POLITICAL SCIENCE

Is NATO essential for Europe's security?

Is NATO essential for Europe's security?

Introduction

In this study, we try to explore the concept of State Security of European Unions in relation with NATO in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on the formulation and main aims of NATO with respect to its associations with EU alliances, and study of its relation with EU security system that are prevailing. The research also analyzes many aspects of NATO and its working and tries to gauge its effect on security of the EEU, WEU and overall EU with respect to the world. Finally, the research describes various factors which are responsible for instable security of EU, and tries to describe the overall effect of NATO on the world crisis maintenance.

What is NATO?

NATO is the abbreviation for “The North Atlantic Treaty Organization”. It is a global, political and military organization created as a result of negotiations between signatories to the 1948 Brussels Treaty. It is also called North Atlantic Alliance. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its affiliated states concur to mutual defence in retort to an attack by any external party.

The member countries for this treaty are Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands and the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, as well as other countries in Western Europe like Denmark, Italy, Iceland, Norway, Spain and Portugal invited to participate, with the aim of organizing Europe against the threat of the Soviet Union after the Second World War, which formed a parallel organization to the Warsaw Pact.

The NATO headquarter is in Brussels and the military command in Mons, and Belgium. Through logistics of allied countries, NATO cohesive and organized the Allied countries in political, economic and military. The secretary general is elected Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark from 2001 to 2009. He was elected on Saturday April 4th of 2009 during the height of the 60th anniversary of this organization and took the first of August of that year.

Contributions and Working of NATO

NATO has taken a number of steps, and initiatives to fight terrorism. These include,

The adoption of the NATO summit in Prague, in 2002;

Military Defence Concept against Terrorism;

The Military Concept for Defence against Terrorism and a Partnership Action Plan for the Eradication of Terrorism;

The Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism (PAPT) concerning cooperation with NATO partners within the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council;

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) / Partnership for Peace; and

The Partnership for Peace (PfP).

The basic aim of these plans were to coordinate the fight against terrorism, in relation with the provision of construction of mutual trust, support to countries in need of support, exchange information on threats and create an area free from terrorism by establishing closer cooperation partner countries, consultation and implementation of agreed programs and providing mutual support in connection with potential attacks of terrorism (Smith 2004, 81).

In 2002, the EAPC adopted an Action Plan against Terrorism - The Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism, which is a political statement regarding the 46 member states to fight ...