A postwar NATO cruiser design to keep developing

Which last-generation NATO cruiser design should have been carried forward as the basis for continued development?

The Dutch De Zeven Provinciën class is the NATO-wide choice, with Cruiser 1970 suggested for Britain. Later British and French proposals remained unbuilt.

Cruiser 1970 is the first suggestion for continued British development. For a choice across NATO navies, the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën cruisers are preferred. Britain and France continued producing cruiser designs comparatively late, but those later proposals did not result in ships. The exchange offers starting points without comparing their detailed specifications.