NATO head outlines areas for increased cooperation with EU

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that he is "a strong supporter of closer cooperation between the European Union and NATO" and that more can be achieved "if we work more closely together."

While addressing the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and Sub-Committee on Security and Defence, Stoltenberg outlined three areas where he sees great potential for increased cooperation between NATO and the EU.

The first area is "building resilience together, by strengthening our defense in facing new threats such as for instance hybrid warfare." The second is "building resilience together with our neighbors, in the east and the south." The third is "defense investment."

Stoltenberg pointed out that the EU and NATO "are two different organizations with different tasks and different responsibilities, but we have also very much in common. We are two organizations which share the same values and the same security environment and are facing the same challenges and the same threats."

Stoltenberg said the two blocs are living in a time where fundamental changes are taking place in the current security environment.

"We see new threats and new challenges. We see them emanating from the east as a consequence of the behavior of a more assertive Russia ... and from the south, in the Middle East and North Africa, through turmoil, barbaric violence, and ISIL terrorist activities close to our borders," the NATO head said. Endit