NATO

Question and answer session at NATO with Mr. Hugo Klijn and Lt.Col. Cor van den Bergh

By Saskia Jurna

The second part of our programme at NATO on Friday consisted of a question and answer session with Mr. Klijn en Lt.Col. Van den Bergh. Firstly, they presented themselves and talked briefly about their work, and after that the floor was ours.

They were very willing to answer all the questions we had relating to NATO.

For example, they explained the relationship between NATO and the UN. NATO usually works under a UN mandate, and they want to institutionalize their cooperation in a broader sense; however, they do not want to be a subcontractor of the UN.

Regarding to China's approach to NATO, the Organisation's reaction is a positive one. They do not agree on everything, but it's a good thing that China has reached out to NATO, and the Organisation would like to develop a good relationship.

It is also quite possible that NATO will develop a close relationship with non-Atlantic countries, such as Australia, Japan and South Korea. It is not likely that they will become real member states, though.

NATO's contact with the EU is a bit bizarre. Because two of the EU's Member States have no partnership with NATO, complete cooperation is not possible. However, the two organisations have worked together in Sudan, where they supported the African Union.

About the future of NATO, our speakers agreed that as long as there will be transatlantic common security concerns, there will always be a basis for NATO's existence.

We are very grateful for all the detailed answers to our questions; of course, the ones mentioned above form only a part of our discussion, which on the whole added great value to our visit to NATO.

Finally, we concluded our visit to NATO with a wonderful lunch, which was offered to us courtesy of the Visitor's Centre. The visit was a very educational and interesting part of our trip!

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