3.2: Europe's Military Capabilities & Command
Strengthen Europe's military capabilities and command structures. Other Information:
The new Strategic Concept should recognise that the EU's Treaty of Lisbon is designed, among other purposes, to strengthen
Europe's military capabilities and command structures. Allies should welcome this development and use the Strategic Concept
to affirm NATO's desire for a truly comprehensive partnership with the EU, one that is cost-effective, that is based on the
principle of reciprocity and that encompasses the entire range of the institutions' mutual activities.
Stakeholder(s):
- EU: Partnership with the EU. The EU is a unique and essential partner to NATO. The two institutions have a largely overlapping
membership, and these common member states have only one set of forces and one set of taxpayers. Although NATO and the EU
have devised detailed mechanisms for cooperation, these have not always worked as well as hoped. Still, expertise and capabilities
that countries develop for the EU are frequently employed in NATO missions and vice versa. By definition, the 24 members have
shared interests and so work side-by-side in virtually every theatre in which NATO operates. Looking to the past, the two
institutions have learned many of the same lessons; looking to the future, they see a common set of problems. Full complementarity
between NATO and the EU will be essential if the Allies are to forge a comprehensive and cost-effective approach to security
when both are involved in a stabilisation mission. Better cooperation can also be helpful in addressing unconventional threats
such as terrorism, cyber-attacks, and energy vulnerabilities. The EU will often have more relevant expertise than NATO in
countering the non-military aspects of such dangers, even though the line between military and non-military threats is becoming
blurred. It should be noted, however, that full complementarity is only possible if non-EU NATO members and non-NATO EU members
are accorded the same degree of transparency and involvement when joint activities are conducted.
Indicator(s):
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