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At NATO headquarters Tuesday, Bush gave his response to that thinking, calling NATO "the cornerstone" of the relationship between the U.S. and Europe.

He also stressed -- repeating the phrase twice -- that "NATO is the most successful alliance in the history of the world."

It had "worked in the past and is adjusting so that it works in the future."

Bush said NATO should not be taken for granted, and pointedly added that the nine former Communist nations of Eastern Europe which recently joined the Alliance certainly did not do so.

A key aspect of the Franco-German-driven EU project is the development of a single European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), an initiative widely seen as an attempt to strengthen the EU's influence vis-a-vis the U.S.

The move has raised doubts in Washington, where NATO has long been regarded as the central plank of transatlantic military cooperation. U.S. officials want to see improvements to enable it to meet new threats.

The Bush administration has also favored the creation of ad-hoc coalitions in response to crises, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated on several occasions in the aftermath of 9/11 that "the mission determines the coalition."

The EU and NATO have 25 and 26 members respectively, but their membership makeup differs considerably.

Countries belonging to both are Belgium, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the UK.

NATO members not in the EU are Bulgaria, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Romania, Turkey and the United States.

EU member-states not in NATO are Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Sweden.

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