On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Report on Non-Military Cooperation in NATO, also known as “The Report of the Committee of Three” (i.e. the Foreign Ministers of Italy, Gaetano Martino, Canada, Lester Pearson, and Norway, Halvard Lange), Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero took part on 13 December 2016 in a high-level seminar at the Norway House in Brussels to discuss the political legacy of the Report, also in light of the current security challenges faced by the Euro-Atlantic community. The event was opened by the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and wrapped up by the Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller. Speakers included Ambassador Stefano Stefanini (former Permanent Representative of Italy to NATO), Judy Dempsey (nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe), Paal Sigurd Hilde (associate professor at Center for Norwegian and European Security) and Roland Paris (University Research chair at the University of Ottawa).
The seminar, organized by the Permanent Delegations of Italy, Canada and Norway to NATO, together with Carnegie Europe and NATO Public Diplomacy Division, provided an opportunity to commemorate a decisive moment in the history of the Alliance, that is the awareness of the need to strengthen the political dimension, alongside the military cooperation. NATO managed to overcome the crisis in the wake of the Suez events and adapted to the new strategic context, thus becoming a key actor for the stability of the Western world. This point was stressed by the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who also wanted to highlight the value of transatlantic consultation and the rule of consensus, which ensures that every decision made by the Alliance is respected by all Allies.
In his speech, Ambassador Bisogniero stressed the contribution of ideas provided by the great Italian statesman, and underscored that NATO represents the only permanent forum for multilateral discussion in which European Allies, the USA and Canada work together on a daily basis. Moving from Martino’s views, the Ambassador also recalled the importance of NATO-EU cooperation in a perspective of complementarity, in order to reach common goals and address security challenges that are increasingly characterized by a multidimentional nature.
The seminar’s full agenda is available here.
