EU, NATO to enhance cooperation

BRUSSELS, May 20 (KUNA) -- EU and NATO have agreed to step up their cooperation on issues such as cyber defence and maritime security, to counter illegal migration following a meeting between NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini at the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting on Friday.
"We are working closer together than ever before. We work side-by-side to help cut the lines of illegal trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean. We have a closely coordinated stance following Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea," Stoltenberg told a joint press conference with Mogherini.
"We also coordinate our support for partners to the east and to the south. And since February, NATO and the EU have reached two formal arrangements; one on cyber defence, and the other on our practical cooperation in the Aegean Sea," he noted.
"We need to take our cooperation to a higher level and that's exactly what we are working on now," added the NATO chief.
On her part, Mogherini said that the two organisations are cooperating in areas such as maritime security in the Mediterranean and to maintain security in the Balkans and Afghanistan. (end) nk.hb