NATO, EU and security in Europe [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Russia's conflict with Ukraine and turbulence in the Middle East have reawakened concern about Europe's security, fuelling a debate about its defence capabilities, the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and its relations with the European Union. NATO and the EU, sharing values, strategic interests, and a majority of members, cooperate on issues of common interest and work together in crisis management. The principles of the cooperation were set out in the December 2002 NATO-EU Declaration and the Berlin plus agreements, which allow the EU to use some of NATO's military assets in its peacekeeping operations. This note highlights a selection of recent studies and reports by some of the major international think tanks and research institutes on EU-NATO relations and, more generally on the role of NATO.