NATO and European Defense Cooperation

The EU rapid reaction force is due to be formally launched at the Nice summit of EU leaders the first week of December. The US has been pushing the Europeans to take a larger role in defensive preparations for years. After the embarrassing shortfalls relative to the US in the Kosovo conflict last year the European governments (at the initiative, in part, of the United Kingdom) decided to cooperate and improve their military capabilities. The US, however, wants permanent cooperation and complete transparency between NATO and the EU's new military structure. All general defense planning - as opposed to that of specific operations that NATO might not participate in - should be carried out jointly by all members of both bodies.

On December 5 William Cohen, the US defense secretary, warned that NATO would become a "relic" unless the European Union's plans for an autonomous military capability were closely linked with the 19-member transatlantic alliance. In a comment most certainly aimed at discussion about the creation of an EU defense planning structure independent from NATO's, Cohen said, NATO "is not a political organization designed to balance competing agendas." This statement is probably in response to the hopes of some European countries' like France, which is not a member of the NATO's integrated military command, that the EU's defense policy can become less dependent on the US. This would include having a separate planning structure from the alliance. They do not advocate an outright split however, as France's defense minister, Alain Richard, said "We certainly have a different view on [planning], but we do appreciate the size and the capacities of the planning assets that exist in NATO."

The extent of the cooperation and division of labor between NATO and this new European force are important issues to consider in regards to the future of transatlantic relations.

Articles

Below are a few links to articles that talk more about Secretary Cohen's statements on Dec 5th. Also there are some articles from the French weekly Le Monde Diplomatique and the daily Le Monde which talk about NATO, the US, and EU defense. For more links, see

natonews.com

Financial Times: US Warns EU on Military Plans; Dec 6

Financial Times: US Warns EU on Military Plans; Dec 7

Financial Times: EU to Offer Pledge to US on NATO; Dec 8

Chicago Tribune: U.S. Tells EU its Army may Harm NATO

CNN.com: European Force 'no threat to NATO'

Le Monde Diplomatique: L'Alliance atlantique, cadre de l'hégémonie américaine

Le Monde: Commentaire : Otan-UE : clarifier les relations

Les rapports difficiles de la défense européenne et de l'OTAN

Le Monde: L'OTAN et l'Union européenne débattent de la défense