We cannot have security on the cheap

STOP NATO: ЁNO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG

"We cannot have security on the cheap."
Sat, 05 Feb 2000, 9:06pm EST

NATO's Robertson tells members to boost defense spending, ease U.S.
burden
By Iain Rogers

Munich, Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- North Atlantic Treaty Organization member nations should boost defense spending and modernize their armed forces to ease the burden on the U.S.in the alliance, NATO Secretary General George Robertson said.
The war in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo showed many NATO members have yet to make the ``necessary adjustments to be effective in the modern security environment,'' Robertson said.
He was speaking at a security policy conference in Munich. ``ItДs not fair to continue to ask the U.S. to assume a disproportionate share of the costs and burdens,'' Robertson told conference delegates, including U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping. ``In the 21st Century, the European allies will have to play a stronger role.''
The 15 European Union nations collectively spend about $160 billion a year on defense, a figure dwarfed by the $288 billion U.S. defense budget. The EU has about 10 percent of the U.S. capacity to deploy troops outside NATO territory, according to the Centre for European Reform, a London research organization. As part of efforts to increase the EU's contribution to international security, European leaders meeting in Helsinki in December agreed to form a 60,000-strong rapid-reaction force by 2003.
The force will be capable of deployment within 60 days and of continuing operations for at least a year. Goals Not Met
Other conference delegates supported calls for Europe to play a greater role in international security and boost defense investment. Cohen of the U.S. urged European countries to ``improve their armed forces by investing more resources and accelerating reform.''
He said in a speech that ``nation after nation has failed to meet goals on issues ranging from command-and-control systems to reconnaissance capability to ground support and aerial refueling.'' Wolfgang Schaeuble, the chairman of Germany's main opposition Christian Democratic Union, criticized recent cuts in defense spending by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrat-led government. Cohen has also criticized the cuts, warning they give the wrong message to aspiring NATO members, which are encouraged to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense. ``The Kosovo war mercilessly revealed our dependence on America,'' Schaeuble said. ``With the slashing of the German defense budget to 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, Germany is at the bottom end of the European scale.'' German Cuts German Finance Minister Hans Eichel reduced federal spending by around 30 billion deutsche marks ($15 billion) in this year's budget. Defense
Minister Scharping, who took part in protests by Germany's armed forces against the measures, told delegates Europe is
committed to ``strengthening its (defense) capacity.ДД
``Investment in a credible European security policy also means investment in the transatlantic alliance,'' Scharping said.
``That could mean a de facto easing of the burden on the U.S.ДД Javier Solana, the EU's chief representative for foreign and security policy, said challenges facing the union will only be surmounted if the EU ``works in cooperation with NATO.ДД
``If we want to be credible, individual governments may have to be ready to back these policies with additional funds,''
Solana said. ``We cannot have security on the cheap.ДД

Љ2000 Bloomberg L.P.