The 4th of April 1989, which marked the fortieth
anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty,
coincided with the beginning of a period of profound
change in the course of East-West and international rela-
tions.
The following paragraphs briefly describe the origins
and course of those developments, the progress achieved
towards the realisation of many of the long-standing
goals of the Alliance, and the principal issues of concern
facing member countries as they adapt their policies and
shape their common institutions to meet the challenges of
the new security environment.
The roots of the changes which have transformed the
political map of Europe can be traced to a number of
developments during the 1960s and 1970s which were to
have far-reaching implications. While there were many
aspects to these developments, three events stand out in
particular, namely the adoption in December 1967 of the
Harmel doctrine based on the parallel policies of maintain-
ing adequate defence while seeking a relaxation of ten-
sions in East-West relations; the introduction by the
Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1969
of Chancellor Willi Brandt's ``Ostpolitik'', designed to
bring about a more positive relationship with Eastern
European countries and the Soviet Union within the
constraints imposed by their governments' domestic poli-
cies and actions abroad; and the adoption of the CSCE
Helsinki Final Act in August 1975, which established
new standards for the discussion of human rights issues
and introduced measures to increase mutual confidence
between East and West.
A series of similarly important events marked the
course of East-West relations during the 1980s. These
included NATO's deployment of INF missiles (Inter-
mediate Range Nuclear Forces) in Europe following the
December 1979 double-track decision on nuclear modernis-
ation and arms control; the subsequent Washington
Treaty signed in December 1987, which brought about
the elimination of US and Soviet land-based INF missiles
on a global basis; early signs of change in Eastern Europe
associated with the emergence and recognition, despite
later setbacks, of the independent trade union movement
``Solidarity'' in Poland in August 1980; the consequences
of the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
and the ultimate withdrawal of Soviet forces from
Afghanistan in February 1989; and the March 1985
nomination of Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary
of the Soviet Communist Party.
In March 1989, in the framework of the CSCE, promis-
ing new arms control negotiations opened in Vienna
involving the 23 countries of NATO and the Warsaw
Treaty Organisation on reductions in conventional forces
in Europe (CFE). The NATO Summit Meeting held in
Brussels at the end of May 1989 against this background
was of particular significance. Two major statements of
Alliance policy were published, namely a declaration
marking the fortieth Anniversary of the Alliance, setting
out goals and policies to guide the Allies during the fifth
decade of their cooperation; and a Comprehensive Con-
cept of Arms Control and Disarmament.
The Summit Declaration contained many extremely
important elements. It recognised the changes that were
underway in the Soviet Union as well as in other Eastern
European countries and outlined the Alliance's approach
to the overcoming of the division of Europe and the shaping
of a just and peaceful European order. It reiterated the need
for credible and effective deterrent forces and an adequate
defence and endorsed President Bush's arms control initia-
tive calling for an acceleration of the CFE negotiations in
Vienna and for significant reductions in additional catego-
ries of conventional forces, as well as in United States and
Soviet military personnel stationed outside their national
territory. The Declaration set forth a broad agenda for
expanded East/West cooperation in other areas, for action
on significant global challenges and for measures designed
to meet the Alliance's long-term objectives.
Developments of major significance for the entire
European continent and for international relations as a
whole continued as the year progressed. By the end of
1989 and during the early weeks of 1990, significant
progress had been made towards the reform of the politi-
cal and economic systems of Poland and Hungary; and in
the German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria, Czechoslova-
kia and, after a bitter struggle, Romania, steps had been
taken towards freedom and democracy which went far
beyond short-term expectations.
The promise held out for over 40 years to bring an end
to the division of Europe and with it an end to the
division of Germany took on real meaning with the
opening of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Beyond its
fundamental symbolism, the member countries of the
Alliance saw this event as part of an inevitable process
leading to a Europe whole and free. The process was as
yet far from complete and faced numerous obstacles and
uncertainties, but rapid and dramatic progress had never-
theless been achieved. Free elections had taken place or
were planned in most Central and Eastern European
countries, former divisions were being overcome, repres-
sive border installations were being dismantled and,
within less than a year, on 30 October 1990, the unifica-
tion of the two German states took place with the assent
of the Soviet Government on the basis of an international
treaty and the democratic choice of the German people.
Both the fact and the prospect of reform brought
about major positive changes in the relationships of
Central and Eastern European countries with the inter-
national community, opening up a new and enriched
dialogue involving East and West, which offered real
hope in place of the prospect of confrontation, and
practical proposals for cooperation in place of polemics
and the stagnation of cold war politics.
Such changes were not accomplished without difficulty
and, as events within the former Soviet Union and other
parts of Central and Eastern Europe confirmed, created
new concerns about stability and security. The bold
course of reforms within the Soviet Union itself led to
new challenges as well as severe internal problems. More-
over the dire economic outlook and the major difficulties
experienced in many of the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe in managing the transition from authori-
tarian government and a centrally planned economy to
pluralist democracy and a free market combined to make
political forecasting uncertain and subject to constant
revision.
Throughout this period NATO continued to play a key
role, providing the framework for consultation and coordi-
nation of policies among its member countries in order to
diminish the risk of a crisis arising which could impinge
on common security interests. The Alliance pursued its
efforts to remove military imbalances; to bring about
greater openness in military matters; and to build confi-
dence through radical but balanced and verifiable arms
control agreements, verification arrangements and in-
creased contacts at all levels.
At the Summit Meeting in London in July 1990, in the
most far-reaching Declaration issued since NATO was
founded, the Heads of State and Government announced
major steps to transform the Alliance in a manner commen-
surate with the new security environment and to bring con-
frontation between East and West to an end. They extended
offers to the governments of the Soviet Union and Central
and Eastern European countries to establish regular diplo-
matic liaison with NATO and to work towards a new
relationship based on cooperation. The Declaration had
been foreshadowed a month earlier when NATO Foreign
Ministers met in Scotland and took the exceptional step of
issuing a ``Message from Turnberry'', extending an offer
of friendship and cooperation to the Soviet Union and all
other European countries. The announcement made by
President Gorbachev in July 1990, accepting the par-
ticipation of the united Germany in the North Atlantic
Alliance, was explicitly linked to the nature of this
Message and to the substantive proposals and commit-
ments made by Alliance governments in London.
The London Declaration included proposals to develop
cooperation in numerous different ways. Leaders and
representatives of Central and Eastern European coun-
tries were invited to NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
Many such visits took place. Arrangements for regular
contacts at the diplomatic level were made. The Secretary
General of NATO also visited Moscow immediately after
the London Summit Meeting to convey to the Soviet
leadership the proposals contained in the Declaration
and the Alliance's determination to make constructive
use of the new political opportunities opening up.
A joint declaration and commitment to non-aggression
was signed in Paris in November 1990 at the same time
as the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe and the
publication, by all CSCE member states, of the Charter of
Paris for a New Europe. The Joint Declaration formally
brought adversarial relations to an end and reaffirmed
the intention of the signatories to refrain from the threat
or use of force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state, in accordance with the pur-
poses and principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki
Final Act. All other states participating in the CSCE were
invited to join this commitment. New military contacts
were established, including intensified discussions of mili-
tary forces and doctrines. Progress was made towards
an ``Open Skies'' agreement, permitting overflights of
national territory on a reciprocal basis in order to increase
confidence and transparency with respect to military
activities. Further talks were initiated to build on the
CFE Treaty on reductions of conventional forces from
the Atlantic to the Ural Mountains, including additional
measures to limit manpower in Europe. Agreement was
reached to intensify the CSCE process and to set new
standards for the establishment and preservation of free
societies. Measures were taken to enable the CSCE pro-
cess, which has been successful in enhancing mutual con-
fidence, to be further institutionalised in order to provide
a forum for wider political dialogue in a more united
Europe. Internally, NATO carried out a far-reaching
review of its strategy in order to adapt it to the new cir-
cumstances.
Despite the positive course of many of these develop-
ments, new threats to stability can arise very quickly and
in unpredictable circumstances, as the 2 August 1990
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and subsequent developments
in the Gulf area demonstrated. NATO countries used the
Alliance forum intensively for political consultations from
the outbreak of this crisis. They played a prominent role
in support of United Nations efforts to achieve a diplo-
matic solution and reiterated their commitment under
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty in the event of an
external threat to Turkey's security developing from the
situation in the Gulf. Elements of NATO's Allied Mobile
Force were sent to Turkey in order to demonstrate this
commitment.
Significantly, the unity of purpose and determined op-
position by the international community to the actions
taken by Iraq offered positive evidence of the transform-
ation which had taken place in relations between the
Soviet Union and the West. The benefits resulting from
the establishment of better contacts and increased cooper-
ation between them were clearly apparent. The dangers
inherent in the Gulf crisis reinforced the Alliance's deter-
mination to develop and enhance the level of its cooper-
ation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe
as well as with other countries in accordance with the
goals set by Alliance Heads of State and Government in
the London Declaration.
This determination was further reinforced by the events
of 1991, including the repressive steps taken by the Soviet
Government with regard to the Baltic states prior to
conceding their right to establish their own independence;
the deteriorating situation and outbreak of hostilities in
Yugoslavia, leading to the break-up of the Yugoslav
Federation; and the attempted coup d'etat in the Soviet
Union itself which took place in August.
