Economics and Security Committee (ESC)

Since its inception in 1955, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has placed a particular stress on Article 2 of the Atlantic Treaty, which explicitly called for the elimination of conflict in international economic relations and encouraged economic collaboration among Allies.  The Assembly has always devoted one of its Committees to the coverage of economic issues, which, while not featuring centrally on NATO's agenda, have nevertheless been of critical importance to the Atlantic community of nations. Transatlantic trade and investment relations have undergirded economic development in the Atlantic space, reinforced political solidarity and stability, and helped countries finance their security obligations.

The areas covered by the Economics and Security Committee accordingly include:

a. Transatlantic economic relations, including trade, commerce, and investment matters;
b. International macro-economic policy, monetary and exchange rate issues, and regulatory and competitive issues of importance to the trans-Atlantic relationship;
c. Economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East - including issues such as defence conversion, privatization, anti-corruption, monetary and financial reform, and the environmental consequences of economic transition.
d. Energy and environmental security, including the economic vulnerabilities of allied and partner countries to potential disruptions or shortages in supply, the economic implications of energy prices, and economic trade-offs that play in environmental protection.
e. The relationship between economic development and security, including post-conflict reconstruction, the challenges of corruption, and the role of trade, market reform and aid policy.
f. Defence economic matters, including defence budgets, defence industries, trans-national procurement cooperation, burden-sharing and defence trade.
g. The economic consequences of terrorism as well as the economic and financial means for combating terrorism and organized crime.
h. The consequences for Allied nations of international trade and financial agreements and policies, including those of the World Trade Organization, the G-8, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the OECD,  the European Union, and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
i. Practical co-operation with institutions such as the OECD, the NATO Economics and Planning offices, the IMF, and the World Bank.
j. Country studies where economic and trade policies are deemed to be of particular relevance; recent examples include work on China, Russia and Ukraine.