NATO-EU Complementarity Through Strategic Concept and the Strategic Compass: The Impact of the Strategic Compass on European Integration

Abstract

The Russia-Ukraine war and the changing geopolitical interests of the major powers have created several new threats for Europe. At the same time, new challenges such as cyber-attacks, hybrid wars and climate change have alarmed the European states. Therefore, these developments required NATO and the EU to take measures separately and proceed by common action. In line with this need, NATO issued the Strategic Concept and the EU issued the Strategic Compass. Examining the two strategies has revealed that they are not competing but completing documents to provide European defence and security. Therefore, the first purpose of this article is to present the idea of complementarity between NATO and the EU in European security. This understanding will also serve the second purpose of the article, which is the manifestation of the impact of the Strategic Compass on European integration. In other words, complementarity will create a structural framework for strengthening the Strategic Compass and the European integration process. In this context, since the Strategic Compass has reflected a consensus of the EU member states to cooperate on defence and security issues, it is essential to know whether it has contributed to the European integration process by deepening policies on defence and security. Thus, the article concludes that, strengthened by NATO’s strategic concept in the context of complementarity, the strategic compass has become an important step in the European integration process. © 2025 Faculty of European Studies. All rights reserved.