Table OF CONTENTS

                                                   paragraph

What is NATO?                                          1
The Fundamental Tasks of the Alliance                  2
Origins of the Alliance                                3
NATO Today                                             4

PART I - HOW NATO WORKS

Machinery of Cooperation                               5
Fundamental Operating Principles                       6
Joint Decision-Making                                  7
Political Consultation                                 8
Crisis Management                                      9
The Defence Dimension                                 10
Consultations on Nuclear Issues                       11
Economic Cooperation                                  12
Public Information                                    13
The Common Infrastructure Programme                   14
Logistic Support                                      15
Armaments Cooperation                                 16
Armaments Planning                                    17
Standardization                                       18
Communications and Information Systems                19
Air Defence                                           20
Civil Emergency Planning                              21
Civil and Military Coordination of Air Traffic
Management                                            22
Scientific Cooperation and Environmental Challenges   23

PART II - THE FUTURE ROLE OF THE ALLIANCE

An Era of Political Change                            24
The New Security Architecture                         25
A Broad Approach to Security                          26
The Alliance's Strategic Concept                      27
Dialogue, Partnership and Cooperation                 28
The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe  29
Europe's Security Identity and Defence Role           30
Arms Control                                          31


PART III - ORGANISATION AND STRUCTURES

NATO Headquarters                                     32
Permanent Representatives and National Delegations    33
The International Staff                               34
The Secretary General                                 35
Office of the Secretary General                       36
Executive Secretariat                                 37
Office of Information and Press                       38
NATO Office of Security                               39
Division of Political Affairs                         40
Political Affairs Directorate                         41
Economics Directorate                                 42
Division of Defence Planning and Policy               43
Directorate of Force Planning and Policy              44
Nuclear Planning Directorate                          45
Division of Defence Support                           46
Directorate of Armaments and Defence Research         47
Directorate of Command Control and
Communications                                        48
Directorate of Air Defence Systems                    49
Directorate of Cooperation, Planning and
Standardization                                       50
Division of Infrastructure, Logistics and Civil
Emergency Planning                                    51
Infrastructure Directorate                            52
Logistics Directorate                                 53
Civil Emergency Planning Directorate                  54
Scientific Affairs Division                           55
Office of Management                                  56
Office of the Financial Controller                    57
Office of the Chairman of the Budget Committees       58
International Board of Auditors                       59
Production and Logistics Organisations                60
National Military Representatives                     61
The Military Committee                                62
International Military Staff                          63
Organisation of the International Military Staff      64
The Role of Allied Military Forces                    65
The Integrated Military Command Structure             66
Allied Command Europe (ACE)                           67
The Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR)         68
Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT)                      69
The Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT)      70
Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN)                       71
The Commander-in-Chief Channel (CINCHAN)              72
Canada-United States Regional Planning Group          73
Forces Available to NATO                              74
ACE Mobile Force (AMF)                                75
Standing Naval Forces                                 76
Reserve Forces                                        77
Military Agencies and Organisations                   78
Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and
Development (AGARD)                                   79
Military Agency for Standardization (MAS)             80
NATO Electronic Warfare Advisory Committee
(NEWAC)                                               81
EURO/NATO Training Group                              82
Military Committee Meteorological Group (MCMG)        83
Military Telecommunications and CIS Agencies          84
SHAPE Technical Centre                                85
SACLANT Undersea Research Centre                      86
NATO Defense College                                  87

PART IV - INTERLOCKING INSTITUTIONS

The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
(CSCE)                                                88
The European Community (EC)                           89
The Western European Union (WEU)                      90
The Council of Europe                                 91

PART V - OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS

North Atlantic Assembly (NAA)                         92
Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA)                     93
Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR)  94
The Eurogroup                                         95
Independent European Programme Group (IEPG)           96


APPENDICES

APPENDIX I   THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY               97
APPENDIX II  THE ALLIANCE'S STRATEGIC CONCEPT        98
APPENDIX III MEMBERS OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL   99
APPENDIX IV  MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEE      100
APPENDIX V   MAJOR NATO COMMANDERS                  101
APPENDIX VI  PRINCIPAL OFFICIALS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL STAFF                                 102
APPENDIX VII PRINCIPAL OFFICIALS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL MILITARY STAFF                        103
APPENDIX VIII PRINCIPAL NATO AGENCIES               104
APPENDIX IX  ABBREVIATIONS IN COMMON USE            105
APPENDIX X   CHRONOLOGY                             106

1. WHAT IS NATO?

The North Atlantic Treaty of April 1949 brought into
being an Alliance of independent countries with a
common interest in maintaining peace and defending
their freedom through political solidarity and adequate
military defence to deter and, if necessary, repel all poss-
ible forms of aggression against them. Created within the
framework of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter,
which reaffirms the inherent right of individual or collec-
tive defence, the Alliance is an association of free states
united in their determination to preserve their security
through mutual guarantees and stable relations with other
countries.

NATO is the Organisation which serves the Alliance. It
is an inter-governmental organisation in which member
countries retain their full sovereignty and independence.
The Organisation provides the forum in which they con-
sult together on any issues they may choose to raise and
take decisions on political and military matters affecting
their security. It provides the structures needed to facili-
tate consultation and cooperation between them, not
only in political fields but also in many other areas where
policies can be coordinated in order to fulfil the goals of
the North Atlantic Treaty.

NATO's essential purpose is thus to safeguard the free-
dom and security of all its members by political and
military means in accordance with the principles of the
United Nations Charter. Based on common values of
democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the Alliance
has worked since its inception for the establishment of a
just and lasting peaceful order in Europe. This Alliance
objective remains unchanged. NATO also embodies the
transatlantic link by which the security of North America
is permanently tied to the security of Europe. It is the
practical expression of effective collective effort among
its members in support of their common interests.

The fundamental operating principle of the Alliance is
that of common commitment and mutual cooperation
among sovereign states based on the indivisibility of the
security of its members. Solidarity within the Alliance,
given substance and effect by NATO's daily work in politi-
cal, military and other spheres, ensures that no member
country is forced to rely upon its own national efforts
alone in dealing with basic security challenges. Without
depriving member states of their right and duty to assume
their sovereign responsibilities in the field of defence, the
Alliance enables them through collective effort to enhance
their ability to realise their essential national security
objectives.

The resulting sense of equal security amongst the mem-
bers of the Alliance, regardless of differences in their
circumstances or in their national military capabilities,
contributes to overall stability within Europe and thus to
the creation of conditions conducive to increased cooper-
ation both among Alliance members and with other coun-
tries. It is on this basis that members of the Alliance,
together with other states, are developing cooperative
structures of security serving the interests of a Europe
which is not subject to divisions and is free to pursue its
political, economic, social and cultural destiny.

2. THE FUNDAMENTAL TASKS OF THE ALLIANCE

The means by which the Alliance carries out its security
policies include the maintenance of a military capability
sufficient to prevent war and to provide for effective
defence; an overall capability to manage successfully
crises affecting the security of its members; and active
political efforts favouring dialogue with other nations
and a cooperative approach to European security, includ-
ing measures to bring about further progress in the field
of arms control and disarmament.

To achieve its essential purpose, the Alliance performs
the following fundamental security tasks:

It provides one of the indispensable foundations for
stable security in Europe based on the growth of demo-
cratic institutions and commitment to the peaceful
resolution of disputes. It seeks to create an environment
in which no country would be able to intimidate or
coerce any European nation or to impose hegemony
through the threat or use of force.

In accordance with Article 4 of the North Atlantic
Treaty, it serves as a transatlantic forum for Allied
consultations on any issues affecting the vital interests
of its members, including developments which might
pose risks to their security. It facilitates appropriate
coordination of their efforts in fields of common
concern.

It provides deterrence and defence against any form of
aggression against the territory of any NATO member
state.

It preserves the strategic balance within Europe.

The structures created within NATO enable member
countries to coordinate their policies in order to fulfil
these complementary tasks. They provide for continuous
consultation and cooperation in political, economic and
other non-military fields as well as the formulation of
joint plans for the common defence; the establishment of
the infrastructure needed to enable military forces to
operate; and arrangements for joint training programmes
and exercises. Underpinning these activities is a complex
civilian and military structure involving administrative,
budgetary and planning staffs, as well as agencies which
have been established by the member countries of the
Alliance in order to coordinate work in specialised fields
- for example, the communications needed to facilitate
political consultation and command and control of mili-
tary forces and the logistics support needed to sustain
military forces.

The following sections describe the origins of the Alli-
ance; the progress which has been made towards the realis-
ation of its goals; the steps being undertaken to transform
the Alliance in accordance with the dramatic changes
which have taken place in the political and strategic
environment; and the machinery of cooperation and struc-
tural arrangements which enable NATO to fulfill its tasks.

3. ORIGINS OF THE ALLIANCE

Between 1945 and 1949, faced with the pressing need for
economic reconstruction, Western European countries
and their North American allies viewed with concern the
expansionist policies and methods of the USSR. Having
fulfilled their own wartime undertakings to reduce their
defence establishments and to demobilise forces, Western
governments became increasingly alarmed as it became
clear that the Soviet leadership intended to maintain its
own military forces at full strength. Moreover, in view of
the declared ideological aims of the Soviet Communist
Party, it was evident that appeals for respect for the
United Nations Charter, and for the international settle-
ments reached at the end of the war, would not guarantee
the national sovereignty or independence of democratic
states faced with the threat of outside aggression or
internal subversion. The imposition of undemocratic
forms of government and the repression of effective oppo-
sition and of basic human and civic rights and freedoms
in many Central and Eastern European countries as well
as elsewhere in the world, added to these fears.

Between 1947 and 1949 a series of dramatic political
events brought matters to a head. These included direct
threats to the sovereignty of Norway, Greece, Turkey
and other Western European countries, the June 1948
coup in Czechoslovakia and the illegal blockade of Berlin
which began in April of the same year.


The signature of the Brussels Treaty of March 1948
marked the determination of five Western European
countries - Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Nether-
lands and the United Kingdom - to develop a common
defence system and to strengthen the ties between them
in a manner which would enable them to resist the
further use of such pressures. Negotiations with the
United States and Canada then followed on the creation
of a single North Atlantic Alliance based on security
guarantees and mutual commitments between Europe
and North America. Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway
and Portugal were invited to become participants in this
process. These negotiations culminated in the signature
of the Treaty of Washington in April 1949, bringing into
being a common security system based on a partnership
among these twelve countries. In 1952 Greece and Turkey
acceded to the Treaty. The Federal Republic of Germany
joined the Alliance in 1955 and, in 1982, Spain also
became a member of NATO.

The North Atlantic Alliance was thus founded on the
basis of a Treaty between member states entered into
freely by each of them after public debate and due parlia-
mentary process. The Treaty upholds their individual
rights as well as their international obligations in accord-
ance with the Charter of the United Nations. It commits
each member country to sharing the risks and responsibili-
ties as well as the benefits of collective security and
requires of each of them the undertaking not to enter
into any other international commitment which might
conflict with the Treaty.

4. NATO TODAY

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, the unifica-
tion of Germany in October 1990, the disintegration of
the Soviet Union in December 1991, and dramatic
changes elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, marked
the end of the Cold War era. Since these events, which
have transformed the political situation in Europe, the
nature of the risks faced by the members of the Alliance
has fundamentally changed. However, as events have
proved, dangers to peace and threats to stability remain.
Following the decisions taken by the NATO Heads of
State and Government at their Summit Meetings in
London in July 1990 and in Rome in November 1991,
the North Atlantic Alliance has therefore been adapting
its overall strategy in the light of the changing strategic
and political environment. Attention has focussed in par-
ticular on the need to reinforce the political role of the
Alliance and the contribution it can make, in cooperation
with other institutions, in providing the security and
stability which are the prerequisite for the process of
renewal in which Europe is engaged.


