The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

cordially invites you to a seminar entitled:

NATO Deterrence on the Eastern Flank: Back to Bases?​

Since Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, and in view of increasing Russian violations of NATO member states’ air and sea space, allies have disagreed on which security strategy to adopt vis-à-vis Russia. The Baltic countries, Poland and Romania are urging the Alliance for a permanent deployment of troops on NATO’s Eastern flank as the only way to deter further Russian aggression. Polish foreign minister Waszczykowski has called for ‘presence, presence, presence and once again presence of NATO troops’.

On the other hand, Western European countries such as Germany, have expressed doubts about the need for permanent NATO troops in Eastern Europe. Germany’s minister of defence Von der Leyen argues that deterrence is not a question of permanent bases, but of smart strategic choices: NATO should stick to its unilateral commitments from the 1990s, thereby ‘keeping the channels of constructive dialogue open’. 

Anticipating NATO’s 2016 Warsaw Summit, this event will address the question of how best to assure European security in Eastern Europe. Which role should NATO play and are permanent troops the way forward? Is it time for the Alliance to go back to its original role of being a deterring force in Eastern Europe?