NATO Needs a New Framework Nation from Central Europe

If we were to say the truth, in 2022 Europe cancelled its common geopolitical future due to deep divisions, some of which were meticulously cultivated in the past. The EU cannot move beyond the level of economic construction or perhaps geo-economic if the much-claimed strategy of decoupling, autonomy and resilience is put into practice despite Germany’s pleas for China.

This article on framework nations is part 2 of a series, the first part you can read here.

Rhetoric and recurrent lamentations on Europe’s failure will be frequent, but this is not a drama. The division would allow better regional alliances, with regional specialisation; NATO itself was initially structured in 1949 on Regional Planning Groups (RPGs) destined to produce local contingency plans for defence against Soviet aggression, replaced in 1951 by a new integrated command structure. RPGs did not lose strategic importance, and today’s British-led Joint Expeditionary Force NATO framework is rooted in the former Northern Europe RPG.

Unity Through Dissent

Accordingly, France could have its own supervision area in the south and southwest, with an intergovernmental approach, preserving its autonomy of decision in the Gaullist fashion. Europe’s north, centre and east can associate and work closely, B9 being a platform apt to foster a more consistent foundation for regional security, using the framework nation concept (with Britain, Sweden, Poland) and certainly benefiting from Finland’s “new school” of defence practices.