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It was not the future of European and global security that made UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon cancel his trip to Munich at short notice. Rather, it was the humanitarian and security situation caused by the earthquake that struck the island state of Haiti with disaster: hunger and devastation. On Saturday morning, the guests at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel first gazed at the screens in the big ballroom of the conference venue to see the UN Secretary General deliver his opening message to the global community of security policy by video link. Following the tradition of his predecessor Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to intensify their cooperation. According to Ki-moon, new strategies needed to be developed to tackle the threats of the 21st century.

This Saturday, the high-profile participants of the first panel explained the positions of the key actors of the international community on the appeals made by the Secretary General and on the future of European and global security. Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. National Security Advisor Jim L. Jones and the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy gave their opinion on agreements and breaking points in international cooperation.

Westerwelle: Germany Wants European Army

In his speech, Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle underlined Berlin’s intention to strengthen the role of international organizations, highlighting once more Germany’s traditionally multilateral approach. Responding to the UN Secretary General’s remarks, Westerwelle said that Germany would remain equally committed to the ideals of the United Nations as it did to the challenges mentioned by Ban Ki-moon. Taking up Ban Ki-moon’s call for greater international cooperation, the German foreign minister put particular focus on the European Union. Westerwelle emphasized the importance of the second and third postwar generation continuing to advance European integration. “ A united Europe will only be secure if my generation, which has never experienced war or hunger, is strongly committed to Europe ”, the 48-year-old said. Observers learned with great interest that the German government wants to go ahead with establishing a European Army. “ The long-term goal ”, Westerwelle said, “ is the establishment of a European army under full parliamentary control. ” With a total of some two million troops, the EU member states currently have the second largest army in the world, next to China. The equipment, orientation and efficiency of many armed forces in the EU countries, however, are insufficient to meet the challenges posed by the ongoing missions.

Lavrov: New Security Structure in Europe

In his speech, Sergey Lavrov called for the establishment of a new European security structure. After the end of the East-West conflict, the West had wasted the opportunity to transform the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe into a “ fully-fledged organization ”. Instead, it had taken the course of expanding NATO to the east. After the end of the Cold War, Moscow was assured that the Alliance territory would not be expanded towards the east. Now, two NATO member states, Estonia and Latvia, are bordering Russia. Lavrov called for the establishment of a single European security area, where states did not ensure their security against, but with each other. Russia’s foreign minister did not want to respond to the question asked by the auditorium whether Russia would accept full membership of NATO instead. “ This question ”, Lavrov said, “ is purely hypothetical, because the members of the Alliance are not willing to do this. ”

Jones: Europe To Remain Indispensable Partner

The former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and present National Security Advisor to the U.S. President, Jim L. Jones, also addressed Europe’s role for the United States. Jones stressed the close relations his country has traditionally maintained with the continent, and the close cooperation in confronting security challenges. Jones made clear that Washington did not wish to change that in the Pacific Century either. “ Europe is an indispensable partner, and will continue to be in the future ”, the former U.S. General said. In the past months, the U.S. and Europe had expressed their disappointment with each other’s attitude as a result of the low troop commitments for the Afghanistan mission made by the “ old continent ”, and U.S. President Barack Obama’s cancellation of the planned US/EU summit. Security Advisor Jones threatened the Iranian government with further sanctions unless Tehran rethinks its attitude regarding its own nuclear program. The door for a diplomatic solution would remain open though.

Ashton: Negotiations with Iran Still Possible

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, struck a softer tone in her speech. Ashton welcomed the alleged proposal made by Tehran for a compromise in the nuclear dispute, and pointed out that the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had come to Munich to attend the conference. Mottaki had once more explained his government’s point of view in a special Friday night event scheduled at short notice. Like Jones and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Ashton also pointed out that there was still room for negotiations with Iran.

Source : http://www.securityconference.de/Program.425+M5dc48fef61f.0.html?&L=1