West European Integration and Security Cooperation: Converging and Diverging Trends

Abstract

The French parliament, however, refused to endorse the treaty. This lack of treaty endorsement resulted in the Atlantic-European security arrangements which is based upon the presence of American, Canadian and British forces on the European Continent within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance and the West European Union (WEU). The issue of economic and political integration pursued a different career, although West European economic cooperation and integration was, from its inception, an integral part of the overall Atlantic-West European security setup. The pros and cons for closer West European security and defense cooperation or even integration will be debated in the months ahead. During the 1950s and the 1960s, the primary challenge to Western defense was to cope with Soviet expansionist aggression and its excessive, offensive military capability. A growing challenge for the West Europeans has been to muster public support for the security and defense policy of the Western Alliance.