Perspectives of strengthening cooperation between NATO and the European Union in the context of regional and global security

The Euro-Atlantic community faces new challenges - at a time when the US isincreasingly turning its focus towards Asia-Pacific, European countries will haveto take much more responsibility in ensuring European security. As the shift indefense policy of the United States would have impact on transatlantic andEuro-Atlantic relations, and even lead to a “repositioning” of the United Stateswithin NATO, the question remains how the European NATO allies would adaptto these new circumstances. NATO and the EU must create a common platformto exploit comparative advantages in supporting international peace andsecurity. Conclusions of the Summit of NATO in Chicago, primarily linking theconcept of “smart defense” and the concept of “pooling and sharing” have createdconditions for improvements. Enhanced cooperation in both models wouldallow European countries not only to exercise greater influence within NATOand the EU, but also to achieve effects that outreach their individual achievements.Despite the ability of some countries to initiate joint operations in timesof economic crisis, member states’ geopolitical interests will continue to complicateachieving consensus on modalities for strengthening the effectivenessof the common defense and creation of common facilities. Both organizationswill primarily have to invest more efforts in identifying - and eventually removing- unwanted overlapping activities. This is a challenge whose outcome isvery difficult to predict.