The EU as a security actor: In and with the UN and NATO

This chapter concentrates on the relations that the European Union (EU) has with the United Nations (UN) and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the fields of foreign, security and defence policy. Both relations can be seen as partnerships in which the EU is expected to contribute to the goals of the other organization, while also gaining something itself. At the same time, in both partnerships, the EU’s autonomy and relative weight also lead to tension. Importantly, too, both relationships contain different forms of interaction between the two organizations in question.