The European Leadership Network has been investigating for some time the issue of close encounters between Russian and NATO militaries. On 21st-22nd September, in cooperation with Egmont – The Royal Institute for International Relations, we hosted in Brussels a workshop devoted to managing hazardous incidents in the Euro-Atlantic area. The event brought together experts from non-governmental institutions (think tanks, academia, and retired military officers) from the U.S. and major European countries, including Russia.
A post-workshop report summarising the discussion and highlighting the key conclusions from the meeting is now available to read. The report provides a summary of the debate on the gravity of threat posed by military-military and military-civilian incidents, the relevance of the existing mechanisms for managing them, and the proposals for tackling the problem more effectively.
The deliberations during the workshop confirmed that there is no easy or quick-fix solution to the problem of avoiding and managing of hazardous incidents. Our key recommendation is that the management of incidents must be a multi-layered system, encompassing the involvement of several international institutions and the operation of a number of agreements.
NB: Please note that none of the specific comments or points are attributable to individual speakers, and the report reflects only the rapporteurs’ understanding of the discussion.