Since the end of the Cold War, France has maintained a somewhat ambiguous position in NATO on issues ranging from the attempt to rejoin the military structure in 1995 to systematic querying of targeting in Kosovo, the Iraqi crisis and the creation of a European staff headquarters. An illustration of this ambiguity is the desire emanating from Paris to develop a European defence structure without actually forsaking NATO entirely. On 24 February 2004, the French President declared before the Hungarian parliament that, ‘In order for our Alliance to remain strong and solid, for it to be respectful of its members’ positions, it is more than ever necessary for Europe to acquire a true military structure. Working towards European defence means contributing to the vitality of the Transatlantic Alliance; preserving our common future. A stronger Europe is a stronger Alliance.’ He seemed to be promoting a kind of ‘pick-and-choose’ NATO, yet without actually specifying under what conditions the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) would fit together with NATO. As European defence becomes a reality, the Alliance is simultaneously adapting in the general direction that France is looking for anyway. Hence the policy of Paris in the context of a NATO in evolution–particularly under the influence of the post-9/11 reforms. After a description of how France sees the EU-NATO relationship, the two organisations’ respective competences regarding terrorism, a question on which the future of transatlantic relations basically depends, are examined.

Paris and NATO-EU Relations Post-11 September

At a time when European defence is under construction, European Allies have generally been looking for greater balance between the two organisations in the process of decision-making. An extension of the responsibilities of the European Deputy to SACEUR allows him to make operational command and control available to the EU. This is the most important reform to come from the Alliance’s New Strategic Concept, adopted in 1999. Since the Franco-British summit in St-Malo on 4 December 1998, the EU has progressed towards integration of European armed forces without actually sidestepping existing Atlantic Alliance structures.

At the same time as defending its particular position in the NATO alliance, France is in the forefront of moves towards developing European security and defence capability in order to be able to respond in cases where NATO itself does not get involved. Such moves appear to be the result of a political decision aimed at achieving greater strategic independence from the United States. The trend, accentuated by the crisis over Iraq and Washington’s strategic choices, has in a broader sense coloured major European issues since the fall of the USSR and is today receiving wider acceptance despite coming up against objections from European countries which are also NATO members.