European Defense and the Future of Transatlantic Cooperation
Abstract
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, the demise of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, and, ultimately, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are facing a new security environment, requiring new structures and institutions, and a new definition of roles and responsibilities for mutual security. NATO has taken a number of steps in this direction, including reorganizing its military command structure, reducing the size of its standing military forces, and changing the way NATO forces are organized and deployed, with new emphasis on multinational formations and mobility. The United States and other NATO allies are reducing their forces. Simultaneous with the rapidly changing security environment, the twelve members of the European Community (EC) moved to closer integration with the Maastricht Treaty on European Union in December 1991, which, inter alia, commits the European Community to develop a common foreign and security policy (CFSP), which will lead to a common defense policy and could result in a common European defense. The need to restructure European security organizations and EC moves to strengthen economic and political unity have led to efforts to create a European identity in security and defense.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA282458
Entities
People
- James B. Steinberg
- Scott A. Harris
Organizations
- RAND Corporation