111. The New Security Dimensions: Europe after the NATO and EU Enlargements
- Author:
- Adam Daniel Rotfeld
- Publication Date:
- 04-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
- Abstract:
- One decade after the end of the cold war and the fall of the bipolar system, the enlargements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) reflect the fundamental changes that have taken place in Europe's security environment. The processes of enlargement are of essential importance to the states which belong to the two organizations and the applicant states. It is also essential that the security interests of the states be yond the borders of the EU and NATO be taken into account. The European Union faces the challenge of determining its new role in the security dimension. This calls for both further institutionalization of its relationship with NATO and redefinition of its relations with the United States. The decisions adopted by the Nice European Council meeting represent a new stage in overcoming the political division of Europe that was established at Yalta in 1945. The reform launched by the December 2000 Inter- governmental Conference opened the way for further enlargement of the EU. It remains an open question whether and, if so, to what extent the new institutional solutions in the security dimension—the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)—will shape the future political and military reality in the Union and outside it, in particular in transatlantic relations
- Topic:
- Security and NATO
- Political Geography:
- Europe and North Atlantic