From Ivo Daalder, the International Herald Tribune:  Thousands of miles from the “capital of Europe,” NATO and E.U. forces work side by side to achieve common security objectives. Yet we rarely bridge the four miles between the two headquarters in Brussels, and as a result our efforts are far less effective than they can and should be. …

Yet dialogue between NATO and E.U. political bodies is, for all practical purposes, nonexistent. Coordinating strategy — or discussing how decisions by one organization might affect the other — happens haphazardly, if at all.

Take just this year. National representatives to NATO and the European Union have engaged in formal, high-level strategic discourse exactly once, with Bosnia-Herzegovina as the only item on the agenda. Bosnia, to be sure, is important, but NATO and the European Union have a broader set of common concerns. …

The price of not engaging strategically is a costly duplication of effort, lack of coordination and a failure to achieve complementary approaches that employ NATO and E.U. tool kits to their greatest effect. This situation — which a former NATO secretary general once described as “almost a dereliction of duty” — creates inefficiencies that no one can afford, particularly in these austere times.

The opportunity to transform the relationship from one of tactical convenience to strategic partnership is greater than ever. With lives, budgets and security at stake, now is the time for action. …

NATO and the E.U. should build on this groundswell. NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen has a solid plan to push past the political stalemate and enhance cooperation in operations, capabilities development and strategic consultations that will benefit all NATO and E.U. members. The United States strongly supports his approach. …

NATO and E.U. capabilities need to be in synch, and their operations need to be complementary. We should regularly engage in a robust and transparent exchange of views on a wide range of shared interests. Policy should support work in the field; those in harm’s way shouldn’t have to work around our failures in Brussels.

Ivo H. Daalder is the U.S. permanent representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  (photo: U.S. State Department)

Image: state%2010%2019%2010%20ivo%20daalder.jpg