I contend that the European
Union rather than its states should be in NATO. Besides eliminating duplication
from the E.U. having a nebulous observer status while the states are formally
in the alliance, the increasing role in defense being played by the Commission,
including there being a Defense commissioner (secretary/minister), calls for being
formally in the alliance. Whereas the U.S. began as a military alliance of
sovereign states, the E.U. can trace its beginnings to the European Economic
Community. Both unions have since incorporated powers or competencies beyond
the respective starting points. For the E.U. this has meant moving beyond
economics and trade to include social policy and, last but not least, defense.
It is in NATO’s interest to adapt to this change. Lastly, that the E.U. and
U.S. are both instances of (early) modern federalism, which at its core has the
attribute of dual-sovereignty wherein both the federal and the state levels
enjoy at least some governmental sovereignty, whereas NATO, as an international
alliance, is confederal in that all of the sovereignty resides in the members
of the alliance, justifies the E.U. being a member of NATO rather than being
misinterpreted as a comparable international organization as the state-rights
Euroskeptics like to believe.
The full essay is at "The E.U. in NATO."