Bundesheer

One of the many topics during the conference was the dramatic development of international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Professor Rohan GUNARATNA, Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore emphasised the increasing threat, especially for Europe, that does not follow such a strict strategy of counter-terrorism such as the United States of America.

Another crucial aspect during the conference was regional stability. In his keynote speech to the AC, the Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Dr. Erhard BUSEK described the critical situation in the Balkan-region. He pointed out that the European Union must not wait until the problems and challenges of the region have reached the Union but should rather develop preventive measures within the region itself. In this respect, the transatlantic cooperation does play an important role.

Beside the Western Balkans, also other regions were addressed, such as the Mediterranean Sea, South East Asia and the Caucasus. Senior Military Advisor to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, BG Alexander WOHLGEMUTH reported about the security-political instability in Afghanistan and showed how difficult Regional Co-operation as a Partnership Goal actually is.

Finally, the educational dimension too was emphasized during the conference. With the help of new and modern Training-programmes, a better and much closer information-sharing can be achieved. Especially in the field of information-technology, an efficient and easy strategy-approach will be pursued.