In this interview excerpt, André Flahaut, Belgian Minister for National Defence from 1999 to 2007, discusses the importance of the Franco-British summit held in St Malo on 3 and 4 December 1998, which can be seen as the starting point for the European security and defence policy. He also mentions the role played by Javier Solana, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) from 1995 to 1999, and George Robertson, NATO Secretary General from 1999 to 2003.

In this interview excerpt, André Flahaut, Belgian Minister for National Defence from 1999 to 2007, describes the support that eight European countries and ten candidate countries for accession to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) offered to the United States as it prepared for the Iraq War in 2003. He notes that Belgium’s refusal to take part in the war in Iraq made it one of the only countries to be in step with the views of the general public.

In this interview excerpt, André Flahaut, Belgian Minister for National Defence from 1999 to 2007, explains his view that the European Union’s security and defence policy in overseas missions differs from the approach taken by other players such as the United States. He believes that the European Union’s approach is more oriented towards civilian and humanitarian activities.

In this interview excerpt, André Flahaut, Belgian Minister for National Defence from 1999 to 2007, gives his views on the dissolution of Western European Union (WEU) in June 2011. He also emphasises his belief that the European Parliament should take the place of WEU as a forum for political discussion on security and defence matters.

In this interview excerpt, André Flahaut, Belgian Minister for National Defence from 1999 to 2007, gives his thoughts on the European Union’s overseas and peace stabilisation missions since the mid-1990s and the expectations of the international community. He believes that the international community expects the European Union to play a greater role in conflicts and crises, whether humanitarian or military. Finally, he calls for greater cooperation on security and defence at European level and for a real European military headquarters.

In this interview excerpt, André Flahaut, Belgian Minister for National Defence from 1999 to 2007, explains the importance of the 2003 ‘Berlin Plus’ agreements between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union. He also emphasises the view that what followed the agreements was as important as the actual agreements themselves.