The Trans-Atlantic Alliance--an update

Remarks on the Future of European Security: "Some have looked at the continent even now and seen Western and Eastern Europe, old and new Europe, NATO and non-NATO Europe, EU and non-EU Europe. The reality is that there are not many Europes; there is only one Europe. And it is a Europe that includes the United States as its partner. And it is a Europe that includes Russia."

Well, the only problem with this view is that it is the Elite view and that people that answer questions for the Eubarometer poll don't want to share the foreign policy of the US. I definitely think Europe and the US should intimately deal with security problems. I believe Sweden should be in Afghanistan as long as ISAF and NATO are there. As I have said earlier, however, I'm not sure military personnel should be in Afghanistan because they might cause more problems than they solve.

Hillary Clinton also stresses that the idea of Russia to discuss new security treaties for Europe is a bad and cumbersome idea and that the existing institutions OECD and the NATO-Russia Council instead should be reinforced.

The first question Ms Clinton got after her speech at the École militaire in Paris was about the coordination and integration of NATO and the EU. She said among other things that: "But as I said in my remarks, they [EU and NATO] are no longer separated. It is hard to say that security is only about what it was when NATO was formed, and the EU has no role to play in security issues".

You might remember the comment by the polish MEP in charge of NATO-EU relations the other day that claimed the EU and NATO were in different worlds. I'm not sure what might clarify this issue but it is probably necessary for the majority of Europeans to begin appreciating the future vitality of the Trans-Atlantic Alliance.