Dutchman Steers NATO Through New Challenges

"NATO is going through a very important process of transformation and adaptation to new circumstances," the 55-year old Dutch former foreign minister said ahead of taking over the helm from Robertson on Jan. 5.

After a turbulent 2003 and the dispute over the U.S.-led war in Iraq, De Hoop Scheffer will have his work cut out for him. As a European Atlanticist, many observers say he is well positioned to bridge the gap between those nations that opposed the war, such as Germany and France, and those that supported it, chiefly Britain and the U.S.

As a career diplomat with lengthy experience in the Dutch foreign ministry, De Hoop Scheffer is well versed in traversing the troublesome waters of international security policy. He has a good rapport with colleagues in Paris and Berlin, whose languages he speaks fluently, and he is on a first-name basis with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who welcomed him to the White House after extending Dutch political – but not military – support for the Iraq war.

However, some European NATO members, notably France, have criticized De Hoop Scheffer as being too pro-American. Indeed, rumors are circulating in Brussels that it was Washington’s backing that actually guaranteed him the post. Observers are warning that the Dutchman will have to tread lightly to keep all the members of the alliance happy

A delicate tightrope act

The future working relationship of the bloc hinges on balancing the interests of all the members, especially as NATO expands this year from its current 19 nations to 26. As head of the military alliance, the integration of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovaka, will be one of De Hoop Scheffer’s primary tasks in 2004.

At the same time NATO expands to include the former eastern European states, De Hoop Scheffer will have to shore up the current members’ sense of trust after the damaging break-up over Iraq. In this regard, he will have to oversee the debate on NATO’s involvement in the reconstruction of the war-torn country, as well as guide its preparations for the expansion of peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan.

Another issue that has already caused ripples within NATO is the question of how a future European Union defense force, as favored by Germany and France, would compromise NATO’s authority. The United States has come out strong against the EU initiative saying it is redundant and would water down the effectiveness of the transatlantic alliance. De Hoop Scheffer, as a representative of an EU member state, will need to wield a good deal of diplomacy in order to prevent the issue from exploding into another political rift.

Pushing ahead

The new secretary general will also need to continue with his predecessor’s campaign to reform NATO and modernize Europe’s armed forces. Chief in this area is the establishment of a rapid response force, whose troops can be deployed anywhere in the world on short notice.

For the long term, De Hoop Scheffer will need to focus on patching up the military credibility of an alliance which, although it won the Cold War, still has been unable to prove itself as the solution for new security threats.

"My advice would be focus again on the capabilities," Robertson said before stepping down last month. "If we become a noise box with no ability to act, we will wither and die."