Mr Chairman,

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the German Presidency for the excellent setting and its warm hospitality in the beautiful and historical city of Bremen.

I take also the opportunity to praise the skilful way in which the German Presidency successfully conducted this composite and important reflection process.

After Amsterdam, the Treaty of the European Union provides us now with a strong and essential basis to further develop the European Security and Defence Identity within the Union.

The European Council is the institution entrusted by the Amsterdam Treaty with the responsibility of deciding on the progressive framing of a common defence policy and common defence in the framework of the CFSP. In that respect the European Council in Vienna, welcoming the Franco-British declaration of St Malo, has given new impetus to the debate on a common European defence policy.

The painful lessons of recent crises in Bosnia, Kossovo and elsewhere, underline the urgency for the European Union to develop the necessary operational, military, institutional and procedural capabilities, means and instruments for an autonomous, active role in preventing, managing and resolving crises and conflicts.

Moreover, the adoption of the common european currency which has further consolidated the Union’s attributes of sovereignty as well as the pending enlargement of the Union with six countries, highlight the need to accelerate the process for the framing of a common european defence policy and a european defence.

The ideas, proposals and reflection in the EU and in the WEU following the Rome Declaration as well as the results of the Washington Summit are essential parameters in the process leading to the framing of a European Security and Defence Identity.

The Washington Summit has welcomed the new impetus given to the common European policy in security and defence. NATO underlined its will for the broadest possible cooperation and coordination between European and Euro-Atlantic institutions and reaffirmed its determination to further develop the European Security and Defence Identity within the Alliance. In other words, the development of common defence policy and policy of common defence by the EU is a complementary and not an antithetical component of the Atlantic Alliance which remains the indispensable tool for European Security and collective defence.

In that respect the Union, avoiding unnecessary duplication, will be able to combine effectively, political management and credible military capability operating either on its own or on NATO’s assets and capabilities.

This is an ambitious but realistic objective, based both on the will of the Union and the transatlantic cooperation and governed by the principles of efficacy, synergy and transparency.

We share the view that Cologne will have to give further guidelines in the whole process, in shaping the European defence policy and European defence within the second pillar of the Union. The European Council could agree on matters which appear to meet the consensus of the Member-States, including the future of the WEU. Furthermore, we support the idea that in Cologne the European Council could provide us with a flexible time-frame, within which the Union should come up with answers on the institutional questions. Needless to stress how important it is to come up with satisfactory answers, taking into account the interests of both EU-members and non EU-european allies, building on the acquis of the WEU and fully respecting the acquis of the Union.