Development of Multinational Formations in the European Context – Conceptual Determinations and Practical Reasons for Generating Defence Capabilities through Regional Cooperation Initiatives –
Development of Multinational Formations in the European Context – Conceptual Determinations and Practical Reasons for Generating Defence Capabilities through Regional Cooperation Initiatives –

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to analyse the contribution of regional cooperation formulas in generating multinational formations that may be subject to participation in crisis management operations. From a chronological perspective, the development of formats of interaction in the field of defence was initiated in the period immediately following the Second World War, having as dominant reasons the creation of an efficient defence system to counter the Soviet threat. The criteria underlying the emergence of such formats undoubtedly concerned historical experience and affinities between European states, reinforced by the advantages of using geographical proximity in the development of joint programmes with immediate military applicability. On those coordinates, the regional dynamics recorded significant developments in the following decades, most of the initiatives being connected to varying degrees to the defence effort carried out in the context of NATO and the Western European Union (WEU). The end of the Cold War and, subsequently, the reorientation of multinational defence cooperation in support of crisis management efforts brought new challenges and opportunities for the optimization of regional interaction formulas. Most of them were focused on capitalizing on the results recorded in the operational contexts of the period, through which the structures generated through the regional cooperation were tested in demanding operational environments, offering validations for the continuation of this type of interaction and the consolidation of their permanence. Under those auspices, the launch of the European Security and Defence Policy provided an additional opportunity to explore the potential of regional cooperation formats. Basically, they proved to be a link between the potential developed under the aegis of the WEU and the process of creating the EU profile in the field of security and defence. Regional cooperation initiatives must also be seen as an essential provider of forces and capabilities to support the objectives adopted by the EU in the context of defence cooperation. This trend has intensified as the European defence project has advanced, offering consolidated prospects for supporting this endeavour.

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