NATO transformation and an emerging EU
set the framework for future German cooperation with the United States
American commentators, when discussing the European Union and transatlantic security relations, usually focus either on the role of France or of the United Kingdom. Relatively few think of Germany, despite the latter's importance to both NATO and the EU. Chancellor Schroeder succeeded in breaking this pattern, at least temporarily, with his speech last February to the Wehrkunde security conference.
Schroeder argued that NATO, while useful, "is no longer the primary venue where transatlantic partners discuss and coordinate strategies." He called for a greater role for the European Union, criticizing current dialogue between the EU and the United States that "in its current form does justice neither to the Union's growing importance nor to the new demands on transatlantic cooperation." He then recommended that the United States and the EU convene an independent, high-level panel to chart the way ahead. Several days later, Schroeder stressed to the Wall Street Journal that his aim was to strengthen NATO and the transatlantic relationship beyond NATO.
Chancellor Schroeder has not pursued his proposal and it may, like many others, fade from sight. However, the issues he raised are important. The roles of the EU and NATO in transatlantic security policy are changing and many aspects of this evolution are still unclear. How realistic are the goals he enunciated, how much are they shared by other "dual members" of NATO and the EU, and how willing is the United States to accommodate them? And what about the current and future state of U.S.-German ties?
For full text of article, see EuroFuture, Summer 2005, pp. 78-81.