The Strategic Concept adopted by Heads of State and
Government in Rome outlines a broad approach to secu-
rity based on dialogue, cooperation and the maintenance
of a collective defence capability. It integrates political
and military elements of NATO's security policy into a
coherent whole, establishing cooperation with new part-
ners in Central and Eastern Europe as an integral part of
the Alliance's strategy. The Concept provides for reduced
dependence on nuclear weapons and major changes in
NATO's integrated military forces, including substantial
reductions in their size and readiness, improvements in
their mobility, flexibility and adaptability to different
contingencies and greater use of multinational form-
ations. Measures are also being taken to streamline
NATO's military command structure and to adapt the
Alliance's defence planning arrangements and procedures
in the light of the changed circumstances concerning
security in Europe as a whole.

At the Rome Summit Meeting, NATO Heads of State
and Government also issued an important Declaration
on Peace and Cooperation. The Declaration set out the
context for the Alliance's Strategic Concept. It defined
the future tasks and policies of NATO in relation to the
overall institutional framework for Europe's future secu-
rity and in relation to the evolving partnership and cooper-
ation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
It reaffirmed the Alliance's commitment to strengthening
the role of the Conference on Security and Cooperation
in Europe, making specific suggestions for achieving this,
and reaffirmed the consensus among the member coun-
tries of the Alliance on the development of a European
security identity and defence role. It underlined the Alli-
ance's support for the steps being taken in the countries
of Central and Eastern Europe towards reform; offered
practical assistance to help them to succeed in this diffi-
cult transition; invited them to participate in appropriate
Alliance forums; and extended to them the Alliance's
experience and expertise in political, military, economic
and scientific consultation and cooperation.

A particularly significant step taken in this context was
the establishment of a North Atlantic Cooperation Coun-
cil (NACC) to oversee the future development of this
partnership. Subsequent consultations and cooperation
have been wide-ranging but have focussed in particular
on political and security-related matters; conceptual ap-
proaches to arms control and disarmament; defence plan-
ning issues and military matters; democratic concepts of
civilian-military relations; the conversion of defence pro-
duction to civilian purposes; economic issues, defence
expenditure and budgets; scientific cooperation and
defence-related environmental issues; dissemination of in-
formation about NATO in the countries of cooperation
partners; policy planning consultations; and civil/military
air traffic management.

The Rome Declaration also examined the progress
achieved and specific opportunities available in the field
of arms control and underlined the Alliance's adherence
to a global view of security taking into account broader
challenges which can affect security interests.

Since the publication of the Rome Declaration, addi-
tional measures have been taken at Ministerial Meetings
of Foreign and Defence Ministers held in December 1991
and at subsequent meetings, to further the process of
adaptation and transformation on which the Alliance has
embarked. The inaugural meeting of the North Atlantic
Cooperation Council took place on 20 December 1991
with the participation of the Foreign Ministers or repre-
sentatives of NATO countries and of six Central and
Eastern European countries as well as the three Baltic
states. The role of the NACC is to facilitate cooperation on
security and related issues between the participating coun-
tries at all levels and to oversee the process of developing
closer institutional ties as well as informal links between
them. The eleven states on the territory of the former
Soviet Union which now constitute the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) became participants in this
process in March 1992. Georgia and Albania joined the
process in April and June 1992 respectively. NATO is also
playing a role in the coordination of humanitarian aid to
these new states and is making available its unique expert-
ise and capabilities for this purpose.

NATO Defence Ministers met with cooperation part-
ners on 1 April 1992 to consider ways of deepening
dialogue and promoting cooperation between them on
issues falling within their competence. The Military Com-
mittee held its first meeting in cooperation session on
10 April 1992. These meetings advanced the process of co-
operation by offering practical advice and assistance and
preparing an initial cooperation programme on defence-
related matters. In parallel, contacts and cooperation are
being developed between Ministries of Defence and at
the military level. A Group on Defence Matters has been
set up to act as a clearing house for requests for defence-
related assistance from cooperation partners.

Dialogue, partnership and cooperation are described in
more detail in Part II.

Against the background of the crisis in the former
Yugoslavia and the violence taking place in Nagorno-
Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova
and elsewhere, attention has also been directed increas-
ingly towards possible NATO support for CSCE peace-
keeping activities and its contributions to UN, CSCE and
EC efforts with regard to Yugoslavia in particular. At the
meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Oslo in June
1992 agreement was reached on providing conditional
support for CSCE peace-keeping activities on a case-by-
case basis, including making available Alliance resources
and expertise. In July a NATO maritime operation was
mounted in the Adriatic, in coordination and cooperation
with operations undertaken by the WEU, to monitor com-
pliance with UN Security Council Resolutions imposing
sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro. Following the
London Conference on Yugoslavia at the end of August,
deliberations in the Alliance focussed on the protection
of humanitarian relief and support for UN monitoring of
heavy weapons. Decisions were taken to make Alliance
support available for these two tasks and to continue
contingency planning on other options.

 

NATO handbook01 uploaded March 25, 1993

PART I


HOW NATO WORKS



5. MACHINERY OF COOPERATION

The basic machinery of Alliance cooperation is as fol-
lows:



(a)  The North Atlantic Council has effective political
authority and powers of decision and consists of
Permanent Representatives of all member countries meet-
ing together at least once a week. The Council also meets
at higher levels involving Foreign Ministers or Heads of
Government but it has the same authority and powers of
decision-making, and its decisions have the same status
and validity, at whatever level it meets. The Council has
an important public profile and issues declarations and
communiques explaining its policies and decisions to the
general public and to governments of countries which are
not members of the Alliance.

The Council is the only body within the Alliance which
derives its authority explicitly from the North Atlantic
Treaty. The Council itself was given responsibility under
the Treaty for setting up subsidiary bodies. A large
number of committees and planning groups have since
been created to support the work of the Council or to
assume responsibility in specific fields such as defence
planning, nuclear planning and military matters.

The Council thus provides a unique forum for wide-
ranging consultation between member governments on
all issues affecting their security and is the most important
decision-making body in NATO. All sixteen member coun-
tries of NATO have an equal right to express their views
round the Council table. Decisions are the expression of
the collective will of member governments arrived at by
common consent. All member governments are party to
the policies formulated and to the consensus on which
decisions are based.

Each government is represented on the Council by a
Permanent Representative with ambassadorial rank. Each
Permanent Representative is supported by a political and
military staff or delegation to NATO, varying in size.

Twice each year, and sometimes more frequently, the
Council meets at Ministerial level, when each nation is
represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs. Summit
Meetings, attended by Heads of State or Government,
are held whenever particularly important issues confront-
ing the whole Alliance have to be addressed.

While the permanent Council normally meets at least
once a week, it can be convened at short notice whenever
necessary. All its meetings are chaired by the Secretary
General of NATO or his Deputy. At Ministerial Meetings,
one of the Foreign Ministers assumes the role of
Honorary President. The position rotates annually among
the nations, in the order of the English alphabet.

Items discussed and decisions taken at meetings of the
Council cover all aspects of the Organisation's activities
and are frequently based on reports and recommend-
ations prepared by subordinate committees at the Coun-
cil's request. Equally, subjects may be raised by any one
of the national representatives or by the Secretary
General. Permanent Representatives act on instructions
from their capitals, informing and explaining the views
and policy decisions of their governments to their col-
leagues round the table. Conversely they report back to
their national authorities on the views expressed and
positions taken by other governments, informing them of
new developments and keeping them abreast of move-
ment towards consensus on important issues or areas
where national positions diverge.

When decisions have to be made, action is agreed upon
on the basis of unanimity and common accord. There is
no voting or decision by majority. Each nation repre-
sented at the Council table or on any of its subordinate
committees retains complete sovereignty and responsiblity
for its own decisions.

(b)  The Defence Planning Committee is normally com-
posed of Permanent Representatives but meets at the level
of Defence Ministers at least twice a year, and deals with
most defence matters and subjects related to collective
defence planning. With the exception of France, all
member countries are represented in this forum. The
Defence Planning Committee provides guidance to
NATO's military authorities and within the area of its
responsibilities, has the same functions and attributes
and the same authority as the Council.

(c)  The Nuclear Planning Group meets at the same
level and with the same status as the Defence Planning
Committee. This is the principal forum for consultation
on all matters relating to the role of nuclear forces in
NATO's security policy. The Nuclear Planning Group fol-
lows a similar pattern of meetings at ambassadorial level
and at the level of Ministers of Defence and has the same
functions and authority for decisions on nuclear matters
as the Council and Defence Planning Committee have in
their own spheres. All member countries except France
participate. Iceland participates as an observer.

(d)  The Secretary General is a senior international
statesman nominated by the member nations both as
Chairman of the North Atlantic Council, Defence Plan-
ning Committee, Nuclear Planning Group and of other
senior committees, and as Secretary General of NATO.
He also acts as principal spokesman of the Organis-
ation, both in its external relations and in communi-
cations and contacts between member governments. The
role of the Secretary General is described in more detail
in Part III.

(e)  The International Staff is drawn from the member
countries, serves the Council and the many Committees
and Working Groups subordinate to it and works on a
continuous basis on a wide variety of issues relevant to
the Alliance. In addition there are a number of civil
agencies and organisations located in different member
countries, working in specific fields such as communica-
tions and logistic support. The organisation and struc-
tures of the International Staff and the principal civil
agencies established by NATO to perform specific tasks are
described in Part III.


(f)  The Military Committee is responsible for recom-
mending to NATO's political authorities those measures
considered necessary for the common defence of the
NATO area and for providing guidance on military matters
to the Major NATO Commanders, whose functions are
described in Part III. At meetings of the North Atlantic
Council, Defence Planning Committee and Nuclear Plan-
ning Group, the Military Committee is represented by its
Chairman or his Deputy.

The Military Committee is the highest military auth-
ority in the Alliance under the political authority of the
North Atlantic Council and Defence Planning Commit-
tee, or, where nuclear matters are concerned, the Nuclear
Planning Group. It is composed of the Chiefs-of-Staff of
each member country except France, which is represented
by a military mission to the Military Committee. Iceland
has no military forces but may be represented by a
civilian. The Chiefs-of-Staff meet at least twice a year. At
other times member countries are represented by national
Military Representatives appointed by the Chiefs-of-
Staff.

The Presidency of the Military Committee rotates annu-
ally among the nations in the order of the English alpha-
bet. The Chairman of the Military Committee represents
the committee in other forums and is its spokesman, as
well as directing its day-to-day activities.


(g)  The integrated military structure remains under
political control and guidance at the highest level. The
role of the integrated military structure is to provide the
organisational framework for defending the territory of
the member countries against threats to their security or
stability. It includes a network of major and subordinate
military commands covering the whole of the North
Atlantic area. It provides the basis for the joint exercising
of military forces and collaboration in fields such as
communications and information systems, air defence,
logistic support for military forces and the standard-
ization or interoperability of procedures and equipment.

The role of the Alliance's integrated military forces is
to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of
member states, contribute to the maintenance of stability
and balance in Europe and to crisis management, and,
ultimately, to provide the defence of the strategic area
covered by the NATO Treaty.

The integrated military structure is being adapted to
take account of the changed strategic environment. It is
described in more detail in Part III.


