European Defence Cooperation: Sovereignty and the Capacity to Act

In the AIV’s view, the only way for the Netherlands to maintain its ability to act militarily and thus its international influence is through close cooperation with other countries’ armed forces. There is still no common vision on Europe’s role on the world stage or on European defence. The Netherlands, together with like-minded countries, should argue in favour of drawing up a new European Security Strategy. In addition, a bottom-up approach is needed in order to deepen bilateral defence cooperation.