EU and NATO have reported continued cooperation across defence and security areas in their latest joint progress update, covering work carried out from June 2025 to May 2026.
The European Council took note of the 11th report on the implementation of 74 joint proposals agreed by the EU and NATO Councils in December 2016 and December 2017, the Council informed on Thursday night.
Political dialogue between the EU and NATO intensified during the reporting period, with both organisations referring to the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and EU initiatives to boost European defence.
The report also lists cooperation on “hybrid threats” — a term used for tactics that can combine military and non-military actions such as cyberattacks and disinformation — including the use of rapid response teams.
Defence capabilities and moving forces
Contacts on defence capabilities were stepped up, with work focused on what the statement described as “critical capabilities shortfalls”, the European Council said.
Capabilities and assets developed by members of both organisations remain available for EU and NATO operations, subject to national political decisions.
EU and NATO experts also continued efforts to coordinate work on air and missile defence capabilities and to increase defence production across all domains, while standardisation remained a focus to support interoperability — the ability of different forces and systems to operate together.
Military mobility was cited as a flagship area of cooperation.
