EU-NATO Relations

The ongoing efforts by European Union (EU) member states to create a European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) present both an opportunity and a challenge to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On the one hand, an effective European military capability will address the perceived imbalance in military and financial burden-sharing between the two sides of the Atlantic. On the other hand, should this capability render the EU sufficiently “autonomous,” NATO's current institutional set-up and existential rationale will be open to challenge. It is, therefore, uncertain whether the ESDP will prove complementary or competitive to NATO as a provider of European security.

• Background: The Transatlantic Alliance and the Development of the ESDP
• The Framework for Permanent Relations and Berlin Plus
• The New Strategic Environment and the Limitations of Berlin Plus
  • The Iraq War
  • Operation Artemis
  • EU Enlargement
• Conclusion

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