Parallelt til disse praktiske tiltag foregår der i øjeblikket en diskussion inden for EU for at præcisere deltagelsesmekanismerne både for de EU-lande, der ikke er medlem af NATO, og de NATO-lande, der ikke er medlem af EU, inden for den globale ramme, der dannes af de såkaldte Petersberg-opgaver, som beskrives i Amsterdam-traktaten.
In parallel with the work on these practical aspects, a discussion is ongoing within the European Union on determining the mechanisms for participation both by EU Member States which are not members of NATO and by NATO countries which are not EU Member States. This discussion is occurring within the overall context of action on the Petersberg tasks specified in the Treaty of Amsterdam.