The Quest for Relevant Air Power

POST–COLD WAR CHALLENGES │ 19
strategic partnership between the EU and NATO. 34 It allows the
EU to “borrow” common military assets and capabilities from
NATO. 35 HG 2010 also emphasises military interoperability between
NATO and ESDP concepts and procedures, mainly because
only a single set of forces is available for both organisations. 36
Hence, the EU aims at arrangements for full consultation, cooperation,
and transparency with NATO. 37
NATO after the Cold War. NATO responded to the end of the
Cold War by developing a new strategic concept completed in November
1991. It stressed cooperation with former adversaries, as
working towards improved and expanded security for Europe as a
whole was considered a new goal. 38 The concept also provided for
major changes in NATO’s defence posture, such as reductions in
the size of military forces on the one hand and improvements in
their mobility, flexibility, and adaptability to different contingencies
on the other. 39 Nevertheless, it was written in the context of a
still-existing Soviet Union and, hence, made an explicit reference
to its large conventional and nuclear arsenals. 40
Out-of-area operations had a major impact upon the evolution
of NATO in the following years. Whereas deterrence and
collective defence had provided the fulcrum during the Cold
War era and have continued to be a central alliance issue, the
emphasis de facto shifted towards peace support and crisis management
operations. At the ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic
Council in December 1992, member states confirmed
their preparedness to support, on a case-by-case basis, peacekeeping
operations under the authority of the UN Security Council
and, hence, to provide forces for out-of-area contingencies. 41
Throughout the 1990s, NATO shifted from a relatively limited
role in supporting UN peacekeeping efforts to assuming full
control of complex peace support operations, culminating in
Operation Allied Force in 1999. 42
The emergence of a new out-of-area role for NATO also led to
institutional changes and innovations, such as the adoption of the
combined joint task force (CJTF) concept. Endorsed by NATO
member states at the January 1994 summit in Brussels, the CJTF
aimed at improving NATO’s ability to deploy multinational forces
into out-of-area operations on short notice. 43 On the same occasion,
NATO announced its support for the European Security and