(h)  The International Military Staff supports the work
of NATO's Military Committee. There are also a number
of Military Agencies which oversee specific aspects of the
work of the Military Committee. The organisation and
structure of the International Military Staff and Military
Agencies are described in Part III.

The structure provided by these various components of
the Organisation is underpinned by procedures for politi-
cal and other forms of consultation and by a system of
common civil and military funding provided by member
nations on a cost-sharing basis. The principle of common-
funding applies equally to the provision of the basic
facilities needed by the defence forces of member coun-
tries in order to fulfill their NATO commitments; and to
the budgetary requirements of the political headquarters
of the Alliance in Brussels and of NATO civil and military
agencies elsewhere. It is extended to every aspect of
cooperation within NATO.

The management of these financial resources is under-
taken through separate civil and military budgets estab-
lished on the basis of agreed cost-sharing formulae and a
self-critical screening process. This embodies the principles
of openness, flexibility and fairness and ensures that
maximum benefit is obtained both for the Organisation
as a whole and for its individual members by seeking
cost-effective solutions to common problems. Political
control and mutual accountability, including the accept-
ance by each member country of a rigorous, multilateral,
budgetary screening process, are fundamental elements.
Fair competition among national suppliers of equipment
and services for contracts relating to common-funded
activities is an important feature of the system.


In addition to the above elements, which constitute the
practical basis for cooperation and consultation among
the sixteen members of the North Atlantic Alliance, the
North Atlantic Cooperation Council or ``NACC'', was
established in December 1991 to oversee the further
development of the dialogue, cooperation and consult-
ation between NATO and its cooperation partners in
Central and Eastern Europe and on the territory of the
former Soviet Union. The development and role of the
NACC is described in Part II.

When it met in March 1992, the NACC published a
Work Plan for Dialogue, Partnership and Cooperation,
setting out the basis for initial steps to develop the
relationship between the participating countries and detail-
ing the principal topics and activities on which the NACC
has agreed to concentrate for the time being.

In addition to meetings of the NACC itself, meetings
with representatives of cooperation countries also take
place on a regular basis under the auspices of the North
Atlantic Council in permanent session and of its subordi-
nate NATO bodies.

While the North Atlantic Council derives its authority
from the contractual relationship between NATO member
countries established on the basis of the North Atlantic
Treaty, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council is the
forum created for consultation and cooperation on politi-
cal and security issues between NATO and its cooperation
partners, proposed in the Rome Declaration of November
1991.


6. FUNDAMENTAL OPERATING PRINCIPLES

The fundamental operating principles of the Alliance
involve both a common political commitment and a
commitment to practical cooperation among sovereign
states. The member countries consider their joint security to
be indivisible. No individual member country therefore has
to rely on its own national efforts and economic resources
alone to deal with basic security challenges. However, no
nation surrenders the right to fulfil its national obligations
towards its people and each continues to assume sovereign
responsibility for its own defence. The Alliance enables
member countries to enhance their ability to realise essential
national security objectives through collective effort. The
resulting sense of equal security amongst them, regardless of
differences in their circumstances or in their relative national
military capabilities, contributes to their overall stability.

7. JOINT DECISION-MAKING

In making their joint decision-making process dependent
on consensus and common consent, the members of the
Alliance safeguard the role of each country's individual
experience and outlook while at the same time availing
themselves of the machinery and procedures which allow
them jointly to act rapidly and decisively if circumstances
require them to do so. The practice of exchanging inform-
ation and consulting together on a daily basis ensures that
governments can come together at short notice whenever
necessary, often with prior knowledge of their respective
preoccupations, in order to agree on common policies. If
need be, efforts to reconcile differences between them will
be made in order that joint actions may be backed by the
full force of decisions to which all the member govern-
ments subscribe. Once taken, such decisions represent the
common determination of all the countries involved to
implement them in full. Decisions which may be politic-
ally difficult or which face competing demands on re-
sources thus acquire added force and credibility.


All member countries participate fully at the political
level of cooperation within the Alliance and are equally
committed to the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty, not
least to the reciprocal undertaking made in Article 5
which symbolises the indivisibility of their security -
namely to consider an attack against one or more of
them as an attack upon them all.

The manner in which the Alliance has evolved neverthe-
less ensures that variations in the requirements and poli-
cies of member countries can be taken into account in
their positions within the Alliance. This flexibility mani-
fests itself in a number of different ways. In some cases
differences may be largely procedural and are accommo-
dated without difficulty. Iceland for example, has no
military forces and is therefore represented in NATO
military forums by a civilian if it so wishes. In other cases
the distinctions may be of a substantive nature. France,
which remains a full member of the North Atlantic
Alliance and of its political structures, withdrew from the
Alliance's integrated military structure in 1966. It does
not participate in NATO's Defence Planning Committee,
Nuclear Planning Group or Military Committee. Regular
contacts with NATO's military structure take place through
a French Military Mission to the Military Committee
and France participates in a number of practical areas of
cooperation in the communications, armaments, logistics
and infrastructure spheres.

Spain, which joined the Alliance in 1982, participates
in NATO's Defence Planning Committee and Nuclear
Planning Group as well as in its Military Committee. In
accordance with the terms of a national referendum held
in 1984, Spain does not take part in NATO's integrated
military structure but does participate in collective de-
fence planning. Military coordination agreements enable
Spanish forces to cooperate with other allied forces in
specific roles and missions and to contribute to allied
collective security as a whole while remaining outside the
integrated military structure.

Other distinctions may also exist as a result of the
geographical, political, military or constitutional situa-
tions of member countries. The participation of Norway
and Denmark in NATO's military dispositions, for exam-
ple, must comply with national legislation which does not
allow nuclear weapons or foreign forces to be stationed
on their national territory in peace-time. In another con-
text, military arrangements organised on a regional basis
may involve only the forces of those countries directly
concerned or equipped to participate in the specific area
in which the activity takes place. This applies, for exam-
ple, to the forces contributed by nations to the ACE
Mobile Force and to the standing naval forces described
in Part III.

8. POLITICAL CONSULTATION

Policy formulation and implementation in an Alliance of
sixteen independent sovereign countries depends on all
member governments being fully informed of each other's
overall policies and intentions and of the underlying
considerations which give rise to them. This calls for
regular political consultation, wherever possible during
the policy-making stage of deliberations before national
decisions have been taken.

Political consultation in NATO began as a systematic
exercise when the Council first met in September 1949,
shortly after the North Atlantic Treaty came into force.

Since that time it has been strengthened and adapted to
suit new developments. The principal forum for political
consultation remains the Council. Its meetings take place
with a minimum of formality and discussion is frank and
direct. The Secretary General, by virtue of his Chairman-
ship, plays an essential part in its deliberations and acts
as its principal representative and spokesman both in
contacts with individual governments and in public
affairs.

Consultation also takes place on a regular basis in
other forums, all of which derive their authority from the
Council: the Political Committee at senior and other
levels, Regional Expert Groups, Ad Hoc Political Work-
ing Groups, an Atlantic Policy Advisory Group and
other special committees all have a direct role to play in
facilitating political consultation between member govern-
ments. Like the Council, they are assisted by an Inter-
national Staff responsible to the Secretary General of
NATO and an International Military Staff responsible to
its Director, and through him, responsible for supporting
the activities of the Military Committee.

Political consultation is not limited to events taking
place within the NATO Treaty area. Events outside the
geographical area covered by the Treaty may have implica-
tions for the Alliance and consultations on such events
therefore take place as a matter of course. The consult-
ative machinery of NATO is readily available and exten-
sively used by the member nations in such circumstances.

In such situations, NATO as an Alliance may not be
directly involved. However the long practice of consulting
together and developing collective responses to political
events affecting their common interests enables member
countries to draw upon common procedures, cooperative
arrangements for defence and shared infrastructure, if
they need to do so. By consulting together they are able to
identify at an early stage areas where, in the interests of
security and stability, coordinated action may be taken.

The need for consultation is not limited to political
subjects. Wide-ranging consultation takes place in many
other fields. The process is continuous and takes place on
an informal as well as a formal basis with a minimum of
delay or inconvenience, as a result of the collocation of
national delegations to NATO within the same head-
quarters. Where necessary, it enables intensive work to be
carried out at short notice on matters of particular import-
ance or urgency with the full participation of represent-
atives from all member governments concerned.

Consultation within the Alliance takes many forms. At
its most basic level it involves simply the exchange of
information and opinions. At another level it covers the
communication of actions or decisions which govern-
ments have already taken or may be about to take and
which have a direct or indirect bearing on the interests of
their allies. It may also involve providing advance warn-
ing of actions or decisions to be taken by governments in
the future, in order to provide an opportunity for them
to be endorsed or commented upon by others. It can
encompass discussion with the aim of reaching a consensus
on policies to be adopted or actions to be taken in parallel.
And ultimately it is designed to enable member countries to
arrive at mutually acceptable agreements on collective
decisions or on action by the Alliance as a whole.

9. CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Consultation naturally takes on particular significance
in times of tension and crisis. In such circumstances,
rapid decision-making based on consensus on measures
to be taken in the political, military and civil emergency
fields depends on immediate and continuous consultation
between member governments.

The principal forums for the intensive consultation
required are the Council and the Defence Planning Com-
mittee, supported by the Military Committee, the Political
Committee and other civilian committees as may be
needed. The practices and procedures involved form the
Alliance crisis management arrangements. Facilities
including communications in support of the process are
provided by a NATO Situation Centre, which operates
on a permanent 24-hour basis. Exercises to test and
develop crisis management procedures are held at regular
intervals in conjunction with national capitals and Major
NATO Commanders. Crisis management arrangements,
procedures and facilities as well as the preparation and
conduct of crisis management exercises are coordinated
by the Council Operations and Exercise Committee.

10. THE DEFENCE DIMENSION

The framework for NATO's defence planning process is
provided by the underlying principles which are the basis
for collective security as a whole - political solidarity
among member countries; the promotion of collaboration
and strong ties between them in all fields where this
serves their common and individual interests; the sharing
of roles and responsibilities and recognition of mutual
commitments; and a joint undertaking to maintain
adequate military forces to support Alliance strategy.

In the new political and strategic environment in
Europe, the success of the Alliance's role in preserving
peace and preventing war depends even more than in the
past on the effectiveness of preventive diplomacy and
successful management of crises affecting security. The
political, economic, social and environmental elements
of security and stability are thus becoming increasingly
important. Nonetheless, the defence dimension remains
indispensable. The role of the military forces of the
Alliance is described in more detail in Part III. It includes
contributing to the maintenance of stability and balance in
Europe as well as to crisis management. The maintenance
of an adequate military capability and clear preparedness
to act collectively in the common defence therefore remain
central to the Alliance's security objectives. Ultimately
this capability, combined with political solidarity, is
designed to prevent any attempt at coercion or intimi-
dation, and to guarantee that military aggression directed
against the Alliance can never be perceived as an option
with any prospect of success, thus guaranteeing the
security and territorial integrity of member states.

In determining the size and nature of their contribution
to collective defence, member countries of NATO retain
full sovereignty and independence of action. Nevertheless,
the nature of NATO's defence structure requires that in
reaching their individual decisions, member countries take
into account the overall needs of the Alliance. They
therefore follow agreed defence planning procedures
which provide the methodology and machinery for deter-
mining the forces required to implement Alliance policies,
for coordinating national defence plans and for establish-
ing force planning goals which are in the interests of the
Alliance as a whole. The planning process takes many
quantitative and qualitative factors into account, includ-
ing changing political circumstances, assessments pro-
vided by NATO's Military Commanders of the forces they
require to fulfill their tasks, scientific advances, technol-
ogical developments, the importance of an equitable divi-
sion of roles, risks and responsibilities within the Alliance,
and the individual economic and financial capabilities of
member countries. The process thus ensures that all
relevant considerations are jointly examined to enable the
best use to be made of the national resources which are
available for defence.

