Rivalry delays NATO appointment

Date: 30/11/1995

By Elizabeth Wise

WITH the first wave of NATO troops leaving for Bosnia this weekend and the secretary-general's chair still vacant, NATO's European partners are growing impatient with Washington.

“What is the US up to?” exclaimed one official frustrated by the delay in appointing a replacement for Willy Claes, who resigned from the post six weeks ago.

But Washington seems in no hurry. Conspiracy theorists speculate that this is due to EU-US rivalry in selecting a candidate. With its delay, they say, Washington is now proving the pre-eminence of NATO's military command (always led by an American) over its civilian wing (whose leader is always European), by showing that the alliance's biggest ever undertaking can run smoothly without a secretary-general.

If so, Europeans are also playing the power game. After US Defence Secretary William Perry saw Uffe Ellemann-Jensen for the second time, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl stressed he had not given his support to Denmark's former foreign minister, despite reports to the contrary.

In Barcelona this week for the Euro-Med conference, several EU ministers paid glowing tributes to the man considered to be Ellemann-Jensen's top competitor, Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana.

Hosting the meeting of 27 governments, Solana showed himself to be a firm mediator as he brokered compromises between disputing Israeli and Arab delegations.

French Foreign Minister Hervé de Charette, widely believed to have single-handedly blocked Ellemann-Jensen's candidacy, displayed a surprising amount of attention and affection to Solana during the conference and Italian Foreign Minister Susanna Agnelli praised Solana for being “very severe” in his dealings with the Middle Eastern delegations.

NATO officials are hoping for a decision before foreign ministers and the Central and Eastern European members of Partnership for Peace meet on 5 December to approve plans for the Bosnia operation. A secretary-general might also be needed to help coordinate the planned civilian contribution to the peace implementation force, which will be discussed at a conference in London scheduled for 8-9 December.