Secretary General Willy Claes
North Atlantic Treaty Organization

This is an historic and exciting time to be in the New Europe. Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Communism, Europe is still a dangerous place. In addition to its fundamental mission of collective security and defense, the New NATO has had to adapt quickly and respond rapidly to these dangers and the other demands of the dynamic European security environment. Crises in the republics of the former Soviet Union, the continuing conflict in the Balkans, and the maturing of newly-formed democracies and free-market economies in Central and Eastern Europe are just a few of the specific challenges facing the Alliance. In response, the streamlined New NATO has launched a host of initiatives including Partnership for Peace, the Combined Joint Task Force, and Counter Proliferation programs. It has also developed impressive, new crisis management capabilities. These programs will enable the New NATO to respond effectively to today's and tomorrow's challenges, to help consolidate the gains of Europe's democratic revolution, and to foster continued European peace and prosperity well into the next century. The operational challenges in the New Europe are many. In fact, with reduced forces and resources, the need for an effective and efficient Atlantic Alliance is greater than ever before. The mission of the New NATO continues; its importance and relevance make it a key component in the emerging European security architecture.

General George Joulwan
Supreme Allied Commander Europe 

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns KCB CBE LVO
Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northwest Europe 

Admiral Leighton Smith
Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe 

Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Stear KCB CBE
Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe 

"The Partnership for Peace: a Central European/Hungarian View"
His Excellency State Secretary Ferenc Somogyi
Foreign Ministry of Hungary 

"Partnership for Peace: a Slovakian View"
His Excellency Professor Juraj Schenk
Foreign Minister of the Slovak Republic 

His Excellency Zbigniew Okonski
Minister of Defense of Poland

Professor Stefano Silvestri
Under Secretary of Defense of Italy 

Remarks by Minister-President Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf 

His Excellency Tiit Vahi
Prime Minister of Estonia

His Excellency Valdis Birkavs
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Latvia 

His Excellency Linas Linkevicius
Defense Minister of Lithuania

Progress in building stable democracies and implementing economic reforms. The importance of integration into European and transatlantic economic, political, and security structures. Major areas of cooperation with NATO within the Partnership for Peace program: the introduction of common standards for equipment and weaponry, training of military personnel, participation in joint exercises and peacekeeping activities.

His Excellency Teodor Melescanu 
Foreign Minister of Romania 

His Excellency Alexandre Vondra
First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

His Excellency Hennadiy Udovenko
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs

His Excellency Nikolai Afanassievsky
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation 

How to create an enduring and stable security framework for Europe: Russia's views of the role of NATO, the OSCE, and other international organizations. The assessment of NATO's Partnership for Peace Program. The need to create a mechanism for political and military consultations between Russia and NATO and to enhance cooperation in conflict prevention, crisis management, and peacekeeping. How Russia perceives NATO's possible eastward expansion and how prospects for broadening the Alliance affect Russia's future relationship with NATO. Other questions of significance for Russia's security including the fate of arms limitations agreements, nonproliferation efforts, and questions concerning nuclear and missile technologies and their export. How NATO and its member countries perceive the Russian Federation and its responses to the current security challenges.

Our responsibility is to shape a new Europe of lasting peace and stability, with NATO as the continued basis for security in Europe. The political and strategic relationship between Europe and North America is essentially based on common values and similar interests. It is the Alliance that can genuinely guarantee the security of its members. It is a model for working political and military cooperation between sovereign democratic nations and at the same time an important driving force for political change in Europe. It is our historical obligation to admit the young democracies in our eastern neighborhood, that have contributed so much to the radical change in Europeówhich resulted also in Germany's unificationóto NATO and the European Union. The recent decisions of the Alliance have established a defined agenda for this process. Integration and cooperation are key elements for stability in the whole of Europe. We must preserve what we have already achieved, and we must be willing to share it with new partners.

Dr. Wolfgang Piller, Chief Financial Officer, Daimler-Benz Aerospace
President of German Aerospace Association 

Expectations as to the possible contributions of industrial organizations to Partnership for Peace. Defense industry "down-sizing" in both Western and Eastern European nations. Its effects on global competition, availability of technologies, and costs. The challenges to industrial cooperation caused by these factors. And the need for new perspectives and incentives that will build a cooperative "bridge" between East and West.

Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, Director of Policy Planning and Operations 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Ambassador Dr. Istvan Gyarmati, Director
Department of European Security and Cooperation, Hungarian Foreign Ministry

Ambassador Robert Hunter
United States Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council