Close coordination between international civil and mili-
tary staffs, NATO's military authorities, and NATO
governments is maintained through an annual exchange
of information on national plans. This exchange of inform-
ation enables each nation's intentions to be compared
with NATO's overall requirements and, if necessary, recon-
sidered in the light of new Ministerial political directives,
modernisation requirements and changes in the roles and
responsibilities of the forces themselves. All these aspects
are kept under continuous review and are scrutinised at
each stage of the defence planning cycle.


The starting point for defence planning is an agreed
Strategic Concept or ``strategy'' which sets out in broad
terms Alliance objectives and the means for achieving
them. More detailed guidance is given every two years by
Defence Ministers. Specific planning targets for the armed
forces of member nations are developed on the basis of
this guidance. These targets, known as ``Force Goals'',
generally cover a six-year period, but in certain cases
look further into the future. Like the guidance provided
by Defence Ministers, they are updated every two years.
The above steps culminate in the compilation of a
common NATO Force Plan which provides the basis for
NATO defence planning over a five-year time frame. In
addition, allied defence planning is reviewed annually
and given direction by Ministers of Defence. This annual
defence review is designed to assess the contribution of
member countries to the common defence in relation to
their respective capabilities and constraints and against
the Force Goals addressed to them.

 

NATO handbook02 uploaded March 25, 1993

11. CONSULTATIONS ON NUCLEAR ISSUES

The fundamental purpose of the nuclear forces of the
Allies is political: to preserve peace and prevent coercion
and any kind of war. They continue to fulfil an essential
role by ensuring uncertainty in the mind of any potential
aggressor about the nature of the Allies' response to
military aggression. They demonstrate that aggression of
any kind is not a rational option. The supreme guarantee
of the security of the Allies is provided by the strategic
nuclear forces of the Alliance, particularly those of the
United States; the independent nuclear forces of the
United Kingdom and France, which have a deterrent role
of their own, contribute to the overall deterrence and
security of the Allies.

A credible Alliance nuclear posture and the demonstra-
tion of Alliance solidarity and common commitment to
war prevention require widespread participation by the
European Allies involved in collective defence planning,
in nuclear roles, in peacetime basing of nuclear forces on
their territory and in command, control and consultation
arrangements. Nuclear forces based in Europe and com-
mitted to NATO provide an essential political and military
link between the European and the North American
members of the Alliance.

The Defence Ministers of member countries which
take part in NATO's Defence Planning Committee come
together at regular intervals each year in the Nuclear Plan-
ning Group which meets specifically to discuss policy
issues associated with nuclear forces. These discussions
cover policy and deployment issues, reductions in force
levels, nuclear arms control and wider questions of
common concern such as nuclear proliferation. The Alli-
ance's nuclear policy is kept under continuous review and
decisions are taken jointly to modify or adapt it in the
light of developments - for example, the decisions taken
in 1991 to eliminate whole categories of nuclear forces no
longer considered to be necessary and to make major
reductions in nuclear weapons in other categories.

While the issues involved in the formulation and
implementaton of NATO's policy with regard to nuclear
forces are discussed in the Nuclear Planning Group, in
the present circumstances the likelihood of the Alliance
being forced to contemplate the employment of nuclear
weapons for its defence is extremely remote. However,
in such circumstances, the ultimate decision on employ-
ment would lie with the nuclear powers owning the
weapons.


12. ECONOMIC COOPERATION

The basis for economic cooperation within the Alliance
stems from Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty which
states that the member countries ``will seek to eliminate
conflict in their international economic policies and will
encourage economic collaboration between any or all of
them''. NATO's Economics Committee, which was estab-
lished to promote cooperation in this field, is the only
Alliance forum concerned exclusively with consultations
on economic developments with a direct bearing on secu-
rity policy. Analyses and joint assessments of security-
related economic developments are key ingredients in the
coordination of defence planning within the Alliance.
They cover matters such as comparisons of military spend-
ing, developments within the defence industry, the avail-
ability of resources for the implementation of defence
plans, intra-Alliance trade in defence equipment and
economic cooperation and assistance between member
countries.

The premise on which economic cooperation within
the Alliance is founded is that political cooperation and
economic conflict are irreconcilable and that there must
therefore be a genuine desire among the members to
work together in the economic as well as in the political
field and a readiness to consult on questions of common
concern based on the recognition of common interests.

The member countries recognise that in many respects
the purposes and principles of Article 2 of the Treaty are
pursued and implemented by other organisations and
international forums specifically concerned with econ-
omic cooperation. NATO therefore avoids unnecessary du-
plication of work carried out elsewhere but reinforces
collaboration between its members whenever economic
issues of special interest to the Alliance are involved,
particularly those which have political or defence implica-
tions. The Alliance therefore acts as a forum in which
different and inter-related aspects of political, military
and economic questions can be examined. It also provides
the means whereby specific action in the economic field
can be initiated to safeguard common Alliance interests.
Recognising that Alliance security depends on the econ-
omic stability and well-being of all its members as well as
on political cohesion and military cooperation, studies
were therefore initiated in the 1970's, for example, on the
specific economic problems of Greece, Portugal and
Turkey. These resulted in special action by NATO govern-
ments to assist the less prosperous members of the Alli-
ance by means of major aid programmes implemented
largely through other organisations such as the Organisa-
tion for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD). The special economic problems and prospects
of these countries continue to be closely monitored.

In the context of the Alliance's overall security inter-
ests, a wide range of other economic issues may have a
bearing on collective security. This includes matters such
as the conversion of defence production to civilian pur-
poses, defence expenditures/budgets, industrial perform-
ance, consumer and agriculture problems, population
movements and external economic relations - particularly
with respect to the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe and the independent states on the territory of the
former Soviet Union. Analyses and joint studies of issues
such as these have contributed for many years to NATO's
assessment of the security environment affecting its coordi-
nated defence plans. Increasingly they form part of the
wider approach to security issues adopted by the Alliance
as a result of the fundamental changes which have taken
place in Europe. As one of the areas for increased cooper-
ation between the members of the Alliance and their cooper-
ation partners foreseen in the Declaration issued by
NATO Heads of State and Government in Rome in
November 1991, economic topics can be expected to be
the subject of broader exchanges of information and
assessments in the future. In accordance with the Work
Plan for Dialogue, Partnership and Cooperation issued
in March 1992, joint work with NATO's cooperation
partners is taking place, for example, on defence conver-
sion and the inter-relationship of defence expenditure
and budgets with the economy. Cooperation partners
were also represented in NATO's 1992 Economics Collo-
quium and Defence Economics Workshop.

13. PUBLIC INFORMATION

Public recognition of the achievements of the Alliance
and of its continuing role in the post-Cold War era is
fundamental to the continued success of the Alliance and
its ability to carry out its basic tasks, while expanding
and deepening its relations with former adversaries with
whom it has now established a new partnership based on
cooperation, dialogue and common security interests. The
responsibility for explaining national defence and security
policy and each member country's own role within the
Alliance rests with each individual government. The
choice of the methods to be adopted and the resources to
be devoted to the task of informing their publics about
the policies and objectives of the Alliance is also a matter
for each member nation to decide.

The role of NATO's Office of Information and Press is
therefore to complement the public information activities
undertaken within each country, providing whatever as-
sistance may be required, and to manage the Organisa-
tion's day-to-day relations with the media. In accordance
with the Work Plan for Dialogue, Partnership and Co-
operation issued in March 1992, it is also contributing to
the widespread dissemination of information about NATO
in the countries participating in the North Atlantic Co-
operation Council.

To meet these requirements the Office of Information
and Press produces information materials such as period-
ical and non-periodical publications, videos, photographs
and exhibitions. It also administers a major programme
of visits which brings over 20,000 people to NATO Head-
quarters each year, for briefings by and discussions with
experts from the International Staff, International Mili-
tary Staff and national Delegations, on all aspects of the
Alliance's work and policies. Conferences and seminars
on security-related themes are also organised both at
NATO and elsewhere, often involving security specialists,
parliamentarians, journalists, church leaders, trade union-
ists, academics, students or youth organisations.

The NATO Office of Information and Press also spon-
sors two types of Research Fellowship Programmes; the
first, which has existed since 1956, awards grants to post-
graduates and other qualified citizens of member coun-
tries to stimulate study and research into subjects of
relevance to the Alliance; the second, introduced in 1989,
makes awards to citizens of the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe for the study of Western democratic
institutions. An annual Atlantic Award is also organised
for outstanding service to the Alliance by private citizens
from member countries. This award is presented by the
Secretary General on the recommendation of an inde-
pendent jury.

The role of managing day-to-day relations with the
media is covered by the Press and Media Service, which
is responsible for channelling official policy statements
and announcements to journalists, arranging interviews
with the Secretary General and other senior officials of
the Organisation and dealing with enquiries and visits
from the media.


The Work Plan for developing the dialogue, partner-
ship and cooperation in the information field with Central
and Eastern European countries and other members of
the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, includes joint
meetings, dissemination of information through diplo-
matic liaison channels and NATO embassies, group visits
to NATO, sponsorship of seminar participation in Allied
countries, co-sponsorship of seminars in Central and
Eastern Europe, speakers' tours, a limited expansion of
the Democratic Institutions Fellowships Programme,
special publications and wider dissemination of NATO
documentation.


There are a number of non-governmental organisations
which support NATO and play an important role, often in
an educational capacity, in disseminating information
about Alliance goals and policies. The NATO Office of
Information and Press assists them in this work. These
organisations include national Atlantic Committees or
Associations in each member country, as well as a number
of other bodies such as the North Atlantic Assembly,
which brings together Parliamentarians from member
countries, and the Interallied Confederation of Reserve
Officers, in which twelve member countries are repre-
sented. Further information about these organisations is
given in Part V.

14. THE COMMON INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMME

Installations of many different kinds are needed to enable
military forces to train effectively and to be ready to
operate efficiently if called upon to do so. The NATO
Common Infrastructure Programme enables the installa-
tions and facilities required by the Major NATO Com-
manders for the training and operational use of the forces
assigned to them to be financed collectively by the partici-
pating countries. Such funding takes place within agreed
limits and in accordance with agreed NATO procedures on
the basis of cost-sharing arrangements developed to dis-
tribute the burden and benefits as equitably as possible.
The programme provides for installations and facilities
such as airfields, communications and information sys-
tems, military headquarters, fuel pipelines and storage,
radar and navigational aids, port installations, missile
sites, forward storage and support facilities for reinforce-
ment, etc. Infrastructure used only by national forces, or
portions of installations which do not come within the
criteria for NATO common-funding, are financed by the
governments concerned. Contracts for installations desig-
nated as NATO Infrastructure are normally subject to
international competitive bidding procedures on the basis
of cost estimates, screened by the NATO Infrastructure
Payments and Progress Committee, to ensure compliance
with agreed specifications as well as maximum efficiency
and economy. Aspects of such contracts which can best
be undertaken locally are usually exempt from this pro-
cedure and are subject to national competitive bidding,
but the principle is maintained and exemption has to be
approved. Completed projects are subject to inspection
by teams consisting of experts from the country on whose
territory the installation is located, user countries, and
NATO International Staff and Military Authorities. The
programme is continuously monitored by the NATO
Infrastructure Committees and all financial operations
are audited by the NATO International Board of Audi-
tors under the authority of the North Atlantic Council.
The Infrastructure Programme is being adapted to meet
the requirements of the Alliance's new Strategic Concept
published in November 1991.

