Four neutral European countries, Austria, Ireland, Malta and Switzerland, have sent a letter to the North Atlantic Alliance proposing increased co-operation by the end of 2023.
Following the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, these states plan to position their group as WEP4 (four Western European partners). In their letter to the alliance, the informal alliance states describe themselves as “the bloc’s closest partners in the pursuit of common values” and emphasise the “growing importance” of their partnership with NATO in the current period. They also refer to the growing instability on the European continent.
In the letter, the WEP4 countries state their intention to increase their participation in NATO military manoeuvres, including crisis response exercises. The neutral countries would like to gain “privileged access to NATO documents and information”, increase intelligence sharing and establish cooperation with the alliance in the areas of cyber security, critical infrastructure protection and combating “new disruptive technologies”.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry told the newspaper that Vienna plans to use the WEP4 format “to draw attention to its contribution to and opportunities for European security”. At the same time, the foreign ministry emphasised that the country’s participation in NATO was not on the agenda.
https://report.az/ru/drugie-strany/avstriya-irlandiya-malta-i-shvejcariya-napravili-nato-predlozhenie-o-sotrudnichestve/