The European Union (EU) and the NATO signed a new joint declaration on Tuesday to continue developing their cooperation after those promoted in 2016 and 2018, and which occurs on this occasion in the context of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and of the European Council, Charles Michel, signed the document at the headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance, in Brussels.
“We are facing a key juncture for Euro-Atlantic security and stabilitywhich demonstrates more than ever the importance of the transatlantic link and calls for closer cooperation between the EU and NATO,” says the statement, which is due to be officially signed and presented on Tuesday.
“Like the security threats and challenges we face are evolving in scope and magnitudewe will take our association to the next level”, the two organizations point out in the Declaration.
The text highlights the need to face “growing geostrategic competition”, protect critical infrastructure and deal with threats from emerging technologies and in space, as important areas for deeper cooperation.
Despite fears that a stronger European role in defense could undermine the US-led military alliance, the two sides have been working on this declaration for some time, which they had originally planned to have ready before the summit in NATO leaders that was held in Madrid in June of last year.
In Warsaw, in July 2016, the two organizations already outlined the areas to strengthen their cooperation in the light of common challenges in the East and the south and, in December of that year, the NATO foreign ministers approved a declaration with 42 common measures to promote NATO-EU cooperation.
Later, in December 2017, another 32 measures were added to that document.
The second joint declaration between the EU and the Alliance was promoted on July 10, 2018, and in it both organizations agreed to move quickly in the areas of military mobility, the fight against terrorism and the strengthening of resilience against risks chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, as well as promoting the women, peace and security agenda.
The Secretary General of the Alliance has underlined on various occasions the need to further extend cooperation in military mobility, resilience to emerging and disruptive technologies, and the impact of climate change on security.
The EU and NATO share 21 members that share the same values and play complementary and reinforcing roles in support of international peace and security.
The Strategic Concept approved by NATO in 2022 describes the European Union as a unique and essential partnerand calls for an enhanced and strengthened strategic partnership.
For NATO, the reinforcement that the EU is carrying out of its defense capabilities must be coherent and complementary to the Alliance’s efforts to avoid unnecessary duplication and contribute to burden sharing between Europe and North America.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
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Source-www.infobae.com