EU-NATO cooperation

Why the EU-NATO partnership matters

The EU-NATO strategic partnership is founded on shared values, the determination to tackle common challenges and the unequivocal commitment to promote and safeguard peace, freedom and prosperity in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Relations between the EU and NATO were institutionalised in the early 2000s, building on steps taken during the 1990s to promote greater European responsibility in defence matters.

EU-NATO cooperation has been critical to enhancing Euro-Atlantic security. NATO remains the foundation of collective defence for its members, while a stronger and more capable European defence that complements NATO is essential.

The EU-NATO partnership is crucial for maintaining security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area, now more than ever due to the increasing challenges and threats.

Together, the EU and NATO represent over 1 billion people and some of the world's largest economies, providing significant political and military influence on the global stage.

23 out of 27 EU member states are also NATO members.

EU countries that are NATO members

Text version

NATO and the EU have 23 members in common: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Areas of EU-NATO collaboration

EU-NATO collaboration spans a number of specific strategic areas:

Countering hybrid threats

Cooperation to develop shared situational awareness on hybrid threats and terrorist threats and to enhance resilience to future crises.

Defence capabilities

Joint actions to enhance the coherence of EU and NATO capability development processes and to improve military mobility.

Capacity building

Assisting partners in capacity building and strengthening their resilience, including in the Western Balkans and in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood.

Operational cooperation

Exchange of information on operational engagements and joint efforts to improve operational cooperation, notably in the maritime domain.

Defence industry and research

Exchange of information and best practices on industry and research matters and coordination on the implementation of relevant initiatives.

Political dialogue

EU-NATO political dialogue remains an indispensable instrument for strengthening mutual understanding, building confidence and ensuring mutual transparency.

Cyber security and defence

Exchange of information and good practices, and coordination on cyber capacity building for partners and on cyber exercises and training.

Coordinated exercises

Parallel and coordinated exercises to increase the resilience and preparedness of both organisations in the event of a crisis.

EU-NATO cooperation in practice

Between 2016 and 2017, the Council and NATO endorsed 74 common proposals for concrete action in areas such as counter-terrorism, military mobility, cybersecurity, defence capabilities, the defence industry and countering hybrid threats.

Examples of these initiatives include:

a set of structured dialogues focusing on resilience, military mobility, space, cyber, climate and defence, and emerging and disruptive technologies
exchange of real-time insights, reports and analysis on hostile information activities and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI)
consultations on wider defence industry matters and concrete topics related to industry engagement and support
regular exchanges and cross-briefings following Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine

Every year since 2017, the Council has noted the progress report on implementation of the common proposals.

Response to present challenges

EU-NATO cooperation has expanded significantly in recent years, building on three joint declarations (in 2023, 2018 and 2016), as well as the EU Strategic Compass and the NATO Strategic Concept adopted in 2022.

The third and newest joint declaration on EU-NATO cooperation, adopted on 10 January 2023, outlines today's challenges and how cooperation will address them.

In the declaration, the EU and NATO state that they stand united in condemning Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and in supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and right to self-defence.

As the security threats and challenges we are confronted with are evolving in scope and magnitude, we will take our partnership to the next level on the basis of our long-standing cooperation. Joint declaration on EU-NATO cooperation, 10 January 2023

The declaration sets out a shared vision of how the EU and NATO will act together against common security threats. The EU and NATO are expanding and deepening their cooperation in areas such as:

growing geostrategic competition
resilience and the protection of critical infrastructure
emerging and disruptive technologies
space
the security implications of climate change
foreign information manipulation and interference