Nato

1. The Nature of NATO:
Civil and Military Organization

NATO is composed of 16 sovereign and equal states. It encompasses the following member states: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. France and Spain do not participate in the integrated military command structure and the collective defence planning, while Iceland has no national defence force.

All decisions in NATO express the collective will of the governments of the member states. Decisions, therefore, are not made by majority vote but by common consent. Consensus is the rule throughout the Organization.

Political Cooperation

The highest decision-making authority of the Alliance and the forum for political consultations is the North Atlantic Council (NAC). The Council meets regularly, at least once a week (the member states permanent representatives to NATO). At the Councils ministerial meetings, normally held twice a year, each member state is represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs. On a more irregular basis, the Council also meets at the level of Heads of State or Governments (summit meetings).

The Defence Planning Committee (DPC) is held at the same level as the Council, and each member state in

NATO's integrated military structure except France, but including Spain, participate. The Ministers of Defence normally meet twice a year at DPC level, and once a year for more informal political discussions. The DPC handles fundamental issues in the field of defence policy and defence planning.

Nuclear issues are dealt with in the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG). Fifteen member states participate in NPG (all except France). The Council as well as DPC and NPG are chaired by NATO's Secretary General.

Matters dealt with in NATOs civilian organization are prepared in a number of standing committees, each with its special area of responsibility. Civilian matters, as for instance economy and environmental issues, are being dealt with in some of the committees.The committees are supported by the International Staff (IS), which is subdivided into five Divisions, each headed by an Assistant Secretary General. The personnel in IS are recruited from all member states and are responsible to the Secretary General.

EAPC and PfP

At the NATO Summit Meeting in January 1994 the Alliances Heads of State and Government decided to offer interested states a Partnership for Peace (PfP). This initiative was mainly aimed at creating a denser and broader cooperation between the Alliance and the Eastern and Central European states. Since the decision at the NATO Summit in Rome 1991 to establish the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), a large number of joint projects and activities have been carried out. Through the introduction of Individual Partnership Programmes (IPPs), tailored to the requirements of each Partner country, the PfP has contributed significantly to the further enhancement of this cooperation. So far 28 states have joined the PfP. All member states of the PfP are invited to establish liaison offices at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels as well as at SHAPE. A particularly important element of PfP is strengthening of cooperation in the field of peace-keeping operations.

At their meeting in December 1996, NATOs Foreign Ministers agreed to work with Partners on the initiative to establish an Atlantic Partnership Council (APC) as a single new cooperative mechanism, which would form a framework for enhanced efforts in both practical cooperation under PfP and an expanded political dimension of Partnership.

NATOs Integrated Command Structure

The present NATO command structure has been effective since July 1994.

A new command structure was approved by Defence Ministers at the fall 1997 Ministerial. An implementation plan will be endorsed late 1998.

Major NATO Commands (MNCs)

• Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), headed by the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT).
• Allied Command Europe (ACE), headed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR);

ACE comprises all of NATOs European area of responsibility except France and Spain who do not participate in NATOs integrated command structure, and Iceland and Portugal that are part of ACLANT. Along with the territories of the member states concerned, ACE comprises a number of bodies of water, including the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.

In peacetime, SACEURs main functions are to prepare and finalize defence plans for the area under his command, and to ensure the combat efficiency of the forces assigned to his command in the event of war. SACEUR also makes recommendations to the Military Committee (MC) on matters likely to improve the organization of his command.

In wartime, SACEUR would control all land, sea and air operations in his area. Although internal defence and the defence of coastal waters remain the responsibility of the national authorities concerned, SACEUR would have full authority to carry out those operations he considers necessary for the defence of any part of the area under his command.

ACLANT comprises about 31 million square kilometres of the Atlantic Ocean. The area extends from the North Pole to the Tropic of Cancer and from the coastal waters of North America to those of Europe and Africa. SACLANTs peacetime responsibilities are defined as the preparation and finalization of defence plans; the conduction of joint and combined training exercises; the laying down of training standards and the determination of the establishment of units; and the supplying of the NATO authorities with information on his strategic requirements.

The primary task of SACLANT in wartime would be to ensure security in the whole Atlantic area as far forward as possible by guarding the sea lanes and denying their use to an enemy, so as to safeguard reinforcements and resupplies from North America to Europe.

Major Subordinate Commands (MSCs)

Principal Subordinate Commands (PSCs)

The other PSCs under AFNORTHWEST, PSC NAVNORTHWEST (Northwood, Great Britain) and PSC AIRNORTHWEST are now situated together with the MSC in High Wycombe. Additionally comes PSCBALTAP, the command for the Baltic Sea, which in the maritime area is subordinate to AFNORTHWEST. This is an obvious improvement compared to the former command structure in NATO.

Importance to Norway

Norway is subordinate to AFNORTHWEST. It is of particular importance to Norway the fact that all Belgian, British, Danish, Dutch, German and Norwegian maritime forces, including maritime air forces that are committed to SACEUR, also is a part of AFNORTHWEST.

Standing military foreces in NATO and other European countries

Source: IISS, The Military Balance 1997 - 1998. (Norwegian edition by The Norwegian Atlantic Committee).

Defence expeditures in NATO countries