NATO Quint

The Quint is an informal decision-making group consisting of the United States and the Big Four of Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom).[1][2] It operates as a "directoire" of various entities such as NATO and the G7/G20.[3][4] [5][6]

NATO Quint members US President Barack Obama, Francois Hollande, David Cameron, Angela Merkel and Matteo Renzi, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during the 2014 Wales summit.
Barack Obama, Matteo Renzi, David Cameron and Francois Hollande participating in a video teleconference.
David Cameron, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, François Hollande and Matteo Renzi in 2016.

The US, France and the United Kingdom are "nuclear-weapon states", while Germany and Italy have nuclear weapon sharing programs.

History

The idea of a trilateral axis on foreign policy issues was proposed by French President Charles de Gaulle to his British and American counterparts (see Fouchet Plan). However, that plan was never implemented. Meetings with that goal took place around 1980 between the foreign ministers of these three countries and West Germany, although they were largely symbolic and led to no real decision.[7] The Quint in its current form seems to have begun as the Contact Group excluding Russia. Nowadays, Quint leaders discuss all major international topics participating in video conferences or meeting one another in various forums such as NATO, the OSCE, the G20[8] and the UN. The Quint meets also at ministerial and experts' level.[9] [10][11] Quint countries along with Russia and China participate together in global discussions as in the Syrian case, they have joint statements and meetings as in the case of Lebanon.[12] [13] [14]

See also

References
  1. "The Quint: Acknowledging the Existence of a Big-Four – US Directoire at the Heart of the European Union's Foreign Policy Decision-Making Process". Academia.edu. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  2. Nolan, Janne (December 1, 2010). "Global Engagement: Cooperation and Security in the 21st Century". Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved September 5, 2016 – via Google Books.
  3. Goldstein, Joshua S. (September 15, 2011). "Winning the War on War: The Decline of Armed Conflict Worldwide". Penguin. Retrieved September 5, 2016 – via Google Books.
  5. "White House Press Briefing, G8 Summit Preview - IIP Digital". Iipdigital.usembassy.gov. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  7. "Supporting the Revolution: America, Democracy, and the End of the Cold War in Poland, 1981--1989". ProQuest. January 1, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2016 – via Google Books.
  8. international, Ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Développement. "Sommet du G20 : réunion au sommet du Quint". Diplomatie.gouv.fr. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  9. Gegout, Catherine (May 8, 2010). "European Foreign and Security Policy: States, Power, Institutions, and American Hegemony". University of Toronto Press. Retrieved September 5, 2016 – via Google Books.
  10. "Obama discusses further Syrian intervention with European leaders". CNN. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  11. "Telefonata Renzi-Obama-Merkel-Cameron-Hollande su Gaza, Ucraina, Libia". Europa Quotidiano. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.


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