Welcoming Address by Ambassador Amedeo de Franchis Deputy Secretary General of NATO

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NATO ECONOMIC Colloqium, 
30 June, 1 and 2 July 1993, 
Brussels

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN COOPERATION PARTNER COUNTRIES
FROM A SECTORAL PERSPECTIVE

EVOLUTION DE LA SITUATION ECONOMIQUE DANS LES PAYS
PARTENAIRES DE LA COOPERATION DU POINT DE VUE SECTORIEL

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Welcoming Address by Ambassador 
Amedeo de Franchis
Deputy Secretary General of NATO


Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to welcome you all to
NATO this morning for the 1993 Economics Colloquium. I am
especially gratified to note the impressive list of
distinguished panellists who will address you over the
course of the next three days. This year the Colloquium
is included in the Work Plan of the North Atlantic
Cooperation Council, and this has made it possible to
invite a large number of experts from Cooperation Partner
countries of Central and Eastern Europe. One can acquire
a certain level of knowledge by studying problems from
afar, but to live with those same problems day in and day
out lends an essential element of reality to the process.
This is why I believe we will gain valuable insights from
our Partners' presentations. As I, with my fellow members
of the North Atlantic Council and my collaborators on the
International Staff, deliberate on our programme for
future years, we will be keenly mindful of the
information and advice which we receive from this week's
gathering.

Economics cannot stop armed conflicts. As we have seen in
the former Yugoslavia, once the first shots are fired all
thought of economic interests, even one's own,
evaporates. We have also seen that economic embargoes, no
matter how strictly enforced, are of limited use in
halting wars. Peacemaking and peacekeeping require close
political and military cooperation of the international
community, and first and foremost of the nations of the
Atlantic Alliance. NATO's original raison d'etre - to
guarantee the security and stability of its members
states - has not been lessened by the end of the Cold War
and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. New threats and
new risks are still a fact of life. Yesterday's
certainties are today's questions, and NATO is redefining
its mission and organization to meet these new
circumstances. But, more than ever, we are mindful that
we cannot live in isolation and that our mission can best
be accomplished through a system of "interlocking
institutions".

If we are to avoid wars in future years we must look
ahead and take measures to prevent the growth of
instabilities which so often are their cause. The roots
of conflict can be found in many different causes -
ethnic rivalries, religious and racial differences,
historical animosities. But their growth is almost always
fuelled by uneven developments and insecurities in the
economic area. Poverty, unemployment, inflation, people
without homes, without roots - these are the substances
which provide fertile soil for the seeds of conflict to
blossom. For those who might question the linkages
between economics and security, and why NATO deals with
economic problems at all, one has only to note the
many studies which identify the economic factors which
share the blame for past wars.

The economic health of Central and Eastern Europe is not
yet robust. Most countries are still experiencing the
shock and pain of the transition from command economies
to the market. At the same time they are struggling to
establish new democratic political structures which will
survive. We realize that only a community of good
neighbours in Central and Eastern Europe can guarantee
the peace and stability which is of such importance for
our own future security.

Your examination of living standards and social welfare
in Central and Eastern Europe, and of the impact of
demographic and ethnic factors on national economies,
will be of special interest to us at NATO. These issues,
which make up the very core of a nation's social and
political stability, have a direct bearing on our
security-related
missions.

Let me finally turn to one area which figures prominently
in our NACC Work Plan with our Cooperation Partners. This
is defence conversion. In my remarks before the Defence
Conversion Seminar in May 1992, I pointed out that
"defence conversion is a major security issue". The
past year has not lessened our concern that failure to
turn these enormous resources to productive civilian work
would pose grave consequences from two directions. Simply
closing these facilities, with the consequent loss of
jobs for tens of thousands of workers, could greatly
aggravate domestic political developments, many of which
are already highly unstable as the struggle to establish
democratic nations goes forward. The alternative -
continuing weapons production - would create enormous
pressures to export, even at the risk of arming reckless
and irresponsible regimes.

May I reiterate my warm welcome to NATO to you all and
our gratitude for your interest and your collaboration.
As we seek together to find effective long-term
deterrence for future conflicts, your work will surely
play a significant part.

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Copyright 1993 NATO

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First edition 1993
ISBN 92-845-0079-6

This is the latest in a series bringing together papers
presented at the NATO colloquia organised by the NATO
Economics Directorate and Office of Information and Press
on economic issues in the former USSR and Central and
East European countries. For further information please
write to the Director, Office of Information and Press,
1110 Brussels, Belgium.

The articles contained in this volume represent the views
of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
official opinion or policy of member governments or NATO.