Press
Release
(2003)147
1 Dec. 2003 |
Final
Communiqué
Ministerial Meeting
of the Defence Planning Committee
and the Nuclear Planning
Group
held in Brussels on Monday, 1 December 2003
- The Defence Planning Committee and Nuclear Planning
Group met in Ministerial Session on 1 December 2003. Our
colleagues from the seven countries invited to join the Alliance
took part in our discussions in the Defence Planning Committee.
- NATO's forces are heavily engaged in operations to ensure
security and stability in many different theatres. The
demands on those forces, including on the forces of those
countries invited to join the Alliance, to contribute to
operations are unlikely to diminish and we must ensure that
they are best prepared for the tasks they will be called
on to undertake. This is reflected in our emphasis on transformation
of the Alliance's military capabilities and on quality rather
than quantity, as well as in our determination to overcome
shortfalls in a number of critical capability areas. Our
forces must be available in sufficient numbers, and with
the needed capabilities, to be able to carry out and sustain agreed
missions wherever they are required.
- We have taken note of work in hand to establish how
NATO's defence planning processes can best contribute to
promoting the usability of our forces, by developing and
sustaining force structures that are genuinely deployable
and operationally capable. Multi-national cooperation, where
appropriate, is one proven method of achieving cost-effective
solutions to meeting NATO force requirements. However, other
approaches are also necessary. We look forward to considering,
in time for potential endorsement at the Istanbul Summit,
concrete proposals on increasing the necessary deployability
and usability of Allies' forces through the establishment
of challenging but realistic output targets. This work will
take into account a range of related factors, including,
inter alia, appropriate broader national contributions to
security; the quality of forces, especially enabling assets;
the development of output indicators on usability and deployability;
and possibly the development of reinvestment goals.
- These initiatives will be important components of the
comprehensive review of the defence planning process commissioned
at our last meeting. We stressed the importance of ensuring
that the process is more flexible, responsive and output
oriented, increasingly focussed on the capabilities which
NATO requires to meet the new security situation, and includes
a step-by-step approach to overcoming Alliance shortfalls,
focussing on key priority areas. The goals set by the defence
planning process and the assessments made about their implementation
are of vital importance to our governments as they consider
ways in which our armed forces should, and can, contribute
to security and stability. Our requirements and our assessments
in this critical area need to be clearly articulated and
readily comprehensible to a wide audience. Significant elements
of these requirements could therefore be publicised in the
future, with possible endorsement by Heads of State and Government.
We look forward to a robust defence planning review being
finalised at the Istanbul Summit next June.
- NATO's defence planning processes and the relevant EU
processes must result in coherent and mutually reinforcing
capability development, not least to support the greatest
possible efficiency and cost-effectiveness in our defence
spending. In this context, we should vigorously continue
to implement those aspects of the Berlin-Plus arrangements
relevant to defence planning.
- We warmly welcome the progress on the NATO Response
Force, including successful establishment of its initial
rotations and the successful completion of its recent exercise
in Turkey. The NRF will become a distinctively high-quality
force and a catalyst for transformation of Alliance capabilities.
Related defence planning work must be completed in order
to further enhance the NRF's effectiveness.
- We also reviewed progress in implementation of the new
integrated command structure. Our two new strategic commands,
for Operations and Transformation, have already been established
as have some of the subordinate headquarters and work is
progressing on schedule to make all headquarters operational
by June 2006. This new structure will provide the robust
capabilities to plan and conduct operations, promote transformation
of Alliance military capabilities, maintain and enhance the
transatlantic link, and make significant savings so that
resources can be re-directed to alleviating current Alliance
capability shortfalls.
- At our Nuclear Planning Group meeting, we reviewed the
status of NATO's nuclear forces and the work of the High
Level Group. It is a long-standing goal of the Alliance to
enhance security and stability at the lowest possible level
of forces consistent with its requirements for collective
defence and the full range of its missions. In keeping with
this goal, we continue to consider deterrence requirements
for the 21 st century. We reaffirmed the principles underpinning
NATO's security objectives as set out in the Alliance's Strategic
Concept.
- The nuclear forces based in Europe and committed to
NATO continue to provide an essential political and military
link between the European and North American members of the
Alliance. They are maintained at readiness levels consistent
with the prevailing security environment. We noted with appreciation
the continuing contribution made by the United Kingdom's
independent nuclear forces to deterrence and the overall
security of the Allies, and reaffirmed the value of this
capability.
- We discussed the growing danger of the proliferation
of nuclear weapons and expressed our serious concern over
recent acts of non-compliance with obligations under the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which may have negative
consequences for regional stability and security. We reaffirmed
our full commitment to the NPT and to the goal of universal
adherence to it. We recognized the NPT as the cornerstone
of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and reiterated
our continuing commitment to all our obligations under this
Treaty. We urge all nations to work together to stop the
proliferation of nuclear weapons.
- We reaffirmed the importance of substantial and productive
exchanges by nuclear experts under the auspices of the
NATO-Russia Council with a view to gaining better mutual
understanding, more confidence and thereby increased security.
We are encouraged by the progress achieved in these consultations,
in particular the prospect of a series of field demonstrations
on nuclear weapon safety and security issues.
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