15. LOGISTIC SUPPORT

There are many spheres of civilian and military activity
which have a direct or indirect bearing on the common
security of the member countries of the Alliance. The
assistance available to defence forces to enable them to
fulfil their roles includes, for example, providing shared
access to the logistic support which they need if they are
to function effectively. Each member country is respons-
ible for ensuring, individually or through cooperative
arrangements, the continuous support of its own forces.
Coordinated logistics planning is therefore an essential
aspect of the efficient and economical use of resources.
Examples of cooperative arrangements include the
common funding of logistics facilities under the NATO
Infrastructure Programme, the coordination of civil
logistics resources under Civil Emergency Planning
arrangements and logistics aspects of armaments produc-
tion and procurement. It is through such arrangements
that the availability of the necessary installations, storage
and maintenance facilities, transport resources, vehicles,
weapons, ammunition, fuel supplies, and stocks of spare
parts can be coordinated.

Cooperation in these fields is coordinated through the
Senior NATO Logisticians' Conference. A number of pro-
duction and logistics organisations have also been estab-
lished to manage specific aspects of the support needed
by NATO forces on a permanent basis, including the
Central Europe Operating Agency responsible for the
operation and maintenance of the Central Europe Pipe-
line System; and the NATO Maintenance and Supply
Organisation which assists member countries primarily
through the common procurement and supply of spare
parts and the provision of maintenance and repair facili-
ties.

16. ARMAMENTS COOPERATION

Responsibility for equipping and maintaining military
forces rests with the member nations of NATO and in most
spheres research, development and production of equip-
ment are organised by each country in accordance with
its national requirements and its commitments to NATO.
Since the establishment of the Alliance, however, exten-
sive coordination and cooperation in the field of arma-
ments has taken place within NATO. Armaments cooper-
ation remains an important means of achieving the crucial
political, military and resource advantages of collective de-
fence.

NATO armaments cooperation is organised under a Con-
ference of National Armaments Directors which meets
on a regular basis to consider political, economic and
technical aspects of the development and procurement of
equipment for NATO forces. Army, navy and air force
armaments groups, a defence research group and a tri-
service group on communications and electronics, support
the work of the Conference and are responsible to it in
their respective fields. Assistance on industrial matters is
provided by a NATO Industrial Advisory Group which
enables the Conference of National Armaments Directors
to benefit from industry's advice on how to foster
government-to-industry and industry-to-industry cooper-
ation and assists the Conference in exploring opportuni-
ties for international collaboration. Other groups under
the Conference are active in fields such as defence procure-
ment policy and acquisition practices, codification, qual-
ity assurance, test and safety criteria, and materiel stand-
ardization.

Within the above structure project groups, panels, work-
ing and ad hoc groups are established to promote cooper-
ation in specific fields. The overall structure enables
member countries to select the equipment and research
projects in which they wish to participate and facilitates
exchange of information on operational concepts, na-
tional equipment programmes and technical and logistics
matters where cooperation can be of benefit to individual
nations and to NATO as a whole.

17. ARMAMENTS PLANNING

In order to give NATO armaments cooperation a new
impulse, in 1989 the North Atlantic Council approved
the establishment of a Conventional Armaments Planning
System (CAPS). The aims of this system are to provide
guidance to the CNAD and orientation to the nations on
how the military requirements of the Alliance can best be
met by armaments programmes, individually and collec-
tively; to harmonise longer-term defence procurement
plans; and to identify future opportunities for armaments
cooperation on an Alliance-wide basis. The outcome of
this planning process is a series of recommendations
issued every two years. These recommendations, which
are set out in the form of an armaments plan, are designed
to eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort, to provide
a framework for the exchange of information, and to
establish more rational and cost-effective methods of
armaments procurement. NATO's first Conventional Ar-
maments Plan was adopted in December 1991.

18. STANDARDIZATION

Standardization and interoperability between NATO forces
make a vital contribution to the combined operational
effectiveness of the military forces of the Alliance and
enable opportunities to be exploited for making better
use of economic resources. Extensive efforts are therefore
made in many different spheres to improve cooperation
and eliminate duplication in research, development, pro-
duction, procurement and support of defence systems.
NATO Standardization Agreements for procedures
and systems and equipment components, known as
STANAGS, are developed and promulgated by a NATO
Military Agency for Standardization in conjunction with
the Conference of National Armaments Directors and
other authorities concerned.

By formulating, agreeing, implementing and maintain-
ing standards for equipment and procedures used through-
out NATO, a significant contribution is made to the co-
hesion of the Alliance and the effectiveness of its defence
structure. While standardization is of relevance in many
different areas, the principal forum for standardization
policy issues is the NATO Standardization Group, which
acts as a coordinator for the various endeavours and aims
to incorporate standardization as an integral part of
Alliance planning.

 

NATO Handbook03 uploaded March 25, 1993

19. COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Rapid and reliable communications and information sys-
tems are required by national and NATO political and
military authorities for political consultation, crisis manage-
ment and for the command and control of assigned
forces. Modern technology and the integration of strat-
egic and tactical communications and information systems
into an overall NATO Communications and Information
System (CIS) has enabled these requirements to be met.

The rudimentary communications links available in the
early days of the Alliance were expanded in the late 1960s
to provide direct communications between capitals,
NATO Headquarters and Major NATO Commands.
When NATO moved to Brussels in 1967 a modern Com-
munications system was established as part of a range of
improvements in crisis management facilities. Satellite
communications and ground terminals were introduced
in 1970. The integration of the overall system was under-
taken by the NATO Communications and Information
Systems Agency (NACISA). The system is operated by
the NATO Integrated Communications System Central
Operating Authority (NICSCOA). Related policy matters
are coordinated by the NATO Communications and Infor-
mation Systems Committee (NACISC). The system is
financed jointly by member nations through the NATO
Common Infrastructure Programme. A Tri-Service
Group on Communications and Electronics, established
under the Conference of National Armaments Directors,
promotes cooperation among the NATO nations in the
development and procurement of communications and
electronic equipment with the aim of achieving the maxi-
mum degree of standardization or interoperability.

20. AIR DEFENCE

Air defence of the NATO European airspace is provided
by a complex system which enables aircraft and tactical
missiles to be detected, tracked and intercepted either by
ground-based weapons systems or by interceptor aircraft.
The command and control structure which facilitates air
defence, the NATO Air Defence Ground Environment
(NADGE), includes a number of sites stretching from
Northern Norway to Eastern Turkey equipped with
modern radars and data processing and display systems,
and linked by modern communications. Much of this
integrated air defence system has been commonly fi-
nanced through the NATO Infrastructure programme and
a significant part of its successor, the Air Command and
Control System, is expected to be similarly funded.
During the late 1980's, the early warning capability was
enhanced through the acquisition of a fleet of NATO E-3A
Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. These
NATO-owned and operated aircraft, together with the
United Kingdom E3-D aircraft, comprise the NATO Air-
borne Early Warning Force, which is available to the
Major NATO Commanders. The French and United States
Air Forces operate E-3 aircraft, which can also inter-
operate with the NADGE.

As a consequence of the new security environment,
Alliance air defences are adapting to a more flexible force
concept, which can contribute effectively to crisis manage-
ment. To realise this concept, in-place systems, sensors
and weapons will need to be reinforced in times of crisis
by readily transportable elements so that air defence
forces can react as the occasion demands. Tactical ballis-
tic missiles are now part of the weapons inventory of
many countries, and the Alliance is therefore examining
possible improvements in defence against such systems.

The NATO Air Defence Committee (NADC) advises
the North Atlantic Council and Defence Planning Com-
mittee on all aspects of air defence, and enables member
countries to harmonise their national efforts with inter-
national planning related to air command and control
and air defence weapons. The air defence of Canada and
the United States is coordinated in the North American
Aerospace Command (NORAD).


21. CIVIL EMERGENCY PLANNING

Arrangements made by member nations for providing
civil support for the common defence contribute signifi-
cantly to the overall security of the Alliance. Civil prepar-
edness and the management of resources are national
responsibilities. However, much can be done through
coordination within NATO to facilitate national planning
and to ensure that the many facets of civil emergency
planning contribute to the security of the Alliance in a
cost-effective and well-structured manner. The principal
NATO body with responsibilities in this sphere is the
Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee which co-
ordinates the activities of a number of Planning Boards
and Committees dealing with the mobilisation and use of
resources in the fields of food and agriculture, industry,
petroleum, inland surface transport, ocean shipping, civil
aviation, civil communications, medical care and civil de-
fence.

NATO's civil emergency planning activities, directed by
the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee, are
experiencing a fundamental change. Greater emphasis is
being placed on crisis management and civil support to
the military, particularly in civil transport and industrial
mobilisation planning. In accordance with directives of
the North Atlantic Council, more flexible arrangements
are being made for drawing on the expertise, in a
crisis, of high-level experts from business and industry to
support NATO's crisis management machinery as required.

NATO experience and expertise in the Civil Emergency
Planning field has also been directed towards the coordina-
tion of humanitarian assistance to the republics of the
Commonwealth of Independent States, where NATO has a
subsidiary role in specific fields where its civil and military
experience is of particular relevance. This includes coordi-
nation of transport; logistical expertise and communica-
tions support for distribution; and practical assistance in
addressing medical requirements. NATO transport and sup-
port was made available in March 1992 for a fact-finding
mission of medical experts from nine countries and from
NATO and other international organisations, in order to
assess the medical needs of the member states of the CIS
and to identify areas in the health-care field in which assist-
ance could be given by the international community.(1)

22. CIVIL AND MILITARY COORDINATION OF AIR
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Large numbers of civilian and military aircraft use Euro-
pean airspace over NATO member countries. It is the most
complex air traffic environment in the world. Coordina-
tion of air traffic management and control between civil
and military users is therefore essential to enable civil
aviation to operate both safely and economically, while
at the same time allowing Allied air forces the freedom of
operation which is a prerequisite for effective training
and defence. Indeed, the flexibility and mobility of the
smaller NATO forces of the future will be crucially depend-
ent on the efficiency of the civil/military coordination
arrangements governing their rapid airborne deployment.

The North Atlantic Council recognised these concerns
when it established the Committee for European Airspace
Coordination (CEAC) in 1955. Since then this Committee
has been responsible for ensuring that all civil and mili-
tary airspace requirements are fully coordinated. This
includes the conduct of major air exercises, the harmonisa-
tion of air traffic control systems and procedures, and the
sharing of communications frequencies.

More recently, the surge in civilian air traffic, and
delays caused by insufficient capacity of air traffic control
and airport structures in many parts of Europe to cope
with this mission, organised by the Medical Working Group of the
Washington Coordinating Conference on Assistance to the Common-
wealth of Independent States, included experts from
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, United
Kingdom, United States, the European Commission (EC), the World
Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, the International Federation
of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) and NATO.

with peak-time traffic, have highlighted the need for
effective coordination between civil and military authori-
ties to ensure that the airspace is shared by all users on
an equitable basis. Consequently, in the context of current
efforts towards future pan-European integration of air
traffic management, CEAC is represented in a number of
international forums and is a participant in the Action
Programme approved by the Transport Ministers of the
European Civil Aviation Conference. Moreover, since
exchanges of views on airspace management constitute
part of the developing partnership between the NATO
Alliance and its cooperation partners, the Committee is
also actively engaged in this endeavour. A seminar on
civil/military coordination of air traffic management was
held in October 1991 with high-level participation by
twenty-two countries and a further seminar was held in
May 1992 to examine, inter alia, the possibilities for
further cooperation in this field.

