Defence technology gap threatens Nato survival

A senior Nato official warned yesterday that if the growing gap in defence technology between the United States and Nato countries in Europe widened further, Europe's defences could be impaired and this would be "a political disaster" for Nato.

He was addressing a gathering of political and defence industry leaders organised by the Washington-based European Institute, an independent forum on European-US relations.

The meeting, which was held yesterday to coincide with the US Army Association exhibition and conference, heard a pessimistic assessment of the state of the Alliance as it prepares for the addition of three new European members.

One remedy which US Nato officials favoured was the creation of a joint US-European committee within the Alliance to consider the question of co-operation in weapons development and procurement. Industry representatives, however, expressed reservations about this, venturing that procurement could then become even more political and more delays and rows could result.

America's fears stem from a belief that the pace of defence sector restructuring since the end of the Cold War has been "different" on the two sides of the Atlantic, that the Europeans have only consolidated their defence industries to a limited extent and mostly within national borders. Cross- border cooperation, the Americans complain, has been very slow to develop, and this threatens defence co-operation with the US.

Challenging the realism of French aims for the European arm of Nato to become more self-sufficient, the US Nato official said: "Europe will never have self-confidence in its own security if it has to hand over to others the instruments needed to protect that security.'