EUROPEAN LEADERS are taking steps to develop deeper ties between the EU and Nato as the union seeks to boost its influence in global affairs.
At a summit next Thursday, the leaders of the 27 member states will ask EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to explore ways of strengthening the union’s links with the military alliance.
The move is politically sensitive for Taoiseach Brian Cowen, given Ireland’s policy of neutrality and claims by opponents of the Lisbon Treaty that the Lisbon reforms would deepen “militarisation” in the EU.
It comes as the US and Nato push to intensify Europe’s security co-operation with the alliance and as the EU tries to give new momentum to its external relations.
The summit was specifically convened to discuss the EU’s strategic relations, although the leaders will also debate the economic crisis.
They are expected to hand down a six-week deadline to European Council president Herman Van Rompuy to resolve significant differences between member states on new measures to fortify the union’s system of economic governance.
Baroness Ashton was appointed under Lisbon Treaty rules to the post of EU high representative for foreign and security policy as part of a drive to promote the EU’s interests and values more assertively globally.
She will make her first appointments this week to the nascent EU diplomatic service, with a small number of Irish diplomats in contention to lead EU missions outside the union. Member states have lobbied intensively in the selection process.
Draft conclusions from the summit, signed off late last week by European diplomats, indicate Baroness Ashton will be asked to review Europe’s relations with global powers such as the US.
It is nearly always the case that conclusions of such summits are agreed in advance by the ambassadors to the EU of its member states.
The draft conclusions, seen by The Irish Times, present closer relations with Nato as a way of exploiting Europe's bonds with Washington more fully. They say the EU-US partnership should concentrate on economic links as well as "working more closely on major international issues".
They also say the EU and US should confront global challenges in a concerted manner. “In this connection, the high representative is invited to develop ideas on how EU-Nato co-operation in crisis management could be further strengthened.”
The request comes amid debate within the EU on its military role and separate discussions on a new strategic policy for Nato, whose military campaign in Afghanistan will soon enter its 10th year.
For example, Dublin recently called for debate on deeper EU military co-operation with the UN, including by directly supporting the planning and operational cycles of missions.
In a speech last Friday in Madrid, Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for increased “mutual support” between the EU and the alliance as part of a comprehensive approach to security.
He spoke of “talking together, planning together and acting together” whenever that made sense.
“The days when Nato and the European Union eyed each other a bit warily are behind us,” he said.
“Nato has its strengths. So do the EU and the UN, and for that matter non-governmental organisations as well. We need to do our utmost to ensure that those strengths are mutually reinforcing.”
Such remarks echo a push for closer EU-Nato co-operation from Washington, where diplomats believe the Lisbon Treaty provides a platform for deeper ties. In Paris last January, secretary of state Hillary Clinton said the complexity of today’s world was such that the development of common policies would serve both Nato and the EU.
“They are no longer separated. It’s hard to say that security is only about what it was when Nato was formed and the EU has no role to play in security issues,” she told the French military academy.
Cyprus is also understood to have significant worries over closer EU- Nato ties, given unresolved questions over the refusal of Nato member Turkey to recognise its government.
Finland, which like Ireland is neutral, is also said to have concerns.
