Brussels, 05/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU and NATO intend to develop their cooperation further and this will happen, in particular, through more regular meetings at the highest level, said both High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, at the end of their first bilateral meeting at the European External Action Service (EEAS) on Tuesday 4 November.
The affinity between Mogherini and Stoltenberg has existed for several years and is not a secret for anyone. Quite the opposite - this “friendship”, as Stoltenberg calls it, is highlighted as a significant ingredient in the search for closer cooperation between the EU and NATO. This first meeting thus seems to have been fruitful on this level as, according to Mogherini, several decisions were taken. “We decided that we will meet regularly (…) and we decided also to participate respectively in internal meetings of our organisations”, she said.
The first occasion for implementing these commitments will be in a little over ten days, with the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, in defence ministers format, on 18 November. Stoltenberg has thus just received his invitation to participate. On his side, he is reportedly soon due to invite Mogherini formally to take part in the meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the Atlantic Alliance countries, which is planned for December. Such reciprocity in invitations is only a formality or a continuation of what was done previously. It represents, rather, an opportunity “to work together on defining further the cooperation between NATO and the EU in the coming months”, according to Stoltenberg. (JK)