Javier Solana believes Europe must assume its responsibility for security as part of its international relations strategy
The United Nations General Assembly meets this week against a background of enormous challenges to our security and to our solidarity in dealing with these challenges. General-Secretary Kofi Annan has set the tone, calling for unity among the international community and for reflection on reform of the UN. He has rightly underlined the need for more effective collective security through a common appreciation of the major challenges facing us. In much of the developing world, HIV/AIDS, poverty and underdevelopment constitute the most pressing security concerns.
To this must be added the prospect of new combinations of threats. The shock of September 11th showed us a world more complex and threats much greater than we had feared - terrorism, fuelled by persistent regional conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and collusion between terrorists and international criminal organisations. These risks are only too real. Addressing them requires concerted international action and new and more appropriate strategies at global level.
The EU fully shares Mr Annan's concerns and his objectives. We are prepared to contribute vigorously to extending the scope of international law, to strengthening the institutions of world governance and to developing closer regional co-operation.
If we identify the new threats together, we are better able to deal with them together, while continuing our joint work on the great ongoing challenges of poverty, hunger and the new pandemics.
It is with this objective in view that European Union heads of state and government asked me to define a security strategy which they will adopt at the end of the year.
This is both timely and necessary. As we grow to encompass some 450 million inhabitants, we have a duty to assume our responsibilities on the world stage. Naturally the Iraq crisis - where Europe has not been able to play a role corresponding to its potential - has also had a bearing on our thinking.
The completion of enlargement is itself a response to these new challenges, reinforcing political stability and economic security on our own continent. Work on drafting a European Constitution - soon to be carried forward in the Inter Governmental Conference - reflects the desire for Europe to play a stronger political role.
To achieve this, we must also take care to ensure that our political structures are well adapted to the new international strategic context.
I believe the European Union can make a difference in three areas.
First, by focusing on the challenge of peace and security in our own neighbourhood, creating a circle of good governance on our eastern frontiers - from the Balkans to the Caucasus - and on the perimeter of the Mediterranean.
Second, by encouraging the emergence of a fairer and more stable international order and a more effective multilateralism. The primary responsibility for international peace and security rests with the United Nations Security Council. But we must be ready to take appropriate action when the principles of the United Nations Charter are scorned. Regional conflicts, injustice and frustration fuel terrorism.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is never more dangerous than when the international community is divided.
Third, by developing effective strategies to address the new threats. These can be both remote and complex. After September 11th, distant problems as in Afghanistan can no longer be considered remote or marginal to our concerns.
We cannot address them adequately unless we develop an effective policy of preventive engagement, whether in Macedonia or Congo, Bosnia or the Southern Caucasus. We cannot achieve these objectives without strengthening our military and civilian capabilities, improving the coherence in the way we use our resources and developing closer co-operation with our major partners.
Civilian, diplomatic and military means are essential for our success in preventing or managing crises. The European Police Mission in Bosnia plays a central role in building the sustainable policing capacity that Bosnia requires if it is to continue along the road to recovery.
Europe responded promptly to Mr Annan's call for a military presence in eastern Congo to help this region take its first steps on the long road to recovery. Africa must remain high on our agenda - as I am sure it will during Ireland's EU presidency. But we must also take steps to be more effective and capable.
Twenty-five European states spending €160 billion each year on defence should be able to provide more efficient capabilities.
Greater coherence is the second track. The European Union is the only regional organisation with such a wide range of political, diplomatic, humanitarian, economic and financial, police and military instruments. Improved synergy in their use is urgent and overdue.
But improved capabilities and coherence are not enough unless Europe strengthens relations with our strategic partners. The transatlantic link, in particular, is irreplaceable. Our security and the effectiveness of our common fight against threats depend on the strength and balance of that relationship.
Our work for peace and prosperity in the western Balkans has clearly demonstrated the value and importance of strong and mature links between the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance.
This week is a valuable opportunity to review and reinvigorate our partnership with the United Nations. We can look back with some satisfaction on a year of real progress in tangible co-operation in crisis management in Bosnia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere.
A stronger Europe with a common strategic vision is also a Europe capable of consolidating relationships with the other important partners - Russia, of course, but also Japan, China, India and Latin America - all crucial partners in the fight against terrorism and proliferation.
This must also be a Europe capable of partnership with the other great geographical centres in their quest for stability and development. I am obviously thinking about the Arab world but also of Africa which is poorer today than it was 10 years ago.
We are at a crossroads. A restructuring of international relations is taking place. No single actor can deal alone with the complex challenges facing us. As a global actor, the EU must engage with one voice in building a world more free and more united, fairer and safer. This is in our own interest and that of our partners. These are the ambitions behind the preparation of the European Union's security strategy.
Javier Solana is European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy