This year, very fittingly, will also see a NATO Summit in Madrid in July. The Summit will most obviously bring together the various strands of a NATO adaptation process which began at the onset of this decade. It will, to a significant extent, set the tone for a new Europe - for the 21st century. The Alliance Foreign Ministers meeting in December 1996 defined the agenda and our objectives in some detail.
Work is well in hand to meet the targets they set.
Second, developing an enhanced Partnership for Peace and the initiative for an Atlantic Partnership Council. Third, reaching agreement with Russia on a strong, stable and enduring security partnership. Fourth, enhancing relations with Ukraine. Fifth, moving further ahead on our Mediterranean dialogue. Finally, we will agree on a reformed command structure optimized for crisis management and with a stronger European role.