EU to intensify military co-operation with Nato at summit

The European Union is to endorse further co-operation with Nato at a ceremony in Warsaw on Friday as global leaders gather in the Polish capital for the biennial Nato summit.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council head Donald Tusk will sign a joint EU-Nato declaration with the defence organisation's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, backing increased practical co-operation between the two bodies.

The development follows last week's summit in Brussels when the EU's 28 member states backed closer co-operation between the bloc and Nato, which has its headquarters in the Belgian capital .The issue is potentially politically sensitive for Ireland and five other EU countries not Nato members.

However, the joint declaration will state EU-Nato co-operation will be “without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defence policy of any member state”. EU officials in Brussels have said there has been extensive consultation with non-Nato member states ahead of the summit.

Cyber attacks

Among the areas of co-operation include the response to a hybrid attack – a term used to describe a mixture of conventional and unconventional forms of warfare such as cyber attacks – and co-ordinated EU-Nato exercises. Mr Juncker and Mr Tusk are scheduled to meet US president Barack Obama in the morning ahead of the signing of the declaration.

The fallout from the British vote to leave the EU is likely to dominate the two-day summit, with British prime minister David Cameron expected to underline his country's continued commitment to the transatlantic defence organisation.

EU officials said the geopolitical impact of the British vote will be high on the agenda, as the EU considers the impact of its largest foreign policy player leaving the bloc. Along with France, Britain is the only EU member state that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The centrepiece of the summit is expected to be a confirmation by Nato that it will deploy four multinational battalions to Poland and the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Britain is expected to pledge troops to the mission.

The move to increase troop numbers in northeastern Europe in response to Russian aggression is likely to aggravate Moscow. Russia has already deployed missiles, tanks and troops in Kaliningrad, the small Russian enclave located between Poland and Lithuania.

The Baltic states have been calling for more Nato activity in response to what they view as increasing Russian threats on its borders. The 2014 conflict in Ukraine, which flared following the decision by the then Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich not to sign an association agreement with the EU, has deepened tensions. EU member states agreed to extend sanctions against Russia last week for a further six months, despite calls from some states to withdraw measures hitting EU exports.

Leaders will also agree to extend Nato's training mission in Iraq and to examine further roles for the alliance in the central Mediterranean. Earlier this year, Nato ships began surveillance in waters between Greece and Turkey as part of the effort to tackle the refugee crisis.

American troops

Military and other support for Afghanistan will also be discussed, following Mr Obama's announcement this week US troops would withdraw from Afghanistan at a slower rate than had been anticipated. The US will keep approximately 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan after the end of this year.

Leaders will also discuss possible Nato backing for an EU naval operation in the Mediterranean near Libya. The mission is not currently permitted to operate in Libyan territorial waters.