—and the Sea King.
We are on the way to transforming our army, and that's a costly issue. We have seen that we need more easily deployable forces and structures. We have underestimated the need for protected transportation capabilities in the mission, especially after the bad experiences we have shared with you with respect to casualties in Afghanistan. We are on our way to deploying the Dingo and some other light protected cars.
We come to the Congo and the European Union and NATO. I think this is a very interesting issue in a year when we are preparing for the summit in Riga, which is in November of this year. The question, which is posed very often, is, what is the purpose of European defence and security policy and European defence and security initiatives? Is there competition between NATO and the European Union?
Maybe there are sometimes different answers to be given from the different capitals of the European Union, but basically we all have consensus now. The new German government and the new German Chancellor are working very hard to come to a consensus to get Europe, as one pillar of NATO, resettled. The honourable Don Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense of a smaller southern neighbouring country of Canada, tended to talk about the old Europe and the new Europe. I think we should work on getting Don Rumsfeld to see there is one Europe. We were very upset about this splitting, and it's not good, because if you are split, there is no possibility of political influence. Only to complain is not politics. I think we will be back, in a sense, as Volker Rühe, the former secretary of defence, said, separable but not separate.
So the European Union's capabilities increase, using in necessity, through the Berlin Plus agreement, NATO assets in a chain of command where NATO is included. In this case the Deputy SACEUR is in a chain of command; or if there are minor middle-sized missions, we will do it on our own, but with some political exchange with NATO. This is the Congo mission, where we try to fill the request of the United Nations in the context of the presidential elections in the Congo. The MONUC mission, which is a 16,000-man mission of the United Nations, will not be sufficient, in the judgment of those involved in the development there, to keep the Congo on the path of reconciliation and somehow political development.
I think we all know that it would be too much to expect a Westminster-style democracy to be settled in the Congo, after all the bloodshed they've had and after all the problems, like nearly having a civil war in a short time. But I think it is necessary to come to these elections as a cornerstone of the future development. So we have committed, in a mission of Germany, France, and several other European countries, to each share one-third of the mission per capita. We will have 780 German troops there, including the headquarters; the French will have 800; and the rest of the 2,200 will be distributed among 15 different European nations. It should show that we are on the way toward acting, and we will be, and are, reliable.
On the European Union and the future of NATO, as we see it, perhaps you will accept a few words on expansion or enlargement of NATO, or the question of how NATO will perform in the next years. We think it's necessary to have a strategic option included in NATO, so we take the NATO response force as a very important tool for keeping the alliance together. We are very happy the Americans are on their way to contribute to the NATO response force, because we don't see that it should be just a European tool and asset.
We think the expansion of NATO capabilities—which now will be discussed at the defence secretary's meeting in Brussels at the end of this week—should lead us to reflect on how we can come to a reverse joint security strategy in NATO. We absolutely promote and assist those asking for a renewed NATO strategy in 2008 or 2009, not only focusing on terrorism and countering terrorism, but focusing on what level of ambition will be asked of NATO as the core of global-wide stability, with a possibility to act very soon and to have regulations...where we can discuss and decide in due time, and do other necessary things.
Regarding bilateral relations, I regret very much that we no longer have practical exchanges, as we had in former times. I was involved in them. I was first elected to Parliament in 1990, and one of my duties in the early 1990s was to struggle to keep the Canadian Forces in Lahr. Obviously I did not succeed. I have a lot of understanding, as unfortunately we have to give up our commitment at Goose Bay, and Shilo is closed. But I think it should not be the end of bilateral relations.
Nevertheless, as partners in NATO, we are somehow in a situation where a lot of other countries look to us, Canada and Germany, if I may say so. I think we can show and have to show a commitment to bilateral cooperation. If there is a possibility of increasing it again, maybe with exchanges or maybe in joint exercises, I really would appreciate this. I know your army is under pressure concerning personnel, and you have so many of your servicemen and servicewomen abroad, as we have.
Also, our army numbers about 255,000 now, and we see that it is somehow not sufficient.
We have gotten the peace dividend and we are thankful to all in the alliance who made it possible for us to share in the peace dividend in the nineties. My office in Berlin is some steps away from the place where 20 years ago anybody would have been shot and killed if they had tried to cross from one side of the street to the other. Sometimes it's good to reflect and ask, was this an idea coming from the heavens?
Maybe the Pope has some responsibility, I must admit; John Paul II has done a lot and has had an impact. But in fact it was Ronald Reagan's speech of 1987 at the Brandenburg Gate, saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, please tear down this wall.” Three years later, they tore down the wall. It was not Gorbachev himself but the people of East Germany. But they could only do this because Gorbachev was there.
We are very thankful to all our allies, and we know they have some of the responsibility for international peace coming to us. This is how we explain to our electorate questions about why we are engaged in Afghanistan, in Congo, or wherever. It is not easy every day, but it must be done every day.
Thank you very much for your attention.
I'm pleased to have the opportunity to speak with you.