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France and NATO


At the start of his mandate, the French President launched a dual movement for restarting Defence Europe and reviewing relations between France and NATO. These two components were linked from the outset.

The aim is to strengthen Defence Europe as well as NATO. A stronger Europe will make the Alliance, in which the Europeans will assume their full responsibilities, stronger and more credible.

The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) helped give a new impetus to European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) by demonstrating the Union’s operational capability (Georgia, fight against piracy) and initiating a European capability building dynamic.

The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union helped strengthen the EU’s capability for concrete action by developing both the military and civilian capabilities of the Europeans. An agreement was reached to establish a strategic planning capability in Brussels that will comprise a deployable component. All this will naturally help improve the European Union’s responsiveness.

The interested partners reached an agreement on projects for pilot cooperation and the pooling of resources involving:

- the setting up of a Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC);

- alignment of national military training in the form of a “military Erasmus Programme”;

- and the all-weather military observation satellite Musis programme.

National arms markets are set to open up further through the adoption shortly of two European directives, in order to create a real European area for exchanging defence equipment. Regarding European civilian capabilities for the management of crises and post-conflict situations, it will be possible to project about 100 multidisciplinary experts into theatres of operation by 2010, and for 10,500 experts to intervene at a later stage in civilian crisis management. Some of you may be among these experts.

The first half of 2008 saw the deployment of the biggest military mission in the history of the European Union with the EUFOR Chad/CAR operation. The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union helped launch three new operations:

  • the civilian observation mission in Georgia launched in record time;
  • the ATALANTA naval operation to combat piracy off the Somali coast. France was the first among leading Western countries to respond to piracy in the region which everyone had come to accept as unavoidable. On several occasions, the French forces have demonstrated their capability to prevent or thwart piracy, thus helping initiate this cooperation;
  • the civilian mission “EULEX Kosovo”, conducted in a delicate political and legal context.

The French President clearly emphasized at the Munich Security Conference that: “it’s Defence Europe and NATO, not Defence Europe or NATO. Both together. It’s because we are going to strengthen Defence Europe that NATO will have to be strengthened. It was a major error for people to think that by weakening one they could strengthen the other.”

As a founding member of the Atlantic Alliance, France is one of NATO’s key contributors. France never left NATO. It rejoined the Military Committee over ten years ago and is a full member of most NATO internal structures. France is prepared to regain its rightful place in the military posture of the Atlantic Alliance without renouncing its entire freedom of appreciation about its sending troops into operations, and, naturally, the autonomy of its nuclear deterrence.

France’s contribution to NATO

- In terms of military capabilities

Since the end of the Cold War, France has been one of the leading regular troop contributors in NATO operations with high-quality and readily available forces: Kosovo - 1,600 troops, 3rd biggest contributor, KFOR command from September 2007 to September 2008; Afghanistan (ISAF) - almost 3,000 troops, 4th biggest contributor.

- In budgetary terms

France is one of the leading contributors to NATO. For the operations budget, as the cost of sending troops is borne by countries, France bears a significant share of Allied efforts; it also is the 5th biggest contributor to NATO’s common funding structure (Civil Budget: 13.75%, €26m; Military Budget: 12.87%, €105m; new headquarters: €93m).

  • At political level, in the 1990s France was one of the promoters of the European pillar within the Alliance, which today still includes, inter alia, the Berlin Plus Agreements; France also helped establish the NATO-Russia relationship.
  • France is actively involved in all aspects of NATO’s military modernization process as launched at the Prague Summit (NATO Response Force (NRF) and streamlined command structure).

NATO and the United States have acknowledged the contribution that a stronger and more effective Defence Europe would represent. France is advocating a more adaptable and flexible NATO alongside a Europe better capable of assuming its responsibilities. It is in this spirit that we are considering the review of NATO’s Strategic Concept which is due to begin during the Strasbourg/Kehl Summit.

Updated on February 2009

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