Between 2007 and 2008 the plan to install a ballistic missile defence system in Europe changed in both nature and degree. In nature, because now the American system that has been accepted by Poland and the Czech Republic seems destined to be an integral part of the future European architecture, and this was confirmed at NATO’s Bucharest summit in April 2008. And in degree because this policy of presenting a fait accompli, which the uncoordinated Europeans were unable to change, aggravates even more the already very tense relations with Russia. Looking ahead to the Strasbourg summit in 2009, this article asks how Europe could use NATO to refocus the anti-missile debate by becoming involved at the highest level in the integrated architecture being prepared and ensure that the now unavoidable project aligns with its own interests.
