Could European NATO navies operate beyond the treaty area?

Could Germany and other European NATO navies take on wider ocean-going deployments outside the alliance area?

Yes, there was scope for broader deployments; Italy had already demonstrated the idea, and the treaty framework did not impose the absolute prohibition suggested in the question.

The intervention asks whether European allies could help cover worldwide commitments as the Soviet Navy became a global force. Speed notes that Italy had recently completed a successful round-the-world deployment and that other NATO navies were considering similar activity. He disputes the claim that the relevant treaty arrangements absolutely prohibited such operations. The important issue was whether European members were willing and equipped to take on a larger ocean-going role. This exchange connects out-of-area presence to alliance burden-sharing rather than treating it as an exclusively British or American task.