After years in the pipeline, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced in a joint statement with the European Union on Monday that it will share military resources with the EU.

Under the new agreement known as the Berlin Plus accord, announced by NATO General Secretary George Robertson and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the EU can use NATO military infrastructure and military resources to support its own EU-wide forces. The EU will have access to a NATO planning base in Belgium, and will be able to use NATO logistics and information resources.

Robertson called the new partnership “a milestone in the history of relations between the NATO and the EU.”

Although closer cooperation has been in the works for a few years now, the move was only made possible by the change in Turkey’s stance on the issue. Until last week, Turkey – which belongs to NATO but not to the EU – had blocked closer cooperation between the two organizations. It feared its own security interests would be compromised vis-à-vis the island of Cyprus which it co-governs with Greece.

Turkey was forced to change its stance on the issue at last week’s EU enlargement summit in Copenhagen. There, France and Germany heaped pressure on Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul to get Turkey to stop blocking the Berlin Plus agreement.

The pressure was set against the other conference decision on Turkey: the EU will begin an assessment of Turkey’s stance on human rights, democracy and its economy in October 2004, with possible EU accession talks starting soon afterwards.

Giving Credibility to pan-EU Defence and Security

The European Union decided to create its own military arm at the Helsinki Summit three years ago, when it launched plans for a European Security and Defence Policy. The move was seen as a natural step for the EU at a time when its influence in both political and economic realms continues to grow.

The stated aim is a 60,000-strong European Rapid Reaction Force intended for peace-keeping and humanitarian missions, which can be ready for deployment within 60 days and could remain in place for up to one year. With NATO’s cooperation, this will be up and running by 2003.

The first EU troops – who will wear their national uniforms with an added EU insignia – could be deployed within the next few weeks as the new EU forces take over operation "Amber Fox" in the Balkan republic of Macedonia. And on January 1, more than 500 EU troops will also take over a UN peace-keeping mission in Bosnia.