European Union

NATO Secretary General opposes defense HQ for the EU

By Steven Erlanger and Stephen Castle, the New York Times

From Steven Erlanger and Stephen Castle, the New York Times:  [NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh] Rasmussen criticized a proposal from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain to set up a defense-planning headquarters for the European Union based in Brussels.

A New Atlanticism

By John C. Kornblum, atlantic-community.org

 From John C. Kornblum, atlantic-community.org:  One often meets Europeans these days who say their belief in Europe was nothing but an illusion. The EU is experiencing a serious crisis of confidence among its citizens. Equally worrisome is the growing loss of confidence by its essential protector, the United States.

Can NATO and the EU work together on global partnerships?

By Richard Gowan, atlantic-community.org

From Richard Gowan, atlantic-community.org:  It remains to be seen whether the Libyan experiment and other recent operations in the EU’s "near abroad" such as the anti-piracy campaign off Somalia will convince European leaders to retain the military capabilities to act as a regional policeman in future.

Why Turkey will continue to remain a committed member of the Atlantic Alliance

By Avnish Patel, Royal United Services Institute

Libya showed that the Europeans “successfully took on more responsibility through NATO, not the EU”

By Kenneth Weinstein, Real Clear World

From Kenneth Weinstein, Real Clear World:  What we saw in Libya is the emergence of something akin to warfare for the networked age: the full-fledged emergence of shifting coalitions of the willing based on participating nations’ domestic political calculations and military readiness.