Warsaw Summit a Step Further towards strengthening NATO-EU Partnership
During this time , leaders of both organizations have participated at each other ’ s summits and ministerial meetings and shared with the member states and allies their views on issues of common interest .
Later , it was the Ukraine crisis that created a new strategic field for cooperation . The two organizations have used in coordination their soft power ( EU ’ s economic sanctions and diplomatic measures ) and hard power ( NATO ’ s conventional military measures ) as a reaction to Russia ’ s actions in Ukraine .
After all those positive developments very recently EU presented the Global Strategy for the European Union ’ s Foreign and Security Policy , which was welcomed by NATO as stated during the Warsaw Summit . NATO recognizes the importance of a stronger and more capable European defense , which will lead to a stronger NATO 3 . Nevertheless , this strategy has been shown resistance even within the European Parliament . Moreover , within this strategy there is the approach of what the high representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini calls ‘ strategic autonomy ’ for the EU . This has been one of the reasons for some member countries to oppose the strategy in addition to the reluctance of some other members to transfer more authority and competences .
Whether a strategic and / or military autonomy for the EU could be considered as a duplication of efforts and sources between NATO and the EU depends on the political and strategic orientation of the two organizations . Speaking in practical terms , apart from the view that the EU is far from a ‘ military autonomy ’ and the uncertainty of what a European army and its functionality would look like , the proven truth is
Common Foreign And Security Policy
that NATO and the EU are able to cooperate for mutual benefit .
Both organizations have been successfully cooperating in the field in several cases . They have worked together aiming at bringing stability to the Western Balkans , namely in the FYROM , Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo ; They have cooperated in Afghanistan as part of the international community ’ s broader efforts to implement a comprehensive approach to assist the country ; They have supported the African Union ’ s mission in Darfur ; Both NATO and the EU have been deployed together for anti-piracy missions ; and lately NATO is cooperating with the EU ’ s border management agency , FRONTEX , as part of the international efforts to stem illegal trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean Sea .
All the previously mentioned mutual activities as well as expanding political consultations between the two organizations on important security issues constitute a strong prospect for a successful strategic partnership which will serve the mutual benefit for both NATO and the EU as well as their member states in short and long term . As General Mercier from SACT stressed during an exchanging views session at the European Parliament subcommittee on security and defense on 17 June 2016 , “ NATO and the EU have no other choice but to leverage the competencies of each organization and make the most of limited resources 4 ”.
The organizations have no other choice but to cooperate for many reasons as mentioned previously while upgrading their partnership now is of particular importance for some crucial reasons . First , they should use the EU ’ s Global Strategy and the Warsaw Summit as a political opportunity . Secondly , neither NATO nor the EU has the capabilities to address the today ’ s increasingly complex threats alone for which they should go for smart division of labor . And finally , through BREXIT , an important driver behind the EU ’ s Common Security and Defense Policy . Consequently , there have been fears that a BREXIT will destabilize the whole European security architecture . On the contrary , NATO-EU partnership could be the best security response to this 5 .
1
Joint Declaration by the President of the European Council , the President of the European Commission , and NATO Secretary General , signed at Warsaw on 8 July 2016 .
2
NATO ’ s relations with the European Union , http :// www . nato . int / summit2009 / topics _ en / 21-nato-eu _ strategic _ partnership . html .
3
Official text of the Warsaw Summit outcomes , 123-124 .
4
NATO and EU : Complementarity and collaboration in capability development , Brussels - 17 June , 2016 , https :// www . eda . europa . eu / info-hub / press-centre / latest-news / 2016 / 06 / 17 / nato-and-eu-complementarity-and-collaboration-in-capability-development .
5
Three arguments for an ever closer EU-NATO cooperation , Dr . Nicole Koenig and Jekaterina Grigorjeva , 21 July 2016 , http :// www . delorsinstitut . de / en / publications / three-arguments-for-an-ever-closer-eu-nato-cooperation /
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