NATO Ambassadors and EU Commissioner discuss cooperation toward stronger European defence
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska to NATO today (05 July 2017). The high-level representative of the European Union briefed the North Atlantic Council on the latest developments regarding the European Defence Action Plan and the European Defence Fund.
Following a successful first year of cooperation since the signature of the Joint Declaration on NATO-EU cooperation in Warsaw last July, NATO and the EU are currently discussing how to expand their joint work, including by bringing more coherence in their respective defence capability development priorities and output. As the Commissioner responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Bieńkowska and her services play an important part in this discussion.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly stressed that a more robust European defence would contribute to fairer trans-Atlantic burden-sharing, and would strengthen NATO. The European Defence Action Plan and the European Defence Fund can help make Europe safer by offering valuable opportunities to acquire new defence capabilities and reduce market fragmentation in Europe.
Commissioner Bieńkowska’s visit is part of the active dialogue between NATO and the EU. This dialogue is testimony to the commitment to security, mutual transparency and close coordination that NATO shares with the EU.