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EU-NATO
Declaration on ESDP
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY
ORGANISATION,
- Welcome the strategic partnership established between the European
Union and NATO in crisis management, founded on our shared values, the
indivisibility of our security and our determination to tackle the challenges
of the new Century;
- Welcome the continued important role of NATO in crisis management
and conflict prevention, and reaffirm that NATO remains the foundation
of the collective defence of its members;
- Welcome the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), whose purpose
is to add to the range of instruments already at the European Union’s
disposal for crisis management and conflict prevention in support of
the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the capacity to conduct EU-led
crisis management operations, including military operations where NATO
as a whole is not engaged;
- Reaffirm that a stronger European role will help contribute to the
vitality of the Alliance, specifically in the field of crisis management;
- Reaffirm their determination to strengthen their capabilities;
Declare that the relationship between the European Union and
NATO will be founded on the following principles:
- Partnership: ensuring that the crisis management activities of the
two organisations are mutually reinforcing, while recognising that the
European Union and NATO are organisations of a different nature;
- Effective mutual consultation, dialogue, cooperation and transparency;
- Equality and due regard for the decision-making autonomy and interests
of the European Union and NATO;
- Respect for the interests of the Member States of the European Union
and NATO;
- Respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, which
underlie the Treaty on European Union and the Washington Treaty, in
order to provide one of the indispensable foundations for a stable Euro-Atlantic
security environment, based on the commitment to the peaceful resolution
of disputes, in which no country would be able to intimidate or coerce
any other through the threat or use of force, and also based on respect
for treaty rights and obligations as well as refraining from unilateral
actions;
- Coherent, transparent and mutually reinforcing development of the
military capability requirements common to the two organisations;
To this end:
- The European Union is ensuring the fullest possible involvement of
non-EU European members of NATO within ESDP, implementing the relevant
Nice arrangements, as set out in the letter from the EU High Representative
on 13 December 2002;
- NATO is supporting ESDP in accordance with the relevant Washington
Summit decisions, and is giving the European Union, inter alia and in
particular, assured access to NATO’s planning capabilities, as
set out in the NAC decisions on 13 December 2002;
- Both organisations have recognised the need for arrangements to ensure
the coherent, transparent and mutually reinforcing development of the
capability requirements common to the two organisations, with a spirit
of openness.
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