The ELN works to build the closest possible contacts with NATO and the OSCE to target our research and have the greatest impact on policy. The ELN has good relationships with numerous current NATO officials, as demonstrated by the excellent reaction to our recent reports on fostering NATO-EU cooperation. In this case, two NATO ambassadors directly referenced the latest report at NATO, with at least five others thanking the ELN for its research, alongside a Deputy NATO Secretary General. In their feedback more generally, NATO officials have stressed the value they place on the ELN’s pragmatic approach and practical recommendations in particular.

Similarly, in June 2017 four key ELN members published an open letter to Trump and Putin on restarting military dialogue. The authors were a former UK Defense Secretary, a former US Senator, a former Russian Foreign Minister and the current Chairman of the Munich Security Conference. The letter and its recommendations were ‘seriously studied’ by the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and featured in a Washington Post editorial. The letter also elicited a response from Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, noting the EU’s commitment to non-proliferation and peaceful diplomacy.

Finally, as a key forum for Russia-West dialogue, the ELN is also invested in the OSCE. In 2016, at the request of the OSCE, the ELN hosted and organised a round table discussion with members of the OSCE Eminent Persons Panel on European Security. The ELN subsequently worked with the OSCE to publicise the recommendations and final report of the panel. Similarly, in 2017, the ELN was invited to submit a paper and present its recommendations at the OSCE’s Structured Dialogue meeting. The Chairperson’s Report to the OSCE’s 2017 Annual Security Review Conference starts with a mention of the ‘special session of the Structured Dialogue’ which included the ELN’s Lukasz Kulesa as a witness. Moreover, in November 2017, OSCE officials used ELN research on military incidents in their ‘working paper’ for the first mapping workshop on military force postures and military exercises. Finally, in 2018, the ELN held a conference on security cooperation in the Western Balkans which the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President and Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General both attended. The OSCE welcomed the initiative and subsequently issued a press release to highlight the event’s importance.