They also cooperate in areas such as defence reform, countering the proliferation of weapons, curbing the threat posed by landmines and stockpiled munitions, disaster preparedness, and scientific research.

Consultations

Through the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, NATO and Partner countries engage in regular consultations on a wide-rage of security and defence-related issues.

These range from general political discussions, for example on crisis-response missions and regional issues and tensions, to more technical exchanges on issues such defence reform, budgeting and planning.

Joint missions, enhancing interoperability

Partner countries have made and continue to make signficant contributions to the Alliance ’s operations and missions, from the Balkans to Afghanistan, Iraq and Darfur .

In order to ensure that partner forces are capable of participating actively in NATO-led operations, they regularly take part in NATO exercises and training programmes.

Defence reform

With the end of the Cold War, mass armies and huge stockpiles of weapons and munitions were no longer needed. However, carrying out defence reforms is neither cheap nor easy.

One of the most important contributions of NATO’s cooperation with Partner countries are programmes to share expertise and provide assistance in tackling the extensive problems of defence reform, as well as managing its economic and social consequences.

A key priority is to promote the development of effective defence institutions that are under civilian and democratic control.

Combating terrorism

Meeting at very short notice a day after the September 11 2001 attacks against the United States, ambassadors from NATO and Partner countries unconditionally condemned the attacks and pledged to undertake all efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism.

At the 2002 Prague Summit, NATO and its Partners launched a Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism. This is leading to improved intelligence-sharing and cooperation in areas such as border security, terrorism-related training and exercises, and the development of capabilities for defence against terrorist attack or for dealing with the consequences of such an attack.

Tackling proliferation

Through consultations with its Partner countries, the Alliance seeks to increase common understanding and information-sharing on proliferation-related issues. Several seminars and workshops have looked at specific problems.

Subjects have included in-depth discussions on “Anthrax – lessons learned” which identified some of the key contingency planning points to emerge from the experience of autumn 2001 in the United States and elsewhere. Another topic has been problems associated with environmental industrial hazards and other medical-operational challenges.

Action against mines and small arms

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council has set up an Ad Hoc Working Group on Small Arms and Light Weapons and Mine Action to provide a forum for exchanging information on how best to control the transfer of such weapons, for example, through national export controls and enforcement mechanisms.

In addition, NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme promotes training in stockpile management and secure storage, disposal and destruction of surplus stocks, as well as weapons collection and destruction during peacekeeping operations. In 2000, a special Trust Fund was established to support the destruction of anti-personnel landmines, surplus munitions and small arms and light weapons.

Disaster response

In order to ensure an effective international response to natural or man-made disasters, NATO and Partner Countries have developed and continue to refine procedures for joint disaster response operations.

These are regularly rehearsed in exercises and at training seminars. Already on a number of occasions NATO and Partner countries have worked together to rescue, protect and bring relief to victims of disasters.

Scientific cooperation

Two distinct NATO programmes bring together scientists and experts from NATO and Partner countries on a regular basis to work on problems of common concern.

The NATO Security through Science programme concentrates its support for collaboration on research topics related to defence against terrorism or countering other threats to security. The programme of the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society deals with problems of the environment and society by bringing together national agencies to collaborate on short and long-term studies in these areas.

How did it evolve?

November 1989 saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, signalling the end of the Cold War. Within a short period, the remarkable pace of change in Central and Eastern Europe left NATO faced with a new and very different set of security challenges.

A hand of friendship

Allied leaders responded at their summit meeting in London , in July 1990, by extending a “hand of friendship” across the old East-West divide and proposing a new cooperative relationship with all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe . The scene was set for the establishment in December 1991 of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), a forum to bring together NATO and its new Partner countries to discuss issues of common concern.

Such was the pace of change in Europe at the time that the first meeting of the NACC itself witnessed a historic event: as the final communiqué was being agreed, the Soviet ambassador announced that the Soviet Union had dissolved during the meeting and that he now only represented the Russian Federation.

