Robert E. Berls Jr., PhD
Senior Advisor for Russia and Eurasia
Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative (EASI)
A high-level international commission with a unique goal to lay the intellectual foundation for an inclusive Euro-Atlantic security system for the twenty-first century
Challenge
Two decades after the end of the Cold War, the relationship among the Euro-Atlantic security community remained mired in suspicion, distrust, and misperceptions.
Action
Co-chaired by NTI co-chairman Sam Nunn, former German deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the United States Wolfgang Ischinger and NTI board member and former Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov, EASI was a high-level commission of business leaders, former military and government officials and experts from Russia, Europe, and North America.
Results
The co-chairs have published op-eds in The International Herald Tribune and The Moscow Times and chaired a series of high-level meetings.
Details
Project Staff
Two decades after the end of the Cold War, the relationship among the Euro-Atlantic security community remained mired in suspicion, distrust, and misperceptions. The Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative (EASI), a project of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, worked to lay the intellectual foundation for an inclusive Euro-Atlantic security system for the twenty-first century.
Co-chaired by NTI co-chairman Sam Nunn, former German deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the United States Wolfgang Ischinger and NTI board member and former Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov, EASI was a high-level commission of business leaders, former military and government officials and experts from Russia, Europe, and North America. EASI worked to devise an institutional approach to strengthen cooperation among former Cold War rivals in order to tackle the toughest security and economic challenges.
As Ischinger, Ivanov, and Nunn wrote in The International Herald Tribune, “The world badly needs the leadership that this could provide in meeting the day’s new threats — from nuclear and bioterrorism to cyber insecurity and health pandemics.”
In convening EASI, the co-chairs addressed the region’s most difficult questions head on. For example, how can tension-filled relationships, such as that between Russia and Georgia be eased and set on a more constructive course? What strategic concept should guide organizations like NATO in the twenty-first century? The co-chairs have published op-eds in The International Herald Tribune and The Moscow Times and chaired a series of high-level meetings.
The EASI commission released its final report on February 3, 2012, offering concrete recommendations for a more inclusive Euro-Atlantic security system.
See a list of EASI Commission members.
Watch this 7-minute video presented by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
2016
Post-Warsaw analysis: What NATO said (or didn’t say) about Nuclear Weapons
In this analysis, experts examine what happened in Warsaw and the implications for the future of security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
2014
Choubey Calls for Key Actions for a Successful Summit
In a new piece for the European Leadership Network, Deepti Choubey lays out key steps states should take to tap the full potential of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.
2013
A Conversation with Sam Nunn, Igor Ivanov, and Des Browne on Building Mutual Security in the Euro-Atlantic Region
On Sep. 12, the German Marshall Fund of the United States will be hosting a discussion on the findings from "Building Mutual Security in the Euro-Atlantic Region."
Building Mutual Security in the Euro-Atlantic Region: Moving Out from Under MAD’s Shadow to Mutual Security
In a report, military, political and security experts from EU, RU and the US give guidance for moving out of the Cold War shadow of mutual assured destruction to mutual security.
2012
Nunn, Ischinger, Ivanov on Euro-Atlantic Security
NTI's Sam Nunn joins Wolfgang Ischinger and Igor Ivanov to emphasize the need for Europe, the United States, and Russia to address security and economic needs.
2010
Senator Nunn, Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov, Robert Legvold discuss Euro-Atlantic Security
The Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative (EASI) commission released a statement calling for “a stronger and more inclusive European security order.”