The role played by CEAC, as the only international
forum specifically charged with the resolution of civil and
military air traffic management problems, is therefore
likely to become increasingly important in the years to
come.

23. SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

The concept of mutual security includes a broad range of
global concerns which transcend national boundaries.
These include maintaining a strong scientific base, preserv-
ing the physical environment, managing natural resources
and protecting health. NATO addresses these issues
through programmes of scientific activity and projects of
environmental importance.

The programmes of the NATO Science Committee
seek to advance the frontiers of science generally and to
promote the broadest possible participation in scientific
research by NATO nations. By providing multilateral
support for high-level scientific research, they encourage
the development of national scientific and technological
resources and enable economies to be achieved through
international collaboration.

The NATO Science Programme was established in 1957,
since when it has involved over half a million scientists
from Alliance and other countries. Most of its activities
promote collaboration through international exchange
programmes and encourage international working arrange-
ments among scientists, focussing in particular on
individual rather than institutional involvement. The prin-
cipal forms of exchange are Collaborative Research
Grants, Advanced Study Institutes, Advanced Research
Workshops and Science Fellowships. There are also a
number of special programmes to stimulate activity in
particularly promising areas of scientific research. The
results of all these activities are generally available and
are published in scientific literature.

A further programme of the Science Committee is
known as Science for Stability. This programme arose
out of the need to provide concrete assistance, in the
spirit of Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty, to the
economically less prosperous member countries. The pro-
gramme has concentrated on assisting Greece, Portugal
and Turkey to enhance their scientific and technological
research and development capacity and to strengthen
cooperation between universities, public research insti-
tutes and private companies. Its projects are essentially
joint ventures of significance to the development of scien-
tific, engineering and technogical capabilities which assist
these countries by supplementing national resources with
international funding for equipment, foreign technical or
managerial expertise, and training abroad.

The Science Committee is composed of national repre-
sentatives able to speak authoritatively on scientific mat-
ters and on behalf of their respective governments. It
decides on policy and ensures the implementation of the
Science Programme, in collaboration with the staff of the
Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division.

Following the changes in the political situation in
Europe, the Science Programme has recently entered a
new phase by being able to offer some funding for scien-
tists from cooperation-partner countries to participate in
its activities. The Work Plan for Dialogue, Partnership
and Cooperation established by the North Atlantic Co-
operation Council (NACC) in March 1992 also provided
for joint meetings of the Science Committee and co-
operation partners, distribution of proceedings of NATO
Scientific Meetings to central libraries in each country,
intensive scientific courses, laboratory visits by experts,
laboratory link-ups and a Science Committee Seminar on
mobility of scientists, which was held in February 1992.

In 1969 a Committee on the Challenges of Modern
Society was established to respond to the Alliance's con-
cern about environmental issues. Member countries have
participated through this Committee in numerous initia-
tives to take advantage of the potential offered by the
Alliance for cooperation in tackling problems affecting
the environment and the quality of life. Under the aus-
pices of the Committee, projects have been undertaken in
fields such as environmental pollution, noise, urban prob-
lems, energy and human health, and safety issues.

Two important concepts characterise the work of the
Committee, namely that it should lead to concrete action
and that its results should be entirely open and accessible
to international organisations or individual countries else-
where in the world. For each project embarked upon,
one or more member nations volunteer to assume a pilot
role, including responsibility for planning the work, coor-
dinating its execution, preparing the necessary reports
and promoting follow-up action.

In accordance with the NACC Work Plan, the Com-
mittee on the Challenges of Modern Society is also
broadening its work to include joint meetings with
NATO's cooperation partners, seminars on defence-
related environmental issues, and new pilot studies on
topics of particular interest to these countries.

NATO handbook04 uploaded March 25, 1993

PART II



THE FUTURE ROLE OF
THE ALLIANCE



24. AN ERA OF POLITICAL CHANGE

The 4th of April 1989, which marked the fortieth
anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty,
coincided with the beginning of a period of profound
change in the course of East-West and international rela-
tions.

The following paragraphs briefly describe the origins
and course of those developments, the progress achieved
towards the realisation of many of the long-standing
goals of the Alliance, and the principal issues of concern
facing member countries as they adapt their policies and
shape their common institutions to meet the challenges of
the new security environment.

The roots of the changes which have transformed the
political map of Europe can be traced to a number of
developments during the 1960s and 1970s which were to
have far-reaching implications. While there were many
aspects to these developments, three events stand out in
particular, namely the adoption in December 1967 of the
Harmel doctrine based on the parallel policies of maintain-
ing adequate defence while seeking a relaxation of ten-
sions in East-West relations; the introduction by the
Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1969
of Chancellor Willi Brandt's ``Ostpolitik'', designed to
bring about a more positive relationship with Eastern
European countries and the Soviet Union within the
constraints imposed by their governments' domestic poli-
cies and actions abroad; and the adoption of the CSCE
Helsinki Final Act in August 1975, which established
new standards for the discussion of human rights issues
and introduced measures to increase mutual confidence
between East and West.

A series of similarly important events marked the
course of East-West relations during the 1980s. These
included NATO's deployment of INF missiles (Inter-
mediate Range Nuclear Forces) in Europe following the
December 1979 double-track decision on nuclear modernis-
ation and arms control; the subsequent Washington
Treaty signed in December 1987, which brought about
the elimination of US and Soviet land-based INF missiles
on a global basis; early signs of change in Eastern Europe
associated with the emergence and recognition, despite
later setbacks, of the independent trade union movement
``Solidarity'' in Poland in August 1980; the consequences
of the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
and the ultimate withdrawal of Soviet forces from
Afghanistan in February 1989; and the March 1985
nomination of Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary
of the Soviet Communist Party.

In March 1989, in the framework of the CSCE, promis-
ing new arms control negotiations opened in Vienna
involving the 23 countries of NATO and the Warsaw
Treaty Organisation on reductions in conventional forces
in Europe (CFE). The NATO Summit Meeting held in
Brussels at the end of May 1989 against this background
was of particular significance. Two major statements of
Alliance policy were published, namely a declaration
marking the fortieth Anniversary of the Alliance, setting
out goals and policies to guide the Allies during the fifth
decade of their cooperation; and a Comprehensive Con-
cept of Arms Control and Disarmament.

The Summit Declaration contained many extremely
important elements. It recognised the changes that were
underway in the Soviet Union as well as in other Eastern
European countries and outlined the Alliance's approach
to the overcoming of the division of Europe and the shaping
of a just and peaceful European order. It reiterated the need
for credible and effective deterrent forces and an adequate
defence and endorsed President Bush's arms control initia-
tive calling for an acceleration of the CFE negotiations in
Vienna and for significant reductions in additional catego-
ries of conventional forces, as well as in United States and
Soviet military personnel stationed outside their national
territory. The Declaration set forth a broad agenda for
expanded East/West cooperation in other areas, for action
on significant global challenges and for measures designed
to meet the Alliance's long-term objectives.


Developments of major significance for the entire
European continent and for international relations as a
whole continued as the year progressed. By the end of
1989 and during the early weeks of 1990, significant
progress had been made towards the reform of the politi-
cal and economic systems of Poland and Hungary; and in
the German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria, Czechoslova-
kia and, after a bitter struggle, Romania, steps had been
taken towards freedom and democracy which went far
beyond short-term expectations.

The promise held out for over 40 years to bring an end
to the division of Europe and with it an end to the
division of Germany took on real meaning with the
opening of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Beyond its
fundamental symbolism, the member countries of the
Alliance saw this event as part of an inevitable process
leading to a Europe whole and free. The process was as
yet far from complete and faced numerous obstacles and
uncertainties, but rapid and dramatic progress had never-
theless been achieved. Free elections had taken place or
were planned in most Central and Eastern European
countries, former divisions were being overcome, repres-
sive border installations were being dismantled and,
within less than a year, on 30 October 1990, the unifica-
tion of the two German states took place with the assent
of the Soviet Government on the basis of an international
treaty and the democratic choice of the German people.

Both the fact and the prospect of reform brought
about major positive changes in the relationships of
Central and Eastern European countries with the inter-
national community, opening up a new and enriched
dialogue involving East and West, which offered real
hope in place of the prospect of confrontation, and
practical proposals for cooperation in place of polemics
and the stagnation of cold war politics.

Such changes were not accomplished without difficulty
and, as events within the former Soviet Union and other
parts of Central and Eastern Europe confirmed, created
new concerns about stability and security. The bold
course of reforms within the Soviet Union itself led to
new challenges as well as severe internal problems. More-
over the dire economic outlook and the major difficulties
experienced in many of the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe in managing the transition from authori-
tarian government and a centrally planned economy to
pluralist democracy and a free market combined to make
political forecasting uncertain and subject to constant
revision.

Throughout this period NATO continued to play a key
role, providing the framework for consultation and coordi-
nation of policies among its member countries in order to
diminish the risk of a crisis arising which could impinge
on common security interests. The Alliance pursued its
efforts to remove military imbalances; to bring about
greater openness in military matters; and to build confi-
dence through radical but balanced and verifiable arms
control agreements, verification arrangements and in-
creased contacts at all levels.

At the Summit Meeting in London in July 1990, in the
most far-reaching Declaration issued since NATO was
founded, the Heads of State and Government announced
major steps to transform the Alliance in a manner commen-
surate with the new security environment and to bring con-
frontation between East and West to an end. They extended
offers to the governments of the Soviet Union and Central
and Eastern European countries to establish regular diplo-
matic liaison with NATO and to work towards a new
relationship based on cooperation. The Declaration had
been foreshadowed a month earlier when NATO Foreign
Ministers met in Scotland and took the exceptional step of
issuing a ``Message from Turnberry'', extending an offer
of friendship and cooperation to the Soviet Union and all
other European countries. The announcement made by
President Gorbachev in July 1990, accepting the par-
ticipation of the united Germany in the North Atlantic
Alliance, was explicitly linked to the nature of this
Message and to the substantive proposals and commit-
ments made by Alliance governments in London.

The London Declaration included proposals to develop
cooperation in numerous different ways. Leaders and
representatives of Central and Eastern European coun-
tries were invited to NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
Many such visits took place. Arrangements for regular
contacts at the diplomatic level were made. The Secretary
General of NATO also visited Moscow immediately after
the London Summit Meeting to convey to the Soviet
leadership the proposals contained in the Declaration
and the Alliance's determination to make constructive
use of the new political opportunities opening up.

A joint declaration and commitment to non-aggression
was signed in Paris in November 1990 at the same time
as the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe and the
publication, by all CSCE member states, of the Charter of
Paris for a New Europe. The Joint Declaration formally
brought adversarial relations to an end and reaffirmed
the intention of the signatories to refrain from the threat
or use of force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state, in accordance with the pur-
poses and principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki
Final Act. All other states participating in the CSCE were
invited to join this commitment. New military contacts
were established, including intensified discussions of mili-
tary forces and doctrines. Progress was made towards
an ``Open Skies'' agreement, permitting overflights of
national territory on a reciprocal basis in order to increase
confidence and transparency with respect to military
activities. Further talks were initiated to build on the
CFE Treaty on reductions of conventional forces from
the Atlantic to the Ural Mountains, including additional
measures to limit manpower in Europe. Agreement was
reached to intensify the CSCE process and to set new
standards for the establishment and preservation of free
societies. Measures were taken to enable the CSCE pro-
cess, which has been successful in enhancing mutual con-
fidence, to be further institutionalised in order to provide
a forum for wider political dialogue in a more united
Europe. Internally, NATO carried out a far-reaching
review of its strategy in order to adapt it to the new cir-
cumstances.

