Framework document on the establishment of the NATO-Georgia Commission
Tbilisi, 15 September 2008
- 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.
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