The Executive Head of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Jorge Domecq, on Wednesday 17 April urged EU and NATO members to refrain from misleading messages.
It is necessary to “strive to avoid misleading messages on both side, otherwise we risk our progress on EU/Nato cooperation”, he warned at a conference in Bucharest entitled “NATO@70-PSDC@20: a partnership for the future”. “To defend each other, we must overcome differences”, he added.
While Americans are concerned that the development of European defence may be detrimental to their industries, James Appathurai, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, said the Alliance supports the strengthening of European defence, recalling that Americans want Europeans to contribute more to their own security and international security.
Permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) is particularly irritating to Washington. However, Mr Domecq recalled that its creation had not been done in isolation from NATO. According to him, 25 of the 34 projects currently being developed under PESCO refer to Alliance priorities. And for the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Teodor Meleșcanu, PESCO will help to fill the capability gaps at Union level.
“It is highly important that EU remains a credible and reliable partner”, added the EDA Chief Executive, stressing that a “technical gap” between the two sides of the Atlantic should be avoided. A gap that “could easily become a serious operational gap, making forces less interoperable and lead to political gap”, warned Mr Domecq, recalling the importance of investing in research (see EUROPE 12222/30).
For Mr Meleșcanu, strengthening the transatlantic relationship is “essential” to the EU's security and prosperity. “The common priority should be to build a strong political consensus on security issues to be solved together”, he added, adding that this should be reflected at all levels of cooperation in concrete activities.
While cooperation can be strengthened, Mr Appathurai stressed that it had already made significant progress in recent years, particularly with the 2016 Warsaw Joint Declaration. “We have not only an unprecedented level of cooperation, but also an irreversible agreement for cooperation”, he said.
“We should avoid a debate on respective competences and focus on positive ways to strengthen” cooperation, advised Jean-Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary General of the EEAS, adding that, in the current context, unity was essential.
An opinion shared by Mr Appathurai. Recalling that NATO had more capabilities on the military side when the EU had more in the civilian field, he said the two organisations “needed each other and will continue to need each other”. He highlighted, in particular, the need to cooperate in areas such as hybrid threats, cybersecurity, the fight against disinformation and energy. For Mr Meleșcanu, cooperation must be based on “the principles of inclusiveness, flexibility and geographical balance”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)