Despite the positive course of many of these develop-
ments, new threats to stability can arise very quickly and
in unpredictable circumstances, as the 2 August 1990
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and subsequent developments
in the Gulf area demonstrated. NATO countries used the
Alliance forum intensively for political consultations from
the outbreak of this crisis. They played a prominent role
in support of United Nations efforts to achieve a diplo-
matic solution and reiterated their commitment under
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty in the event of an
external threat to Turkey's security developing from the
situation in the Gulf. Elements of NATO's Allied Mobile
Force were sent to Turkey in order to demonstrate this
commitment.

Significantly, the unity of purpose and determined op-
position by the international community to the actions
taken by Iraq offered positive evidence of the transform-
ation which had taken place in relations between the
Soviet Union and the West. The benefits resulting from
the establishment of better contacts and increased cooper-
ation between them were clearly apparent. The dangers
inherent in the Gulf crisis reinforced the Alliance's deter-
mination to develop and enhance the level of its cooper-
ation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe
as well as with other countries in accordance with the
goals set by Alliance Heads of State and Government in
the London Declaration.

This determination was further reinforced by the events
of 1991, including the repressive steps taken by the Soviet
Government with regard to the Baltic states prior to
conceding their right to establish their own independence;
the deteriorating situation and outbreak of hostilities in
Yugoslavia, leading to the break-up of the Yugoslav
Federation; and the attempted coup d'etat in the Soviet
Union itself which took place in August.

Against the background of these events, 1991 was
marked by an intensification of visits and diplomatic
contacts between NATO and the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe in accordance with the decisions taken
by NATO Heads of State and Government in London.
With the publication of the Rome Declaration in Novem-
ber 1991, the basis was laid for placing their evolving
relationship on a more institutionalised footing. The estab-
lishment of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in
December, bringing together the member countries of
NATO and, initially, nine Central and Eastern European
countries in a new consultative forum, was a direct conse-
quence of this decision.

The inaugural meeting of the North Atlantic Cooper-
ation Council took place on 20 November 1991, just as
the Soviet Union was ceasing to exist. Eleven former
Soviet republics became members of the new Common-
wealth of Independent States, entering a period of intense
political and economic transformation. In Nagorno-Kara-
bakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia and elsewhere,
outbreaks of violence occurred and serious inter-state
tensions developed.

The deteriorating situation, continuing use of force
and mounting loss of life in the territory of the former
Yugoslavia were further major causes of concern which
marred the prospects for peaceful progress towards a
new security environment in Europe. Both the North
Atlantic Council and the North Atlantic Cooperation
Council endeavoured to support efforts undertaken in
other forums to restore peace and to bring their own
influence to bear on the parties concerned.

In March 1992 participation in the North Atlantic
Cooperation Council was expanded to include all mem-
bers of the Commonwealth of Independent States and by
June 1992 Georgia and Albania had also become mem-
bers.

During the same period, discussion of measures de-
signed to strengthen the role of the CSCE in promoting
stability and democracy in Europe, including proposals
outlined in the Rome Declaration issued by the Alliance,
culminated in the signature of the 1992 Helsinki Document
(``The Challenges of Change'') at the CSCE Summit Meet-
ing in July 1992. The document describes, inter alia, new
initiatives for the creation of a CSCE forum for security
cooperation and for CSCE peace-keeping activities, for
which both the North Atlantic Council and the North
Atlantic Cooperation Council have expressed full support.

At the November 1991 Summit Meeting in Rome, the
Alliance also published its new Strategic Concept. This is
based on a broad approach to security and sets out the
principles and considerations which determine the future
role of the Alliance and the transformation of its struc-
tures needed to enable it to fulfil its continuing tasks and
to play its full role, in cooperation with other inter-
national institutions, in Europe's future security.

The key elements of the Rome Declaration and the
principal orientations of the Strategic Concept are out-
lined in the following sections.

25. THE NEW SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

The institutional basis for managing Europe's future secu-
rity set out in the Rome Declaration takes as its starting
point the fact that the challenges facing the new Europe
cannot be comprehensively addressed by one institution
alone. They require a framework of interlocking institu-
tions, tying together the countries of Europe and North
America in a system of inter-relating and mutually sup-
porting structures. The Alliance is therefore working
towards a new European security architecture which seeks
to achieve this objective by ensuring that the roles of
NATO, the CSCE, the European Community, the West-
ern European Union and the Council of Europe are
complementary. Other regional frameworks of cooper-
ation can also play an important part. Preventing the
instability and divisions which could result from causes
such as economic disparities and violent nationalism
depends on effective interaction between these various
elements.

The North Atlantic Alliance and the steps taken by the
Alliance in the framework of the North Atlantic Cooper-
ation Council are fundamental to this process. The
Alliance itself is the essential forum for consultation
among its members and is the venue for reaching agree-
ment on and implementing policies with a bearing on
their security and defence commitments under the North
Atlantic Treaty. However, as the evolution of Europe's
new security architecture progresses, the Alliance is
developing practical arrangements, along with the other
institutions involved, to ensure the necessary transparency
and complementarity between them. This includes closer
contacts and exchanges of information and documenta-
tion between the institutions themselves, as well as recipro-
cal arrangements regarding participation and representa-
tion in appropriate meetings.

26. A BROAD APPROACH TO SECURITY

The Alliance has always sought to achieve its over-riding
objectives of safeguarding the security of its members and
establishing a just and lasting peaceful order in Europe
through both political and military means. This comprehen-
sive approach remains the basis of the Alliance's security
policy. However, in the new security situation, the chances
of achieving these objectives by political means, as well as
taking into account the economic, social and environ-
mental dimensions of security and stability, are better
than ever before. The Alliance's active pursuit of dialogue
and cooperation, underpinned by the commitment to an
effective collective defence capability and to building up
the institutional basis for crisis management and conflict
prevention, therefore has the following key objectives: to
reduce the risk of conflict arising out of misunderstanding
or design; to build increased mutual understanding and
confidence among all European states; to help manage
crises affecting the security of the Allies; and to expand
the opportunities for a genuine partnership among all
European countries in dealing with common security
problems.

NATO handbook05 uploade March 25, 1993

27. THE ALLIANCE'S STRATEGIC CONCEPT/

Europe's security has substantially improved. The threat
of massive military confrontation no longer hangs over
it. Nevertheless potential risks to security from instability
or tension still exist. Against this background, NATO's
Strategic Concept reaffirms the core functions of the
Alliance including the maintenance of the transatlantic
link and of an overall strategic balance in Europe. The
Strategic Concept reflects the broad approach to stability
and security outlined above. It recognises that security is
based on political, economic, social and environmental
considerations as well as defence. It reflects the unpreced-
ented opportunity which now exists to achieve the Alli-
ance's long-standing objectives by political means, in
keeping with the undertakings made in Articles 2 and 4
of the North Atlantic Treaty. Accordingly, the future
security policy of the Alliance can be based on three
mutually reinforcing elements, namely: dialogue; cooper-
ation; and the maintenance of a collective defence capabil-
ity. Each of these elements is designed to ensure that
crises affecting European security can be prevented or
resolved peacefully.

The military dimension of the Alliance remains an
essential factor if these goals are to be achieved. It will
continue to reflect a number of fundamental principles:

-  The Alliance is purely defensive in purpose.

-  Security is indivisible. An attack on one member of
the Alliance is an attack upon all. The presence of
North American forces in and committed to Europe
remains vital to the security of Europe, which is
inseparably linked to that of North America.

-  NATO's security policy is based on collective defence,
including an integrated military structure as well as
relevant cooperation and coordination agreements.

-  The maintenance of an appropriate mix of nuclear
and conventional forces based in Europe will be re-
quired for the foreseeable future.

/ The full text of the Alliance's Strategic Concept is reproduced
in Appendix II.


In the changed circumstances affecting Europe's secu-
rity, NATO forces are being adapted to the new strategic
environment and are becoming smaller and more flexible.
Conventional forces are being substantially reduced and
in many cases so is their level of readiness. They are also
being made more mobile, to enable them to react to a
wider range of contingencies; and they are being reorgan-
ised to ensure that they have the flexibility to contribute
to crisis management and to enable them to be built up if
necessary for the purposes of defence. Multinational
forces will in future play a greater role within NATO's
integrated military structure.

Nuclear forces are also being greatly reduced. The
withdrawal of short-range land-based nuclear weapons
from Europe, announced in September 1991, was com-
pleted in July 1992. The overall NATO stockpile of sub-
strategic nuclear weapons in Europe is being reduced to
about one fifth of the level of the 1990 stockpile. As far as
strategic nuclear forces are concerned, far-reaching recip-
rocal cuts were proposed by the President of the United
States in his State of the Union address at the end of
January 1992 and additional proposals were made by
President Yeltsin. The fundamental purpose of the
Alliance's remaining nuclear forces of either category will
continue to be political: to preserve peace and prevent
war or any kind of coercion.

The Strategic Concept underlines that Alliance security
must take account of the global context. It points out
risks of a wider nature, including proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction, disruption of the flow of vital re-
sources and actions of terrorism and sabotage, which can
affect Alliance security interests. The Concept therefore re-
affirms the importance of arrangements existing in the
Alliance for consultation among the Allies under Article
4 of the Washington Treaty and, where appropriate,
coordination of its efforts including its responses to
such risks. The Alliance will continue to address broader
challenges in its consultations and in the appropriate
multilateral forums in the widest possible cooperation
with other states.


28. DIALOGUE, PARTNERSHIP AND COOPERATION

The development of dialogue and partnership with its
new cooperation partners forms an integral part of
NATO's Strategic Concept. The establishment of the
North Atlantic Cooperation Council at the end of 1991
thus marked a further advance in the evolution of a new,
positive relationship based on constructive dialogue and
cooperation.

The creation of the NACC was the culmination of a
number of earlier steps taken by the members of the
Alliance in the light of the fundamental changes which
were taking place in Central and Eastern European coun-
tries. At the July 1990 London Summit Meeting the
Alliance extended its hand of friendship and established
regular diplomatic liaison with them. In Paris, in Novem-
ber 1990, the Alliance members and their new partners
signed a Joint Declaration stating that they no longer
regarded each other as adversaries.

In June 1991, when Alliance Foreign Ministers met in
Copenhagen, further steps were taken to develop this
partnership. As a result of high level visits, exchanges of
views on security and other issues, intensified military
contacts and exchanges of expertise in many fields, a new
relationship has been built up.

When NATO Heads of State and Government met in
Rome in November 1991, they decided to broaden and
intensify this dynamic process. In reaching this decision
they took account of the growth of democratic institu-
tions throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the encour-
aging experience of cooperation acquired thus far and
the desire shown by their cooperation partners for closer
ties.

As a next step they therefore decided to develop the
institutional basis for consultation and cooperation on
political and security issues. Foreign Ministers of Central
and Eastern European governments were invited to
attend a meeting with their NATO counterparts to issue a
joint political declaration in order to enhance the concept
of partnership, and to work out how the process should
be further developed. Concrete proposals for periodic
meetings and contacts with the North Atlantic Council,
the NATO Military Committee and other NATO commit-
tees were put forward, in addition to the creation of the
NACC.

