NATO calls on EU to expand joint cooperation but avoid doubling structures

TR_123456 · Oct 22, 2021

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg arrives for a doorstep statement ahead of a meeting of the NATO Ministers of Defence at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 21 October 2021. [EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ]

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on the EU on Friday (22 October) to cooperate more closely with the military alliance after the latest EU defence efforts in recent months raised concerns of a parallel structure that might be competing with NATO.

“We have to ensure that our security concept remains uniform,” Stoltenberg said after a two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.

The NATO chief was referring to the negotiations on a new EU-NATO joint declaration of mutual cooperation which is to be presented before the end of the year.

According to NATO officials, it is meant to include cooperation in areas such as military mobility, maritime security, cybersecurity and addressing the security challenges posed by climate change.

Cooperation between NATO and the EU has already reached “an unprecedented level,” Stoltenberg told reporters, welcoming the increased military ambitions of the EU member states, but stressing these should not duplicate NATO structures.