On Tuesday 5 December, the European Union and NATO adopted some new measures to strengthen their cooperation, following the declaration that was signed in Warsaw in July 2016.
In a joint declaration, the two organisations announce 34 new measures for implementation. These initiatives "constitute further concrete actions for the implementation of the Joint Declaration developed jointly by the EU (EEAS and Commission services, with the EDA) and NATO, including new topics such as counter-terrorism, women, peace and security", the EU Council states in conclusions adopted alongside the joint declaration.
The measures concern the fight against hybrid threats, cybersecurity and cyberdefence, strategic communications, operational cooperation "including maritime issues", bolstering resilience and capacity-building for security and defence, and strengthening the dialogue between the EU and NATO.
The two organisations intend to examine the possibilities for regular exchanges of information between their staffs on the fight against terrorist threats, with the objective of reporting back at their respective Councils by June 2018. "In the fight against terrorism, we decided to strengthen the exchange of information between us, and to coordinate our support against terrorism for partner countries", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.
The EU and NATO are also to strengthen their cooperation on cybersecurity and cyberdefence with the aim of "improving the understanding of and identifying potential synergies between the two organisations’ approaches, including existing cyber security incident response teams". The EU and NATO also intend to coordinate the messages they send as part of their strategic communication on threats to security, including terrorism-related issues.
The two organisations furthermore commit to studying the possibilities for mutual logistic support and sharing information on operational activities, including irregular migration, when the EU and NATO plan or conduct activities on the same theatres. Their services will also share "information, as appropriate, about the security situation in Eastern and Southern partner countries, as well as Iraq and Libya and the Western Balkans, as well as on how to support those countries and relevant international organisations". Afghanistan is also mentioned.
Moving towards a military Schengen
In terms of defence capacity, the two parties want to establish cooperation and consultation between their services on military mobility in all areas (land, sea and air) to ensure a coherent approach and synergies between the EU and NATO. On 10 November, the European Commission proposed measures to facilitate military mobility. "Moving our forces and our equipment rapidly is vital for our security. This means we need procedures for fast border crossing", Stoltenberg said, adding that "the objective is to make military mobility a new jewel in EU-NATO cooperation".
The joint declaration also says that by June 2018, a report will be provided on "modalities for systematic cooperation, engagement and liaison between the staffs of the two organisations in the implementation of the common proposals".
The declaration can be consulted at: http://bit.ly/2zUUcPi. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)