A report of the Atlantic Council of the United States has concluded that NATO and the European Union must prepare now to work together in combined operations if they are to be effective in addressing the security questions of the 21st century. The two organizations must develop mechanisms, such as joint planning and force generation, that will allow them to respond to a crisis in a coordinated effort.
As recent operations have demonstrated, the EU and NATO must be able to bring together all the capabilities of their members to deal with a full range of tasks from war-fighting to reconstruction. Creating this capacity to work together will require not only revitalized consultations, but also a new political commitment based on the recognition that both NATO and the EU have crucial roles to play in providing transatlantic security.
The report also calls for strengthening NATO as a military alliance and building a stronger U.S.-EU relationship on security matters.
This study is based on the findings of a delegation of senior U.S. defense and foreign policy analysts who visited Paris, London and Brussels to interview representatives of national governments, NATO, and the EU. They include Jan M. Lodal, President of the Atlantic Council and a former senior Defense Department official; Walter B. Slocombe, former Under Secretary of Defense; David C. Gompert of Rand; and Leslie S. Lebl and Frances G. Burwell of the Atlantic Council.