Prodi wants NATO up on two strong pillars

IN your edition of March 27, you published a news agency report which claimed that President Prodi told reporters on Wednesday last that Europeans should abandon NATO. This is not true and the story was later corrected

The view of the president is that NATO should have two strong pillars, one American, the other European. In fact, he wants to strengthen NATO.

As he told the European Parliament on Wednesday, and reporters at a press conference immediately afterwards, he wants the EU to "apply unified policies for the economy, international relations and defence".

He went on to say that "the world will not take heed of us until we put an end to our divisions, until we stop relying on the European Union for economic growth and the United States for security. There is nothing anti-American in what I am saying; experience has shown that European unity is a condition for and a guarantee of effective transatlantic co-operation".

Peter Doyle,

Director,

European Commission Representation,

18, Dawson Street,

Dublin 2.