In the context of the structuring of European security, it is useful to rethink the cooperation between the European Union and the other security organizations of the continent, as well as a more general partnership between these regional organizations and the United Nations. This cooperation would lead either to a burden-sharing and a division of labor for crisis management in Europe, or to a systematic and better organized delegation of the UN Security Council to the European Union for the implementation of its decisions. This questions not only the statute of the European Union as a « regional arrangement » (Chapter VIII of the UN Charter) and the way the Security Council uses regional organizations, but it also questions the need for the institutionalization of such a partnership. The building of this partnership will imply the strengthening of multilateral institutions and of their methods of action, and will incite a reflection on their future missions. This partnership should strengthen the missions of each of these organizations in order to better prevent and manage crises and conflicts. – Summary AFRI-2001