Brief/ Ukraine’s NATO Membership Will Strengthen Europe’s Security by Riccardo Alcaro

Although NATO Summit in Vilnius has not set the conditions for Ukraine to join the Alliance, it has made clear that Ukraine will one day become a member. In this JOINT Brief, Riccardo Alcaro (Project Coordinator, Istituto Affari Internazionali – IAI) argues that, for years to come, European security will have to be built in defence from and not in partnership with Russia. Thus, keeping Ukraine out of NATO in a fractured European security landscape entails the risk of turning it into a perpetual source of instability.

Bilateral security guarantees have the potential to afford Ukraine with a measure of protection; however, the option of NATO membership presents more advantages, including a more potent deterrent effect, an assurance derived from the bilateral US-Ukraine relationship analogous to the ‘Israel model,’ which could influence NATO policy, as well as a robust and enduring commitment to anchoring Ukraine within the political-normative framework of the Alliance.