FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Will Bohlen Elizabeth Boswell Rega
Tel: +1 202 294 4704 +32 (0)473 280 950
Email: wbohlen@gmfus.org eboswellrega@gmfus.org
Transcripts, audio, video on the web: http://www.bucharestconference.org/
REGIONAL SUPPORT FOR ADRIATIC THREE NATO ACCESSION, MAP FOR GEORGIA, UKRAINE
~ Tăriceanu, Zatlers, Geoană advocate NATO expansion~
BUCHAREST (April 2, 2008) — Romanian Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu told Bucharest Conference participants today that Romania supports the NATO accession of three Balkan nations and strengthening the alliance’s cooperation with other nations.
“Romania supports the decision for extending invitations for accession into NATO for the three partners from the Western Balkans – Croatia, Albania and the Republic of Macedonia,” he said. “We also hope that Ukraine and Georgia will be offered a strengthened, increasingly closer relation with NATO. A clear signal towards closer ties with NATO should also be given to Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro and, of course, Serbia.”
Romanian Senator Mircea Dan Geoană, an opposition leader, echoed the same hope in a subsequent panel discussion, calling for Membership Action Plans (MAP) for the two former Soviet satellites, saying that the European boundaries are changing.
“The political map of Europe is overlapping with the geographical map of Europe,” he said. “We can strongly agree that the Caucasus is the new Southeastern Europe and Ukraine is the new Central Europe.”
Valdis Zatlers, the president of the Republic of Latvia, in advocating for MAP for Georgia and Ukraine drew upon his own nation’s experiences with their accession into the alliance.
“We have to give an action plan to Georgia and Ukraine,” he said. “Latvia’s relationship with Russians greatly improved after joining NATO and the EU.”
Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Germany’s permanent representative to the United Kingdom, cautioned, however, that accession into NATO would require that a benefit to all would be paramount in negotiations.
“Our concern is with viability and liability,” he said. “We want to make sure that we do it [accession] at the appropriate moment.”
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The Bucharest Conference, happening alongside the official 2008 NATO Summit, is a high-level meeting of influential political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address pressing challenges facing NATO and the international community. Participants include heads of state, senior officials from country governments, policymakers, think tank leaders, scholars, corporate executives, and media.
NATO’s operation in Afghanistan, the alliance’s enlargement, its future role in global affairs, and Russia’s relationship with the West are just a few of the current and future issues being discussed at the Bucharest Conference. The conference continues the tradition of the German Marshall Fund’s 2004 Istanbul Conference and 2006 Riga Conference by providing a platform for an open dialogue among participants and speakers representing countries and organizations worldwide.
The Bucharest Conference is organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chatham House.
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