On Tuesday 10 July, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk, and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg signed a new joint declaration on cooperation between the EU and NATO, almost two years to the day after the Warsaw declaration (see EUROPE 11590).
The declaration aims to reaffirm the importance and the need for cooperation and show that security and defence initiatives depend on each other. “The multiple and evolving security challenges that our member states and allies face from the east and the south make our continued cooperation essential, including in responding to hybrid and cyber threats, in operations, and by helping our common partners”, the declaration reads.
The presidents and the secretary general thus say: “We are committed to deepen it further within the existing common proposals”. The EU and NATO have set 74 common actions in place and “it is now important to focus on implementation”, the declaration states. It goes on to point out that both parties aim to make “swift and demonstrable progress”, in particular in military mobility, counter-terrorism, strengthening resilience to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear-rated risks, and promoting the women peace and security agenda.
According to the declaration, it is necessary to continue ensuring defence initiatives of the EU and NATO remain coherent, complementary and interoperable. “This partnership is a pillar, a foundation of our security and defence strategy, but we know that we must do more ourselves”, Juncker acknowledged, placing emphasis on complementarity.
Although the declaration commends the efforts made by the EU, including through permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund, which “will also make NATO stronger and thus improve our common security”, the Allies remain cautious when it comes to EU autonomy. Stoltenberg said that EU efforts were “complementary” and not an “alternative” to NATO. “NATO remains essential to Euro-Atlantic security. After Brexit, 80% of defence spending in NATO will come from non-EU Allies. That is why we also need to ensure the fullest possible involvement of non-EU Allies in our cooperation. And avoid creating any new barriers”, he warned.
The declaration therefore points out that “transparency is crucial”. It encourages the fullest possible involvement of EU member states that are not part of the Alliance in its initiatives. The United States is not keen to see Europeans developing their own capabilities and turning away from buying American. The PESCO members are expected, in November, to agree on rules of third-country participation in such cooperation.
While US President Donald Trump regularly criticises the insufficient contributions to common defence capabilities – often below NATO’s 2% of GDP rule – the joint declaration considers that EU efforts “foster an equitable sharing of the burden, benefits and responsibilities, in full accordance with their commitment undertaken in the Defence Investment Pledge”.
Tusk lashes out at Trump
Tusk, moreover, lashed out at Trump “who, for a long time now, has been criticising Europe almost daily for, in his view, insufficient contribution to the common defence capabilities, and for living off the US”. “Today, Europeans spend on defence many times more than Russia, and as much as China”, he stressed, going on to add that this was “investment in common American and European defence and security”. “First of all, dear America, appreciate your allies, as after all you don’t have that many. And, dear Europe, spend more on your defence, because everyone respects an ally that is well-prepared and equipped”, he added.
Tusk underlined that, although money is important, true solidarity is even more important. He said the United States had, in 2011, called for solidarity under Article 5 and that the Europeans had responded. Tusk asked Trump not to forget this during the summit on 11 and 12 July, and on 16 July, during his meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. “It is always worth knowing: who is your strategic friend? And who is your strategic problem”, he’ concluded.
The declaration is available on: https://bit.ly/2KNZWUf. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)