The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has approved Wednesday to offer air support for the security of the Europe 2004 soccer championship, to be held in Portugal.

Even though details of the operation will be defined between the NATO command and the Portuguese authorities, a diplomatic source said Wednesday that the support will include radar planes AWACS that will patrol the airspace over the country during the tournament.

The intention to help Portugal with security matters had been voiced by NATO's foreign ministers last April 2, in a declaration against terror.

The documents stressed that NATO's intervention in the securityof major sport events, like the Euro 2004 in Portugal and the Olympic Games in Greece, was necessary.

Euro 2004 will be held in Portugal from June 12 to July 4.

Source: Xinhua