24 March 2000
(Reprinted from The Wall Street Journal Europe, March 24, 2000) (700) (begin text) GET ESDI RIGHT Europe should beef up its military capabilities. By Madeleine K. Albright and William S. Cohen (Mrs. Albright is U.S. Secretary of State and Mr. Cohen is U.S. Secretary of Defense.) Today in Lisbon, European Union leaders are gathered to talk about employment and economic reform. But equally important to the United States are the steps they take to get ESDI right . There should be no confusion about America's position on the European Security and Defense Identity, or ESDI. We are for a strong and capable Europe, and we are for ESDI. The reason is simple. America needs a strong partner in Europe -- a partner that can act with us in NATO and, if need be, where NATO as a whole is not engaged. That's why the U.S. strongly supported ESDI at NATO's 50th anniversary summit last spring, and why we support the conclusions of the December EU Helsinki Summit. The development of a foreign policy and security dimension to the EU is a natural, even inevitable, part of the development of broader European integration. America's goal is clear. We want ESDI to succeed. Greater European military capabilities will make the Alliance stronger, lift some of the burden U.S. now carries in having to act in every crisis, and make the U.S.-European relationship a more balanced partnership. That's good for America, good for Europe, and good for the trans-Atlantic partnership. NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson has given us three benchmarks for success, know as "the 3 I's": improvement of capabilities, inclusiveness of all Allies, and indivisibility of security structures. At Helsinki, the EU committed itself to move forward in each of these areas. Improving capabilities: The war in Kosovo showed a clear gap between U.S. and European military capability in the fields most relevant to modern warfare. New structures and committees by themselves are not the answer to this challenge. Simply put, Europe needs more military capability. This will require spending more on defense, and spending smarter. Our European allies and partners need to improve the deployability and mobility of their forces, and ensure that they are able to survive, communicate, persevere and succeed in future engagements. At the Washington Summit, allies endorsed a Defense Capabilities Initiative to address these needs. We welcome the commitment made at Helsinki by our European allies to support these goals. And for our part, the U.S. is seeing if we can help by reviewing our export control policies. Inclusive of all allies: Our NATO allies who are not members of the EU should have a voice in shaping the EU's security and defense deliberations. These nations share security guarantees with the NATO members of the EU, possess important capabilities, and have pledged to contribute to EU military goals. While final EU decisions are for the EU, we encourage it to include the non-EU allies in its efforts. And NATO, to help non-NATO members of the EU to work with the Alliance, can and should build on the Partnership for Peace. Indivisibility of security structures: NATO and the EU must be able to work together. The closest possible links are necessary for NATO to be able to support an EU-led action where the alliance is not engaged. We want to use the coming months to help create a concrete NATO-EU relationship that assures transparency and cooperation. The right kind of links will ensure that organizational decisions about future military operations will not be taken in isolation by either NATO or the EU. We have a trans-Atlantic consensus on the indivisibility of our security interests. Our structures for pursuing these interests must be indivisible as well. America and Europe have successfully met the security challenges of the past 50 years through this shared commitment. As we look ahead, we know that getting ESDI right will be an important part of the trans-Atlantic community's future. We are in this together. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)