If what the French and Germans are currently doing at NATO is a "good policeman, bad policeman" game, it could work. First, French President Emmanuel Macron declared the defense alliance "brain dead" by interview - thereby leaving even otherwise reserved diplomats angry. "Not helpful" and "badly arrived" were the friendlier reactions in Brussels Nato headquarters.
Now German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas wants to put the defense alliance on the couch. At the NATO Foreign Ministers 'Meeting, the SPD politician presented his plan to have an expert panel assess the situation and future of NATO - with the aim of improving the allies' security cooperation. NATO is the "life insurance of Europe", which should not be endangered by "divisive tendencies", said Maas. "It is necessary that the political arm of NATO be strengthened." For this it needs "a stronger political coordination of the partners".
How necessary that would have been demonstrated by the spontaneous withdrawal of the USA from Syria and the invasion of Turkey into the north of the civil war country. Maas' proposal to have the commission of experts led by NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg also responded well, according to diplomats.
Many details are still unclear
Maas had "received the support of many Allies," said Stoltenberg after the meeting. Now you will take a closer look at the German proposal and then decide on it. US Secretary of Defense Mike Pompeo also signaled cautious approval. "Every institution should be regularly checked to see if it is fit for purpose," Pompeo said. "That also applies to NATO."
The appointment of the commission could be given at the meeting of NATO heads of state and government near London in early December, NATO sources said. Results could then possibly be presented at the summit in 2021.
According to German ideas, the experts will clarify how the political role of NATO can be strengthened in the future. Who should sit on the panel, is currently unclear. It wanted to call professionals with great security expertise, it was said from NATO circles. It is also unclear what effect such a report would have.
Can Macron or Trump be slowed down?
Some studies of this kind have proven to be groundbreaking in the past, some say. Others at NATO headquarters point out that there have been many circles of experts in the history of the Alliance. And if such advice could bring politicians like Emmanuel Macron or US President Donald Trump to better discuss in the future, is at least doubtful.
Nevertheless, Maas should also score with his initiative domestic policy. Most recently, the SPD man clashed with Secretary of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. The head of the CDU had made headlines by suggesting a UN security force for northern Syria - without consulting Maas. He retaliated by publicly distancing himself from the plan. To this day there is no uniform position of the Federal Government. Nevertheless, Kramp-Karrenbauer put in a little later with the demand for a national security council.
You can always talk
But Maas' move, unlike Kramp-Karrenbauer's Syria plan, is coordinated within the federal government. He also spoke in advance with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, Maas said in Brussels, although Le Drian presented a very similar plan at the ministerial meeting. However, he did not fare well - not only because of Macron's recent verbal attack on NATO, but also because he relied on completely outside experts. Maas wants the panel to be guided by Stoltenberg. The thanked for the trust and did not mention the French plan after the meeting anymore.
That Maas' plan has a good chance of implementation, should also be because it is not very controversial. The process should be open-ended, the experts are not yet named - and talk, that at least seems to be at NATO currently consensus, you can always.