to the military operations undertaken by the NATO Alliance”. She described France's intentions for a strong defence policy as, “a positive development”. The defence advisor at the US mission to the EU, Michael Ryan, confirmed this and declared that the US and NATO needed a strong European defence system. He also affirmed that in this regard, his country was on the same wavelength as France. In reply to the former Polish minister of defence, Janusz Onyszkewicz (ALDE), he did, however, admit that France's possible reintegration into NATO's military structure (which could happen in April 2009 during the 60th anniversary of the Alliance), would not bring any immediate perceptible changes. According to Onyszkewicz, French engagement in this context would have, above all, “huge political effects” and strengthen the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO. The Belgian ambassador to NATO, Franciskus Van Daele said that instead of being in “covered” (sic) competition, NATO and the EU would now be in “open cooperation”. Mr Ryan then underlined that “France has to be fully in both, which implies that the UK has to be fully in both”. As a member of the EU delegation to the NATO parliamentary assembly, Pawel Piskorski reaffirmed the importance of the alliance's immediate enlargement and asserted that, “the NATO summit this week needs to extend its membership to Croatia, Albania and the Republic of Macedonia in order to underscore stability and security in the region following recent tensions over Kosovo's separation from Serbia”. He also added that Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina should also be covered by the “same security guarantees”. With regard to Ukraine and Georgia, which are counting on being included in the accession action plan (MAP) at the summit, Piskorski stated the political message here, “needs to be reassuring to the countries concerned, strongly grounded in popular support and carefully prepared to avoid antagonising Moscow." The former Polish foreign affairs minister, Adam Daniel Rotfeld, said that they needed to take on board Russian objections but should not allow Russia, the main country that is not part of NATO, win a right to veto enlargement of the Alliance. He declared that, “for the first time in 300 years, Russia is not threatened by the West”. He also said that it was time to “offer Russia an open and strategic perspective” in its relations with the EU and NATO and to talk about a “perspective of engagement”. (A.By)