The position of the UK currently with NATO is not clear, and neither is its position in relation to Europe, post Brexit. Its role and agenda are just not clear.
''The UK can best tackle the challenges of a more dangerous world in alliance with the Europeans and working closely with the EU as well as NATO. Going it alone in a world of big power blocs and rising geo-political rivalries risks a dispersal of resources and energy for little strategic gain. After the years of throwing off its EU shackles and minimising its involvement, there will come a time of reconstruction and a more sober minded appraisal of the UK’s interests and priorities. Public opinion does not stay the same, governments change and political debates can be led for good, as well as bad. The time is not far off when the UK will have mature discussions about Europe. It will not rejoin the EU after all that has happened but it can still have a close relationship with it. After all, we are talking about European Strategic Autonomy and European security and defence rather than just the EU here. So these are issues for all the Europeans working together. The mistake is to think that the objective can be achieved without putting the EU at the centre – and working only around it.
Jamie Shea is a former NATO official and now visiting professor at the University of Exeter as well as President of the Centre for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. He is a frequent speaker and panellist on NATO and European security issues. ''
