PanARMENIAN.Net

Dutch expert: NATO and EU to join efforts in South Caucasus
09.02.2007 17:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Moving past their reluctant attitude in the 1990s, in the
21st century the alliance and the union have started to pursue a much more
active policy toward the South Caucasus. The reasons for the change in
attitude of NATO and the EU are found in a corresponding U.S. agenda, which
even earlier started to follow a proactive course in this region. For the
European countries, the issue of energy security has resulted in more
attention for the South Caucasus due to rising prices, increasing scarcity
and uncertainty of energy deliveries. Although the entrance of Georgia into
NATO — and subsequently Azerbaijan and perhaps Armenia as well — might
still take some years, it is probable that the relationship between NATO and
the South Caucasian states will further deepen, with Georgia taking the
lead. Similarly, increased ties between the South Caucasian states and the
EU can also be expected, although membership of the EU for them seems
further away than that of NATO, due to the enlargement fatigue within the
EU,’ says the report titled ”Current Geostrategy in the South Caucasus”
issued by Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Marcel de Haas, the Senior Research Fellow
on military doctrine, strategy, and security policy of NATO, EU, Russia and
CIS, at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael in
The Hague.

`Although formally denied, there is reason to believe that NATO has, or will
have, a role in pipeline security in the South Caucasus, for clear
geostrategic reasons. The EU is also likely to build up its activities in
the South Caucasus, especially in energy infrastructure, economic
development, rule of law, and probably also conflict solution — for which
it has a more independent reputation than does NATO. Consequently, NATO and
the EU will share an upcoming long-lasting involvement in the region, which,
by establishing a labor division in their best fields of expertise, may be
able to bring security and prosperity to the South Caucasus,’ the report
says.