Changing the approach to security

This sea-change in attitudes was enshrined in a new strategic concept for the Alliance , issued in November 1991, which adopted a broader approach to security. While the defence dimension remained indispensable, more prominence could now be given to economic, social and environmental issues as a means of promoting stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area as a whole. Dialogue and cooperation would be essential parts of the approach required to manage the diversity of challenges facing the Alliance . The key goals were now to reduce the risk of conflict arising out of misunderstanding or design and to better manage crises affecting the security of the Allies; to increase mutual understanding and confidence among all European states; and to expand the opportunities for genuine partnership in dealing with common security problems.

In line with this, in the immediate post-Cold War period, NACC consultations focused on residual Cold War security concerns such as the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltic States. Political cooperation was also launched on a number of security and defence-related issues. The NACC broke new ground in many ways. However, it focused on multilateral, political dialogue and lacked the possibility of each Partner country developing individual cooperative relations with NATO.

The Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council

This changed in 1994 with the launch of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), a major programme of practical bilateral cooperation between NATO and individual Partner countries, which represented a significant leap forward in the cooperative process.

And, in 1997, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) was created to replace the NACC and to build on its achievements, paving the way for the development of an enhanced and more operational partnership.

The EAPC and the PfP programme have steadily developed their own dynamic, as successive steps have been taken by NATO and its Partner countries to extend security cooperation, building on the partnership arrangements they have created. As NATO has transformed over the years to meet the new challenges of the evolving security environment, partnership has developed.

Deepening the partnership

Further steps were taken at the Prague Summit in November 2002 to deepen cooperation between NATO and Partner countries. A comprehensive review of the EAPC and the Partnership for Peace recommended strengthening the political dialogue with Partners and further enhancing their involvement in the planning, conduct and oversight of activities in which they participate.

A new cooperative mechanism, the Partnership Action Plan, was introduced at Prague. The first to be developed was the Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism. Another new initiative was the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), which, rather than drawing from a menu of activities, allows the Alliance to tailor its assistance to interested Partner countries which have asked for more structured support for domestic reforms, particularly in the defence and security sector, according to their specific needs and circumstances.

Building on progress made at Prague, more steps were taken at the Istanbul Summit in June 2004 to strengthen the Euro-Atlantic Partnership and further tailor it to tackle key thematic issues and address individual Partners’ needs and capabilities.

A Partnership Action Plan on Defence Institution Building was launched to encourage and support Partners in building effective and democratically responsible defence institutions. The opportunities for Partners to enhance their contributions to NATO-led operations are being increased by involving troop-contributing countries earlier in the decision-making process and providing more possibilities for political consultation. In addition, the Operational Capabilities Concept is being enhanced and Partners are being offered the opportunity of representation at Allied Command Transformation, which is responsible for promoting and overseeing the continuous transformation of Alliance forces and capabilities. This will help promote greater military interoperability between NATO and Partner country forces and the transformation of defences in keeping with NATO’s own evolving operational roles and capabilities.

A decision was also taken to put special focus on engaging with Partner countries in two strategically important regions, namely the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). NATO has assigned a special representative for the two regions as well as two liaison officers. Their role is to assist and provide advice in implementing relevant aspects of Individual Partnership Action Plans, where appropriate, as well as the Partnership Action Plans on Defence Institution Building and against Terrorism.

From partners to members

Two rounds of NATO enlargement have changed the balance between Allies and Partners. As of March 2004, there were more Allies than Partners – and the remaining Partners are a very diverse group. They include Balkan countries still dealing with the legacies of their past, the strategically important but underdeveloped countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and the Western European non-aligned states. While some are in the process of developing their defence structures and capabilities, others are able to contribute significant forces to NATO-led operations and to offer fellow Partner countries advice, training and assistance in various areas.

Today, 22 Partners use the EAPC to consult regularly with the 28 Allies and to develop cooperation on issues encompassing many different aspects of defence and security. Their military forces frequently exercise and interact together; their soldiers serve alongside each other in NATO-led peacekeeping operations; and Allies and Partners are working together in common cause against the threat of terrorism.

Who participates?