These steps were designed to enable the member coun-
tries of the Alliance to respond effectively to the changed
situation in Europe and to contribute positively to the
efforts undertaken by their cooperation partners to fulfil
their commitments under the CSCE process and to make
democratic change irrevocable.

Consisting of Foreign Ministers or Representatives of
the 16 NATO countries as well as the Central and Eastern
European and Baltic States with which NATO established
diplomatic liaison during 1990 and 1991, the NACC held
its inaugural meeting on 20 December 1991 with the par-
ticipation of 25 countries. Following the dissolution of the
Soviet Union which took place on the same day, and the
subsequent creation of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), participation in the NACC was expanded to
include all the member states of the CIS. Georgia and
Albania joined the process in April and June 1992 respec-
tively. At the meeting of the NACC held in Oslo in June
1992, Finland also attended as an observer.

Consultations and cooperation in the framework of
the NACC focus on security and related issues where
Alliance member countries can offer experience and exper-
tise, such as defence planning, democratic concepts of
civilian-military relations, scientific and environmental
affairs, civil/military coordination of air traffic manage-
ment and the conversion of defence production to civilian
purposes. Participation by all these countries in NATO's
scientific and environmental programmes is also be-
ing enhanced, as well as the dissemination of inform-
ation about NATO in the countries concerned, through
diplomatic liaison channels and embassies and by other
means. NATO governments undertook to provide appro-
priate resources to support these activities.


The Work Plan for Dialogue, Partnership and Cooper-
ation issued by the countries represented in the North
Atlantic Cooperation Council in March 1992, identified a
number of topics in the defence-planning field where
cooperation and consultation could be of particular rel-
evance. These include principles and key aspects of
strategy; force and command structures; military exer-
cises, democratic concepts of civilian-military relations;
national defence programmes and budgets; and training
and education methods and concepts in the defence field.
A number of activities are taking place in these areas,
including joint meetings, military contacts and visits, and
participation in courses at the NATO Defense College in
Rome and the NATO (SHAPE) School at Oberammergau.

Defence Ministers held their first joint meeting with
cooperation partners on 1 April 1992 to discuss current
issues and to consider ways of deepening their dialogue
and promoting cooperation on issues falling within their
competence. It was decided to hold a high level seminar
on defence policy and management, covering the role and
constitutional position of armed forces in democratic
societies as well as strategic concepts and their implement-
ation; and a workshop on practical aspects of defence
management and the reform and restructuring of armed
forces. A further workshop on practices and work meth-
ods relating to the environmental clean-up of defence
installations was also scheduled.

Other possible areas for cooperation on defence-related
issues identified by Defence Ministers include discussion
of concepts such as defence sufficiency, stability, flexibil-
ity and crisis management; how defence programmes
can be planned and managed in democratic societies
(eg, accountability, financial planning, programme
budgeting and management, research and development,
equipment procurement procedures and personnel man-
agement); consideration of the legal and constitutional
framework regarding the position of military forces in a
democracy; democratic control of armed forces; civil-
military relations and parliamentary accountability; har-
monisation of defence planning and arms control issues;
matters relating to training and exercises; defence edu-
cation; and other topics including reserve forces, environ-
mental concerns, air traffic management, search and
rescue activities, humanitarian aid and military medicine.
NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Gleneagles in
October 1992 also indicated that peace keeping issues
would be a further subject of discussion with cooperation
partners.

The first meeting of the Military Committee in Co-
operation Session took place on 10 April 1992 at Chiefs of
Staff level, in accordance with the NACC Work Plan. It
represented an important milestone in the partnership
process and resulted in a military work plan designed to
develop cooperation and to assist cooperation partners
with the process of restructuring their armed forces. Fur-
ther meetings and other activities, including bilateral visits
of military officials to and from cooperation countries,
are taking place in this framework.

29. THE CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

A key component of the new security architecture is the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe or
CSCE (see Part IV).

The Alliance remains deeply committed to strengthen-
ing the CSCE process, which has a vital role to play in
promoting stability and democracy in Europe. Consulta-
tions within the Alliance thus continue to be a source of
initiatives for strengthening the CSCE, which has the
outstanding advantage of being the only forum that
brings together all the countries of Europe as well as
Canada and the United States under a common frame-
work with respect to human rights, fundamental
freedoms, democracy, rule of law, security, and economic
liberty. New CSCE institutions and structures, proposed
at the NATO Summit in London in July 1990, were
created at the Paris CSCE Summit in November 1990.
Efforts are now being made to enable them to be consoli-
dated and further developed so as to provide the CSCE
with the means to ensure full implementation of the
Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris, and other CSCE
documents.

The CSCE's capacity as a forum for consultation and
cooperation among all participating States is thus being
enhanced to ensure that it is capable of effective action in
line with its new and increased responsibilities. This
applies in particular to the role of the CSCE with regard
to questions of human rights and security, including arms
control and disarmament, and to its contribution to
effective crisis management and peaceful settlement of
disputes in ways which are consistent with international
law and CSCE principles.

A number of specific proposals were made at the NATO
Summit Meeting in Rome to translate these objectives
into practical realities. These ideas were taken several
steps further in December 1991 when NATO Foreign
Ministers set out broad policy objectives for the prepara-
tion of the 1992 Helsinki Follow-Up Meeting. They in-
cluded the establishment of a European security forum,
preserving the autonomy and distinct character of the
various elements involved in the process but also ensuring
coherence between them; and the institution of a perma-
nent security dialogue in which legitimate security concerns
can be addressed.

30. EUROPE'S SECURITY IDENTITY AND DEFENCE
ROLE

Further important elements in the progress towards the
new security architecture, subject to decisions concerning
their ratification, are the Treaties on Monetary and
Political Union signed by the leaders of the European
Community in Maastricht in December 1991. The Treaty
on Political Union included agreement on the develop-
ment of a common foreign and security policy, including
the eventual framing of a common defence policy which
might in time lead to a common defence. It included
reference to the Western European Union (WEU) (see
Part IV) as an integral part of the development of the
European Union which would be created by the two
Treaties and requested the WEU to elaborate and imple-
ment decisions and actions of the European Union which
have defence implications.

At the meeting of the WEU Member States which took
place in Maastricht at the same time as the meeting of
the European Council, a declaration was issued inviting
members of the European Union to accede to the WEU or
to become observers, and inviting other European mem-
bers of NATO to become associate members of the WEU.

The Treaty on Political Union also made provision for
a report evaluating the progress made and experience
gained in the field of foreign and security policy to be
presented to the European Council in 1996.

The Alliance welcomed these steps, recognising that
the development of a European security identity and
defence role, reflected in the strengthening of the
European pillar within the Alliance, will reinforce the
integrity and effectiveness of the Atlantic Alliance as a
whole. Moreover these two positive processes are mutu-
ally reinforcing. In parallel with them, member countries
of the Alliance have agreed to enhance the essential
transatlantic link which the Alliance guarantees and to
maintain fully the strategic unity and the indivisibility of
their security.

The Alliance's Strategic Concept, which is the agreed
conceptual basis for the military forces of all the members
of the Alliance, facilitates complementarity between the
Alliance and the emerging defence component of the

European political unification process. The Alliance mem-
ber countries intend to preserve their existing operational
coherence since, ultimately, their security depends on it.
However, they welcomed the prospect of a gradual rein-
forcement of the role of the Western European Union, both
as the defence component of the process of European
unification and as a means of strengthening the Euro-
pean pillar of the Alliance. WEU member states have
affirmed that the Alliance will remain the essential forum
for consultation among its members and the venue for
agreement on policies bearing on the security and defence
commitments of Allies under the Washington Treaty.

31. ARMS CONTROL

Efforts to bring about more stable international relations
at lower levels of military forces and armaments, through
effective and verifiable arms control agreements and
confidence-building measures, have long been an integral
part of NATO's security policy. Meaningful and verifiable
arms control agreements, which respect the security con-
cerns of all the countries involved in the process, help to
improve stability, increase mutual confidence and dimin-
ish the risks of conflict. Defence and arms control policies
must therefore remain in harmony and their respective
roles in safeguarding security must be consistent and
mutually reinforcing. The principal criterion for the
Alliance in the context of all arms control negotiations is
not whether agreements are desirable objectives in their
own right, but rather whether or not they maintain stab-
ility and enhance the long-term security interests of all
participants. To do this successfully agreements have to be
clear and precise, verifiable and not open to circumvention.

Arms control deals essentially with two broad catego-
ries of proposal: those seeking agreement on measures to
build confidence and those which result in reductions and
limitations of military manpower and equipment. The
Alliance is actively involved in both these areas. Extensive
consultation takes place within NATO over the whole
range of disarmament and arms control issues so that
commonly agreed positions can be reached and national
policies coordinated. In addition to the consultation
which takes place in the North Atlantic Council and the
Political Committees, a number of special bodies have
been created to deal with specific arms control issues.

In May 1989, in order to take account of all the
complex and interrelated issues arising in the arms control
context, the Alliance developed a Comprehensive Con-
cept of Arms Control and Disarmament. The Concept
provided a framework for the policies of the Alliance in
the whole field of arms control. It covered the conclusion
and implementation of the INF Treaty between the United
States and the Soviet Union in December 1987, which
eliminated all United States and Soviet land-based
intermediate-range missiles on a global basis.
Other objectives of the Comprehensive Concept included:

-  a 50 per cent reduction in the strategic offensive nuclear
weapons of the United States and the Soviet Union;

-  the global elimination of chemical weapons;

-  the establishment of a stable and secure level of con-
ventional forces by eliminating disparities in the whole
of Europe;

-  in conjunction with the establishment of a conven-
tional balance, tangible and verifiable reductions of
land-based nuclear missile systems of shorter-range,
leading to equal ceilings.


The negotiations on Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe (CFE) among the member countries of NATO
and of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation, which began in
Vienna in March 1989, resulted in the conclusion of the
CFE Treaty on 19 November 1990. The Treaty was
signed by the 22 states, in the framework of the Confer-
ence on Security and Cooperation in Europe, during a
Summit Meeting in Paris of all 34 countries then particip-
ating in the CSCE process. Also signed at the Paris
Summit by all CSCE participants was the Vienna Docu-
ment 90, containing a large number of substantial
confidence- and security-building measures applicable
throughout Europe. In March 1992 this document was
subsumed by the Vienna Document 92, in which further
measures on openness and transparency were introduced.

As a result of the dramatic political and military de-
developments which have taken place since 1989, some of
the initial premises for the CFE Treaty changed during
the course of the negotiations. Key factors in this respect
were the unification of Germany; substantial Soviet troop
withdrawals from Eastern Europe; the advent of demo-
cratic governments in Central and Eastern Europe; the
disintegration of the Warsaw Pact; and comprehensive
unilateral reductions in the size of Soviet armed forces as
well as those of other countries in the region.

Notwithstanding these changes which inevitably had
major implications, particularly in terms of the attribution
of national responsibility for implementing the Treaty,
the successful outcome of the negotiations and the entry
into force of the Treaty are fundamental enhancements
of European security. The Treaty is the culmination of
efforts initiated by the Alliance in 1986 to reduce the
level of armed forces in Europe from the Atlantic Ocean
to the Ural Mountains. It imposes legally-binding limits
on key categories of forces and equipment held individu-
ally and collectively. The limits are designed not only to
bring about dramatic reductions but also to ensure that
no single country is able to maintain military forces at
levels which would enable it to hold a dominating mil