Vol. 509 No. 6
62 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether, in view of the existence of EAPC, Partnership for Peace, OSCE, Council of Europe, EU, Western European Union, NATO and the UN, there are too many organisations. [20957/99]
The organisations and frameworks listed by the Deputy differ from each other in many respects, including objectives, membership and geographical scope. What they have in common, however, is that they all touch on the security of Europe in different ways.
The UN remains the primary international security organisation, and the only global organisation. The UN imposes mandatory obligations on member states, including in the military area under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The OSCE is a repository of norms and principles for the conduct of international relations in the Euro-Atlantic area. The European Union is in many ways a project for security, since its basic purpose was to make war impossible between its members, and to bring stability to the continent as a whole. The EU is developing its capacity to play an active role for peace and security in Europe, through the Petersberg tasks, under the Amsterdam Treaty, in co-operation with other institutions as appropriate.
NATO and the Western European Union, two organisations of which Ireland does not seek to become a member, came into being as alliances incorporating mutual defence commitments on the basis of the right of collective self defence set out in Article 51 of the UN Charter. However, both of these organisations, and NATO in particular, while still alliances, have adapted themselves to play peacekeeping roles in support of the UN. PfP, and its political framework, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), constitute a voluntary co-operation framework which has developed into an important mechanism for co-operation on peacekeeping.
The Council of Europe is active in the area of democratisation and the rule of law, particularly as regards the former communist countries of eastern Europe.
Each of these organisations fulfils a different role, and each offers comparative advantages in its own area of competence and expertise. Their existence reflects the successful transition of a continent which, in the last 55 years, has moved from the devastation of war, to the mutual fear of ideological confrontation, to a new era based on co-operation and mutual respect.
