Ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour and a pleasure for me to address this distinguished audience of representatives from the diplomatic and academic communities. The first Greek Presidency of WEU in the first half of 1998 coincides with the 50th commemorative anniversary of the Brussels Treaty.
Anniversaries lend themselves to stock-taking.
Almost seven years ago, after the 1991 Maastricht Summit, the WEU Member States defined WEU 's pivotal role as the defence component of the European Union and the European pillar of the Atlantic Alliance. The WEU Declaration of July this year, annexed to the Final Act of the IGC, sets out the future agenda with regard to WEU's relations with the EU and NATO as well as its further operational development. First, in terms of WEU's operational development. Today, the basic elements of a crisis management capability are in place. A Planning Cell, Situation Centre and Satellite Centre operate.