EU-NATO cooperation

The strategic partnership between the EU and NATO is a cornerstone of our collective security. The purpose of the ESDP is not to replace but to complement NATO and to strengthen NATO's European pillar. As both the EU and NATO have on repeated occasions made clear, it is very important, for political as well as for financial reasons, that particularly those countries which belong to both organizations should closely coordinate the development of military capabilities. In mid-March 2003 this strategic partnership was buttressed by the conclusion of perma­nent arrangements between the EU and NATO.
These arrangements allow the EU to draw on NATO assets and capabilities in order to implement its own military operations. The package is known as Berlin Plus - the name goes back to a meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) held in Berlin in 1996.

In December 2003 the Brussels European Council reached agreement on a paper presented by the Italian presidency entitled "European Defence: NATO/EU consultation, planning and operations", which was based on proposals drawn up by Germany, France and Britain. In December 2004 the European Council approved a set of detailed proposals on how the agreement should be implemented.
On that basis the permanent links between the EU and NATO were improved; to that end the EU set up a liaison element (the "EU Cell") at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), while NATO seconded a permanent NATO liaison team to the EU Military Staff.Moreover, the EU's capacity to plan and conduct autonomous EU-led operations (i.e. without recourse to NATO assets and capabilities) was strengthened. For that purpose the "Civilian/Military (Civ/Mil) Cell" within the EU Military Staff was created; this cell also contains the nucleus of an operations centre. It is envisaged that the "OpsCen" will plan and conduct autonomous EU-led operations in the event that no national headquarters has been designated for this purpose. It has been ready for activation since 1 January 2007.