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NATO At Odds With Itself Over European Security
25 April 1999
By Otfried Nassauer and Martin Butcher
NATO's new Strategic Concept and the Washington
Summit Communiqué are based on two completely different
concepts for strengthening the role of the European countries
in European Security. Both documents represent one of the
rare occasions on which the Alliance took two decisions in
two different directions at the same time. While the Strategic
Concept assumes that the European Security and Defense Identity,
reflecting a larger role for European countries, will be developed
under WEU-auspices and within NATO, the Washington Summit
Communiqué describes strengthening the role of Europe
via the European Union.
NATO's strategic concept reflects the traditional
school of thinking on the European Security and Defense Identity,
based on NATO's decisions taken at the June 1996 Berlin North
Atlantic Council Meeting. According to this school, European
nations would develop a capability to independently conduct
peace-support missions within the framework of the Petersberg
tasks. This development would be based on the assumption,
that the WEU would command actual military operations and
NATO, after a consensus decision of its members, would provide
the WEU with core predefined NATO-owned assets, such as headquarters,
logistics, intelligence. The most well known model for such
cooperation is a WEU-led Combined Joint Task Force, whose
Headquarters would be one of NATO's CJTF-headquarters. NATO
and the WEU drafted a number of agreements to provide for
a legal basis for such actions. However, these were met internally
by wide criticism in European countries, since they gave the
United States, via NATO assets and the participation of US
military personnel in NATO CJTF-headquarters, a say in a military
operation in which the US was not willing to participate.
However, NATO's new strategic concept is widely based on this
model.
The Summit Communiqué reflects a very
different model for strengthening Europe's role in European
Security: a European Union and not a WEU-based approach. This
approach was launched by EU member states in late 1998, and
has been vigorously pursued by the German EU Presidency since
January 1999. This approach allows for much more European
independence from NATO, while using NATO assets if necessary
- including the possibility of autonomous action by the EU
without recourse to NATO at all. The Communiqué applauds
the European allies determination to build up independent
military capabilities to conduct all Petersberg missions.
It assumes that WEU assets such as the Satellite Center in
Torrejon or the WEU planning cell, if not the WEU itself will
be integrated into the EU itself. In addition the EU would
build up independent military capabilities. It also notes
that Canada wishes to be associated with such European operations
- creating a NATO 19-1 situation, with only the US absent.
The Communiqué makes it clear that the work done on
establishing WEU-NATO cooperation will have to be revised
and reworked to provide for NATO-EU cooperation on a more
equal footing. Thus it reflects a re-launch of the idea that
the future of transatlantic relations should be based on two
pillars - the EU and the United States.
It comes as a major surprise that European nations
decided to insert such far-reaching ideas supporting EU operations
in a NATO communiqué only months after revitalizing
the process of integrating European security and defense policies.
It is a clear indication of the political importance given
by the EU governments to this process. The Summit Communiqué
indicates that even more is to come soon. "We task the Council
in Permanent Session to address these measures on an ongoing
basis, taking into account the evolution of relevant arrangements
in the EU. The Council will make recommendations to the next
Ministerial meeting for its consideration", states the communiqué.
The next NAC ministerial is scheduled as early as June 1999,
directly after the European Council Meeting in Cologne. During
this meeting the EU will for the first time be entitled to
make full use of its new decision-making powers in foreign
and security politics, contained in the Amsterdam Treaty.
The treaty enters into force on May 1, 1999.
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