Brussels, 20/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - “Relations between the European Union and NATO are not as good as they could and should be,” General Stéphane Abrial Supreme Allied Commander Transformation said in an interview with our sister publication Europe Diplomacy & Defence in Marseilles on Tuesday 14 September. “The (NATO) Secretary General has made it one of his priorities,” he said, going on: “I, too, have made it a priority within my staff. My main interlocutor in the European Union is the Defence Agency, since our remits are, I wouldn't say identical, nevertheless very close in capability development. We are bound by the institutional framework, which is itself bound by the political difficulties between the two organisations. However, within the framework that has been set us, there are always ways to bring change, push things on a little - push the envelope, as they say in aeronautics”. In these conditions, cooperation has to be informal and it is not possible to exchange classified documents. “My aim is to make as much progress as possible within this framework with very practical issues so that, when a political solution is found, we can immediately make progress on improving, officially and institutionally, relations between the two organisations,” Abrial said, mentioning various projects on which the Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, and the European Defence Agency are already working: - countering home-made mines; - medical field units; - networking with common courses; - intelligence analysis in the area of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats; - multinational logistics; - the defence planning processes.
When asked about the potential usefulness of permanent structured cooperation and the European Capability and Armament Policy (two new instruments brought in by the Lisbon Treaty) to transformation of EU and NATO forces, General Abrial replied: “I think that these policies, once they have been implemented, will necessarily have an impact on EU member states' capability development. I won't say how they should be implemented or the effect they'll have on the common security and defence policy. On the other hand, what I'm certain of is that it's impossible for them not to have an impact on how nations work individually, and, therefore, on capability development from where I'm standing. For that reason, I still don't have a definite answer for you. I'm hoping the Belgian and successive Presidencies … are able to take things on. I've already set my staff on analysing the potential consequences and how we, Allied Command Transformation, will be affected by the implementation of these provisions”.
The full interview has been published in Europe Diplomacy & Defence. (O.J./transl.rt)