NATO Secretary-General praises Finland’s role in Partnership for Peace

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer disagrees with Gustav Hägglund on EU and NATO future

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NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says that Finland’s extensive experience in international peacekeeping operations would be a benefit to NATO if Finland were to join the alliance. De Hoop Scheffer will pay a visit to Finland on Thursday.
      In a joint interview with the Finnish newspapers Helsingin Sanomat and Hufvudstadsbladet on Monday, the Secretary-General did not comment on possible Finnish NATO membership, beyond noting that "NATO’s door is open", and that Finland is a "highly respected country" as a member of the Partnership for Peace.
      He also disagreed with the vision of Finnish General Gustav Hägglund, who recently retired from the post of chairman of the EU Military Committee, and who has said that the EU and NATO could partially merge in the future.
     
"If we examine Finland’s excellent participation in the peacekeeping operations in Kosovo or Afghanistan, for instance, then it would naturally be a plus if such a country were within our ranks. However, I am not appealing for Finnish membership, because it is not my business to do so", said de Hoop Scheffer.
      While in Finland he is to hold talks with Finnish political leaders on a number of matters, including Finnish participation in crisis management operations led by NATO and the UN.
     
Perhaps the greatest obstacle to Finnish NATO membership is the negative attitude of the population toward such a move. There are no military or political impediments to membership, and Finnish supporters of membership note that as a NATO member, Finland would get the chance to take part in decision-making within the alliance.
      De Hoop Scheffer points out, however, that the main difference between PfP countries and NATO members is Article Five in NATO’s charter, which provides collective security guarantees for member states.
      "We occasionally forget this because NATO is largely concentrating on operations far away from home, such as the one in Afghanistan. However, the collective security guarantee remains the core of NATO."
      He points out that NATO’s new eastern members understand this aspect of the alliance very well.
      "NATO has always defended values which have been central to both Finnish and Dutch society."
     
Both NATO and the EU are in a state of flux, with both organisations recently taking on new members. NATO now has 26 member states.
      General Gustav Hägglund, the former chairman of the EU Military Committee, said recently that the EU and NATO could partially assimilate, and that the security and defence policy of the EU could turn into a kind of "European pillar" of NATO.
      In this vision the EU would be independently responsible for the defence of Europe, without the help of the United States; the "American pillar" would be left with tasks such as the fight against terrorism, and certain heavy operations.
      Jaap de Hoop Scheffer does not believe that this will happen.
      "I do not believe that the EU should, or that it could, take care of the fundamental task of NATO - that is, collective defence... I am in favour of the EU developing its own security and defence identity, which complements NATO. But a division of tasks in which the EU would answer for Europe, and NATO for (operations) outside Europe is not possible."
     
The fight against terrorism is another new role for NATO brought on by the end of the Cold War. The NATO Secretary-General admits that events such as the hostage crisis in North Ossetia are reminders that it is not possible to protect every citizen or every building from terrorist acts.
      "The terrorists want to destroy our open and democratic societies, and this is something that we must never tolerate or accept. In this issue NATO, the EU, the UN, and international communities should work as closely together as possible to make the lives of the terrorists as difficult as possible."
      De Hoop Scheffer says that representatives of NATO and Russia are to meet on Tuesday to discuss the hostage drama in North Ossetia.
     
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer disagrees with those who see NATO as a dinosaur whose natural habitat had ceased to exist with the end of the Cold War.
      The Secretary-General himself says that in 10 - 15 years NATO will continue to have an important role as a military and political organisation, with a transatlantic link with the United States, which the EU does not have.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Former head of Military Committee calls for independent EU defence (17.8.2004)
  Finnish special forces could be used in NATO operations (7.4.2004)
  US Senator Richard Lugar says NATO membership would be good for Finland and NATO (13.4.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat