NATO Reassurances and Baltic Defence Cooperation: Getting the Balance Right

This article has been written for the European Leadership Network.

NATO’s reassurances for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) outlined at the Wales Summit in September have been described as “flexible and scalable”. As part of NATO’s Response Force, commitments include the creation of a 4,000 strong Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) capable of deploying within 48 hours. Hosting capabilities will be enhanced; NATO’s air and sea surveillance will be stepped-up, while the increased frequency of allied training exercises will ensure greater NATO visibility on CEE territory. While these measures are significant, they predominantly herald the contributions of NATO’s major powers and other Western allies towards CEE reassurance. Surprisingly, there has been little discussion regarding the input to the region’s security coming from the CEE states themselves.

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