• Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Middle East logoCarnegie lettermark logo
LebanonIran
{
  "authors": [
    "Stefano Marcuzzi"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Transatlantic Cooperation",
    "Europe’s Southern Neighborhood"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
  "programAffiliation": "EP",
  "programs": [
    "Europe"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Europe",
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Western Europe",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "EU",
    "Security",
    "Migration"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other
Carnegie Europe

NATO-EU Maritime Cooperation: For What Strategic Effect?

EU-NATO maritime cooperation in the Mediterranean has by and large been successful at the tactical level. However, operational achievements did not produce strategic effects.

Link Copied
By Stefano Marcuzzi
Published on Jan 14, 2019

Source: NATO Defense College

EU-NATO maritime cooperation is essential to a coordinated response to a variety of Mediterranean issues, including terrorist threats, the protracted conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the refugee emergency. The EU’s Operation EUNAVFOR Med Sophia is deployed in the Southern-Central Mediterranean, whilst NATO’s Operation Sea Guardian operates in the whole Mediterranean basin. NATO also launched a new activity in the Aegean in 2016. Although each operation has its own mandate, their coordination was defined as crucial in the 2016 Joint Declaration on EU-NATO cooperation.

At a tactical level, these operations have by and large been successful in enhancing situational awareness in the Mediterranean; monitoring migration networks; constraining the activity of human and arms smugglers on the high seas; and to a degree in providing assistance to migrants. However, they also face strategic challenges, including the failure to dismantle the smugglers’ networks, their relatively low deterrent effect, and a limited degree of inter-institutional cooperation.

Read the full Article

This article was originally appeared in the NATO Defense College Policy Brief series.

Photo: Jake Tupman; NATO via Flickr

About the Author

Stefano Marcuzzi

Former Visiting researcher, Carnegie Europe

Marcuzzi was a visiting researcher at Carnegie Europe, where he focused on EU-NATO cooperation, in particular on the Mediterranean and Libya.

    Recent Work

  • Commentary
    Libya Needs European Boots on the Ground

      Stefano Marcuzzi

Stefano Marcuzzi
Former Visiting researcher, Carnegie Europe
EUSecurityMigrationEuropeNorth AmericaUnited StatesWestern EuropeIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Egypt’s Discrete Role in the Ceasefire with Iran

    Cairo’s efforts send a message to the United States and the region that it still has a place at the diplomatic table.

      • Angie Omar

      Angie Omar

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Realism and the Lebanon-Israel Talks

    Beirut’s desire to break free from Iranian hegemony may push it into a situation where it has to accept Israel’s hegemony.  

      Michael Young

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    The United States and Iran Have Agreed to a Two-Week Ceasefire

    Spot analysis from Carnegie scholars on events relating to the Middle East and North Africa.

      Michael Young

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Hezbollah’s Wartime Strategy

    The party’s objectives involve tying together the Lebanese and Iranian fronts, while surviving militarily and politically at home. 

      Mohamad Fawaz

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Iran Rewrites Its War Strategy

    In an interview, Hamidreza Azizi discusses how Tehran has adapted in real time to the conflict with the United States and Israel.

      Michael Young

Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Carnegie Middle East logo, white
  • Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.