THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TRANSATLANTIC LINK FOR THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE INTEGRATION PROCESS.

The European defence integration represents today a fact assumed by European governments both at the level of policies and strategies (the Common Security and Def ence Policy, the European Security Strategy), and by conducting concrete activities on the field (the military operations of the European Union). Ever since the beginning of military integration, the strong partnership between the United States and Europe has had a positive influence. Starting on this premise, the paper analyses the way in which the United States has supported the European's efforts in guarantying their own security; furthermore, we discuss the capabilities gap between the two sides of the Atlantic and what opportunities it has to offer, and also what should Europeans do along with the Americans' pivot to Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]