As a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, NATO and the European Union are striving for even closer cooperation. “As the threats and security challenges we face increase in scope and magnitude, we are taking our partnership to a new level,” they said in a joint statement.
The new 14-point cooperation agreement is now the third between NATO and the EU. It will be signed tomorrow in Brussels by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel.
The new cooperation agreement should have been signed about a year ago. However, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the text had to be fundamentally revised. The document was already available to the AFP news agency in advance.
geostrategic considerations
In “growing geostrategic competition” with powers such as Russia and China and in “critical infrastructure protection” in particular, both parties want closer coordination, as the text says. Closer cooperation is also needed in space, in the fight against climate change and “the manipulation of information and interference from abroad”.
In the statement, NATO and the EU once again called on Russia to end the war in Ukraine “immediately”. They also reaffirm their support for Ukraine. The US, France and Germany have recently pledged Western-designed Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicles for the first time.
NATO and the EU are already the closest partners. However, there are differing ideas about the role of the military alliance between EU states: French President Emmanuel Macron, in particular, is pushing for greater European autonomy from Washington after his “brain-dead” declarations. In Eastern Europe, on the other hand, the US is seen as a protective power against Russia.