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27 March 2008
Delegates to Upcoming NATO Summit Face Full Agenda
Ongoing transformation of alliance is one focus of meeting
Washington -- Like NATO summits of the past, the 2008 meeting in Bucharest, Romania, is composed of familiar elements -- consensus building, defining priorities, creating messages and laying the foundation for the future. But it is also about shared values and common goals. At Bucharest, leaders and ministers from the NATO community will be building strategies for Afghanistan security and reconstruction, establishing a secure future for Kosovo and finding new approaches to the challenges of terrorism.
The summit -- April 2-4 -- is expected to be much larger than previous meetings, with about 3,000 delegates descending on Romania’s capital from 26 member-nations. There will be delegates representing international institutions, including the United Nations which will be represented by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and several thousand journalists to document the public moments. Some 16 rooms are reserved for the press conferences, interviews and photo opportunities.
Previous NATO summits took place in Riga, Latvia (2006), Istanbul, Turkey (2004), and Prague, the Czech Republic (2002). The Bucharest Summit will be showcased inside the beautiful chambers of the Palace of the Parliament -- 1,110 rooms rising 12 stories.
Outside, the city will have 10,000 police officers to provide tight security for the delegates and VIPs. Organizers have arranged for 400 vans and shuttle buses and 500 cars for transport of delegates, guests and observers.
Expanding NATO membership is only one aspect of this summit. Three candidates -- Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Albania -- have worked to meet obligations under the Membership Action Plan and are now eligible for a membership invitation at this summit.
But there is much more on the agenda. Alliance commitments are constantly under review. There are currently 60,000 personnel supporting 15 NATO-led missions and operations on three continents.
Demands are great not only in the Balkans, where the NATO-led Kosovo Force is maintaining security for the Kosovars and is expected to have a key role in setting up a new Kosovarian Security Force, but also in Afghanistan, which represents an enduring commitment for NATO.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the summit should produce “a clear strategy for the way ahead in Afghanistan -- with a robust NATO presence underlining our commitment; enhanced training of the Afghan National Army to make sure the Afghans are better able to look after their own security; better interaction between international organizations, including the United Nations and the European Union, to make sure that security goes hand-in-hand with reconstruction and development; and a strong appeal to Afghanistan’s neighbors to support our common goal of a stable and democratic Afghanistan.”
NATO’s ongoing transformation will be another focus. Transformation means the alliance has to have an appropriate contemporary structure and military capabilities paired with current challenges whether in defense against ballistic missiles, to secure energy sources, or to protect against cyber attack.
Developing alliance partnerships is another major theme. Great strides have been made already with European partners. But now, NATO is looking for partners in the Middle East, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
De Hoop Scheffer says many regions have been watching with great interest as the alliance evolved, recognizing the security benefits associated with closer affiliation. NATO should make this a reality, he says, “by engaging in dialogue, opening new channels of cooperation and enhancing the interoperability of our forces with those of interested countries.”
OTHER MAJOR VENUES
What else is in store? Important meetings of the North Atlantic Council, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the NATO-Ukraine Commission, and the NATO-Russia Council with Russian President Vladimir Putin invited to some segments of the summit. (See NATO-Russia Web site.)
There are lunches and dinners with toasts. And, there are the bilateral meetings held on the fringes of the summit. President Bush, for example, will be meeting separately with de Hoop Scheffer and the Romanian prime minister, even as he asks individual alliance members to do more to share the burden of far-flung missions, such as supporting and training African peacekeepers.
There also will be ongoing discussions about progress by Georgia and Ukraine, both of which aspire to join the alliance in future rounds of enlargement. Other hot topics include weapons proliferation and missile defense.
The summit will also include events organized around the meetings. NATO has unveiled a pre-summit multimedia exhibit, “Securing Our Future.” Using video, photos and text, the exhibit at the National History Museum in Romania looks at the alliance’s response to security challenges, including terrorism, as well as existing partnerships, missions and capabilities.
A German Marshall Fund conference and a Young Atlanticist Summit are also planned to coincide with Bucharest. The latter offers aspiring leaders the chance to meet with alliance decision makers, receive security briefings, participate in a crisis simulation and talk with Afghan counterparts.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR NATO’S FUTURE?
Romanian President Traian Basescu says this summit should set the stage for the future. “We should start talking seriously about a new strategic outlook that will help maintain the alliance as a robust organization, capable of addressing evolving security challenges -- both near and far -- and prepared to enlist partner countries willing and able to contribute to set objectives and missions.”
Of course there is another summit on the horizon. In 2009, NATO will celebrate its 60th anniversary and it will be an occasion for ceremony, reflection, congratulations and assessment. Commonality will be celebrated, transformation evaluated and future threats assessed on the road to ensuring NATO’s continued vitality.
A new strategic concept for NATO is in the making and de Hoop Scheffer says it has to clarify that NATO “is no longer a solo-player” and that the alliance works best in concert with others since “it has neither the means nor the ambition to tackle each and every challenge on its own.”