Against the background of these events, 1991 was
marked by an intensification of visits and diplomatic
contacts between NATO and the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe in accordance with the decisions taken
by NATO Heads of State and Government in London.
With the publication of the Rome Declaration in Novem-
ber 1991, the basis was laid for placing their evolving
relationship on a more institutionalised footing. The estab-
lishment of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in
December, bringing together the member countries of
NATO and, initially, nine Central and Eastern European
countries in a new consultative forum, was a direct conse-
quence of this decision.
The inaugural meeting of the North Atlantic Cooper-
ation Council took place on 20 November 1991, just as
the Soviet Union was ceasing to exist. Eleven former
Soviet republics became members of the new Common-
wealth of Independent States, entering a period of intense
political and economic transformation. In Nagorno-Kara-
bakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia and elsewhere,
outbreaks of violence occurred and serious inter-state
tensions developed.
The deteriorating situation, continuing use of force
and mounting loss of life in the territory of the former
Yugoslavia were further major causes of concern which
marred the prospects for peaceful progress towards a
new security environment in Europe. Both the North
Atlantic Council and the North Atlantic Cooperation
Council endeavoured to support efforts undertaken in
other forums to restore peace and to bring their own
influence to bear on the parties concerned.
In March 1992 participation in the North Atlantic
Cooperation Council was expanded to include all mem-
bers of the Commonwealth of Independent States and by
June 1992 Georgia and Albania had also become mem-
bers.
During the same period, discussion of measures de-
signed to strengthen the role of the CSCE in promoting
stability and democracy in Europe, including proposals
outlined in the Rome Declaration issued by the Alliance,
culminated in the signature of the 1992 Helsinki Document
(``The Challenges of Change'') at the CSCE Summit Meet-
ing in July 1992. The document describes, inter alia, new
initiatives for the creation of a CSCE forum for security
cooperation and for CSCE peace-keeping activities, for
which both the North Atlantic Council and the North
Atlantic Cooperation Council have expressed full support.
At the November 1991 Summit Meeting in Rome, the
Alliance also published its new Strategic Concept. This is
based on a broad approach to security and sets out the
principles and considerations which determine the future
role of the Alliance and the transformation of its struc-
tures needed to enable it to fulfil its continuing tasks and
to play its full role, in cooperation with other inter-
national institutions, in Europe's future security.
The key elements of the Rome Declaration and the
principal orientations of the Strategic Concept are out-
lined in the following sections.
25. THE NEW SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
The institutional basis for managing Europe's future secu-
rity set out in the Rome Declaration takes as its starting
point the fact that the challenges facing the new Europe
cannot be comprehensively addressed by one institution
alone. They require a framework of interlocking institu-
tions, tying together the countries of Europe and North
America in a system of inter-relating and mutually sup-
porting structures. The Alliance is therefore working
towards a new European security architecture which seeks
to achieve this objective by ensuring that the roles of
NATO, the CSCE, the European Community, the West-
ern European Union and the Council of Europe are
complementary. Other regional frameworks of cooper-
ation can also play an important part. Preventing the
instability and divisions which could result from causes
such as economic disparities and violent nationalism
depends on effective interaction between these various
elements.
The North Atlantic Alliance and the steps taken by the
Alliance in the framework of the North Atlantic Cooper-
ation Council are fundamental to this process. The
Alliance itself is the essential forum for consultation
among its members and is the venue for reaching agree-
ment on and implementing policies with a bearing on
their security and defence commitments under the North
Atlantic Treaty. However, as the evolution of Europe's
new security architecture progresses, the Alliance is
developing practical arrangements, along with the other
institutions involved, to ensure the necessary transparency
and complementarity between them. This includes closer
contacts and exchanges of information and documenta-
tion between the institutions themselves, as well as recipro-
cal arrangements regarding participation and representa-
tion in appropriate meetings.
26. A BROAD APPROACH TO SECURITY
The Alliance has always sought to achieve its over-riding
objectives of safeguarding the security of its members and
establishing a just and lasting peaceful order in Europe
through both political and military means. This comprehen-
sive approach remains the basis of the Alliance's security
policy. However, in the new security situation, the chances
of achieving these objectives by political means, as well as
taking into account the economic, social and environ-
mental dimensions of security and stability, are better
than ever before. The Alliance's active pursuit of dialogue
and cooperation, underpinned by the commitment to an
effective collective defence capability and to building up
the institutional basis for crisis management and conflict
prevention, therefore has the following key objectives: to
reduce the risk of conflict arising out of misunderstanding
or design; to build increased mutual understanding and
confidence among all European states; to help manage
crises affecting the security of the Allies; and to expand
the opportunities for a genuine partnership among all
European countries in dealing with common security
problems.
