Brussels, 03/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - Cooperation between the EU and NATO is “working well” said Director for Defence Aspects in the secretariat of the EU Council of Ministers Claude-France Arnould during an exchange of views with MEPs on the defence sub-committee on Thursday 3 May. She stressed, however, the need to resolve the matter of “complementarity” between the two organisations. While there may be good cooperation on the ground, there continued to be problems in discussions with NATO, because two EU member states, Cyprus and Malta, continue to be excluded from this cooperation.
A further problem is in the sharing of roles between the EU and NATO. While NATO, at the time of “Berlin +”, concentrated on its military role, it has since then gradually begun to consider the development of its civil capabilities, believing that the EU could provide its capabilities and fund them, she said, stating that NATO would then have coordinated civil and military action. This “reversed Berlin +”, which would give NATO the military and coordination strands, was unacceptable from the European point of view. “There is no question that the EU will provide funding and police while coordination remains with NATO,” Ms Arnould said, describing the most recent steps in the development of the European security and defence policy (ESDP). She also recalled the various operations that clearly demonstrated this cooperation, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and also in Sudan in support of the African Union mission. Highlighting this case, which does not come within the planned cooperation of Berlin +, she stressed that the action was coordinated with NATO on two fronts: the strategic transport of African troops, and advice (NATO and the EU agreed to provide the AU with coordinated information and advice, requiring joint analysis and permanent sharing of information). “The level of assistance given to AMIS is not enough,” Ms Arnould acknowledged, but this was not due to “EU-NATO relations” which are “working well”, but to the difficulties encountered by the AU in “absorbing this assistance”. (aby)