First, we are living in a security environment that is markedly different from the one we experienced during the Cold War. NATO's main purpose was to defend the territorial integrity and freedom of its member states. Today, our biggest security concern is instability on the European continent. Since the end of the Cold War, we have also learned that security is not only a military term or a concept limited to diplomatic endeavours. Security in the 1990's derives from political, economic, social, environmental as well as military factors.
Security is no longer a zero-sum game.
It concerns all of us in the Euro-Atlantic area. Simply put - you cannot be secure if your neighbour is insecure. Third, integration and interdependence have become a defining characteristic of our new political environment. Nations in Europe are drawing together through the European Union and its policy of enlargement. Business and industry are also pushing forward this broad process of integration and interaction.