EU-NATO pact signed on security of information

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday March 18, 2003 17:53 by newshound

LORD ROBERTSON - The NATO Secretary General and Greek Foreign Minister GEORGE PAPANDREOU signed the deal. Greek Foreign Minister and President of the EU Council of Ministers, George Papandreou and NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson signed on Friday in Athens an EU-NATO Security Pact.

Lord Robertson said the agreement marked a very important step in the development of ties between the two organisations, when the EU takes on military projects in areas where NATO as a whole is not active.

Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief also welcomed the deal.

"It will enable consultations and co-operation between the EU and NATO on the basis of classified information exchanged between both parties. It will facilitate the take-over by the EU of the military operation currently led by NATO in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", he said.

The text of the Pact has not been published.

The agreement was a face-saving exercise for EU defence ministers at their informal meeting held over the weekend in Vouliagmeni, south of Athens.

The prospect of a looming Iraq war, which has divided the EU countries, overshadowed the meeting. The British defence minister, Geoffrey Hoon, did not even participate.

However, it now appears that, from April 1, the EU will officially take over operation Allied Harmony in Macedonia from NATO.

From then on the responsibility, the direction and the payment of this mission will lie with the EU. Some 300 troops are expected to participate in what will be the EU’s first military mission.

Greek EU presidency has been marginalized
The Greek main opposition New Democracy (ND) Deputy, Yiannis Varvitsiotis, on Thursday expressed fears that the Iraq crisis and arguments between the United States and Europe countries could cause a negative stance among certain member states towards enlargement, reported Athens News Agency.

Addressing a meeting organized by the Constantine Karamanlis Institute of Democracy on European security and defence policy, Mr Varvitsiotis said the first great victim of the Iraq crisis is the EU's common foreign policy and security and defence policy, adding that at the moment the EU is playing almost no role, while the Greek EU presidency has been marginalized.