June 8, 2001
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced that he will travel to Brussels to attend an informal meeting of NATO leaders on June 13. The meeting, the first gathering of NATO heads of state and government, since the 1999 Washington Summit, will focus on the situation in the Balkans, US President Bush’s proposals for a new strategic framework, the future enlargement of NATO as well as NATO’s growing relationship with the EU and its European Security and Defence Policy.

" I look forward to discussing with my colleagues how NATO must continue to adapt to the new security challenges we face," said the Prime Minister."In particular, the Alliance needs to continue to take steps to fulfill the promise of an undivided Europe. It should welcome more of the countries of the former Soviet Bloc as allies to widen the perimeter of security in the trans-Atlantic region. This is a moral responsibility, not a military one."

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Manley. The next NATO summit is scheduled to be held in Prague in November 2002.

- 30 -