| NATO is a defensive alliance designed to protect its members from outside attack. The EU on the other hand was essentially designed to bind France and Germany together so tightly that they would never go to war again - and it has done that job brilliantly. So Europe has been peaceful (ignoring minor (!) disturbances like the Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Georgia ...) because of BOTH NATO and the EU. Take away the EU and over the long term conflict between the countries of the EU could potentially return. NATO has nothing to say about potential conflicts between its members |