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To the President of the House of Representatives of the States General
The Hague, 21 June 2002
The spring meetings of the NATO ministers of defence were held in Brussels on 6 and 7 July 2002. In this letter I report on the key points of those meetings. I also present you with the communiqués from the North Atlantic Council for Ministers of Defence (NAC (D)), the Defence Planning Committee (DPC), the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), as well as statements on the strengthening of military capabilities and the Balkans, and from the meetings of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) and the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC).
The Nuclear Planning Group
At the Nuclear Planning Group meeting there was a reminder that NATO's sub-strategic nuclear armament has been reduced by 85% since 1991 and is being maintained at a minimum level to promote continued peace and stability. In this context, the NATO ministers have given indications of a further change to these defence forces, which consist of fighter planes that, in addition to their conventional role, are also charged with the NATO nuclear task (dual capable aircraft). The change is seen as both possible, thanks to further improvement in the strategic security situation, and necessary in view of the sharp increase in operational load imposed by conventional crisis management roles. Against this background the Dutch contribution to the NATO nuclear task can be reduced from two squadrons to one. This is a military-operational measure with no financial or staffing consequences for the Dutch air force. However, the Netherlands will still meet the requirements of the NATO nuclear task. There is no change to the NATO nuclear arms policy as such.
NATO-Russia
This was the first time the ministers of defence had come together in the context of the new NATO-Russia Council (NRC). All the ministers stressed the importance of the new cooperative relationship. Russian minister Igor Ivanov said that it contributed to European security and stability. Its success will depend on the political will to give real substance to the partnership. Secretary-General Robertson said that the recently opened NATO Military Liaison Mission in Moscow could help to bring about a qualitative improvement in relations between NATO and Russia. The NRC ambassadors will translate into concrete projects the cooperative links that develop in areas such as non-proliferation, NBC threats, terrorism, training and exercises, arms control and defence reforms. It was within this framework, at the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Pratica di Mare (Italy) on 28 May 2002, that the Netherlands offered to organise a new seminar on nuclear security.
NATO-Ukraine
Secretary-General Robertson supported the Ukraine's efforts to radically reorganise its armed forces. There are still many obstacles to achieving interoperability with the alliance defence structures. Ukrainian Minister of Defence Volodymyr Schkidchenko emphasised that the NATO cooperation activities would be instrumental in the success of the reform process in areas such as defence planning, English language skills, cooperation between military academies, and democratic control of the armed forces. He indicated that the Ukraine was seeking further integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, including, in due course, NATO membership.
The Minister of Defence,
F. H. G. de Grave
House of Representatives, Parliamentary Session 2001-2002, 28 000 X, no. 31
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