Finland and Sweden present a joint initiative on action against terrorism in NATO`s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
Finland and Sweden have presented a joint initiative on enhancing the role of the EAPC, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, in combatting terrorism. The EAPC brings together the NATO member states and Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries. The main aim of the initiative is to identify some possible areas of co-operation within the EAPC to enhance the contribution of the Council in the campaign against terrorism.
The Finnish – Swedish initiative contains the following proposals:
-Terrorism should be included as an item on the agenda of the upcoming NATO/EAPC ministerial meetings in December. The ministerials should be presented with progress reports on the role of the EAPC in the campaign against terrorism.
-Tangible support should be offered to Central Asian states to advance their participation in EAPC anti-terrorism activities. This support could take the form of establishing trust funds towards this end.
-Co-ordination and co-operation between civil emergency planning authorities of the EAPC member states should be intensified, with due regard to work being undertaken in other international fora.
-The EAPC should examine how to introduce co-operation in the campaign against terrorism into Partnership for Peace activities.
-The EAPC should step up expert level co-operation in facing the threat of terrorism.
-A NATO/EAPC seminar or workshop to further elaborate these proposals should be held in Brussels at an early date.
Finland and Sweden consider that this initiative can contribute to the further development of the Partnership. The concrete proposals should furthermore be reflected in the EAPC Action Plan for 2002 – 2004 currently under consideration.
The EAPC was established in 1997. It is a consultative council that unites NATO's Member States and the PfP members i.a. in steering the activities of the Partnership. Finland and Sweden are members of the EAPC.
The EAPC-members expressed their solidarity with the victims of terrorism and their condemnation of terrorism in a statement issued at ambassadorial level immediately after the terrorist attack on the United States. Terrorism has since been discussed in several EAPC meetings and activities
Additional information:
Counsellor Pia Rantala, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. 1341 5322
Ambassador Leif Blomqvist, Mission of Finland to NATO, Brussels, tel. + 32-2- 7062111 or gsm: + 32-475 425 438