Framework document on the establishment of the NATO-Georgia Commission
Tblisi, Georgia
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and its member states, hereinafter referred to as NATO, and Georgia:
- Determined to strengthen cooperation in order to further enhance security and stability in Europe, and to cooperate in building a stable, peaceful, and undivided Europe;
- Reaffirming NATO Allies’ support for Georgia’s full independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity recognised by international law and UN Security Council resolutions;
- Expressing grave concern over the military conflict in Georgia, its genesis, and Russia’s actions, including recognition of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia;
- Recognising the need for measures to assist Georgia in assessing damage caused by the military action, and to help restore critical services necessary for normal public life and economic activity; and reaffirming that Georgia’s recovery, security, and stability are important to the Alliance;
- Reaffirming our commitment to upholding our common values and principles as laid out in the PfP Framework Document and the EAPC Basic Document, including the commitment to peaceful conflict resolution;
- Reaffirming the importance and utility of existing tools for NATO-Georgia cooperation, in particular the Intensified Dialogue and the Individual Partnership Action Plan;
- Recalling paragraph 23 of the Bucharest Summit communiqué, in which NATO Heads of State and Government welcomed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO; agreed that Georgia will become a member of NATO; agreed that MAP is the next step for Georgia on its direct way to membership; made clear their support for Georgia’s application for MAP; agreed to begin a period of intensive engagement at a high political level to address the questions still outstanding pertaining to its MAP application; asked NATO Foreign Ministers to make a first assessment of progress at their December 2008 meeting; and agreed that Foreign Ministers have the authority to decide on the MAP application of Georgia;
- Recalling also the 19 August 2008 statement by NATO Foreign Ministers, in which they reaffirmed their commitment to the decisions taken by NATO Heads of State and Government at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, including those regarding Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and the decision by NATO Foreign Ministers to continue intensive engagement with Georgia to address in December the questions pertaining to its Membership Action Plan application, taking into account developments until that time;
- Recalling the decision by NATO Foreign Ministers on 19 August 2008 to create a NATO-Georgia Commission;
- Recognising that NATO-Georgia cooperation can be further deepened through the creation of a joint political, consultative, and coordination body.
- Are resolved to establish a NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC).
Goals of the NATO-Georgia Commission
- The NATO-Georgia Commission will have the following goals:
- To deepen political dialogue and cooperation between NATO and Georgia at all appropriate levels;
- To supervise the process set in hand at the NATO Bucharest Summit;
- To coordinate Alliance efforts to assist Georgia in recovering from the recent conflict;
- To underpin Georgia’s efforts to take forward its political, economic, and defence-related reforms pertaining to its Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO, with a focus on key democratic and institutional goals.
Practical Aspects of the NATO-Georgia Commission
- The NGC will convene at the level of Foreign Ministers, Defence Ministers, Chiefs of Defence, and Heads of State and Government, as mutually agreed by both parties.
- The NGC will hold regular meetings at intervals to be mutually agreed at the level of Ambassadors and Military Representatives.
- In addition, the NGC will be convened following a request from Georgia if Georgia perceives a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence, or security in line with paragraph 8 of the Partnership for Peace Framework Document.
- Under the auspices of the NGC, meetings between Georgia and NATO can be held at the level of the Political Committee and with other NATO committees and working groups to address specific areas of cooperation between Georgia and NATO. The NGC at the level of the Political Committee will prepare the Ambassadorial level meetings.
- In order to implement the goals of the NGC, NATO will explore the possibility of expanding the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia, in accordance with existing procedures.
- In order to implement the goals of the NGC, NATO will explore the establishment of specific trust funds for individual projects in Georgia, based on the existing principle of voluntary contributions.