NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY’S PROPOSALS FOR NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT OFFICIALLY PRESENTED TO NATO SECRETARY GENERAL ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN AT NATO HEADQUARTERS IN BRUSSELS

Among the report’s key points are:

• Article 5 – the mutual defence arrangement – must be reaffirmed as the cornerstone of the Alliance and should be underlined not by statements alone but by military planning and exercises.
• The Alliance must be able to respond to threats which might arise beyond its borders.  At the same time, NATO no longer faces a wholesale, simultaneous threat to its territory.  The threat is not against everywhere at the same time, but it could be against anywhere at any time.  Regardless of whether that means sending military units and assets 300 or 3,000 kilometres from their bases, from one corner of the Alliance to another, or from within the Alliance to beyond its borders, the Alliance members need flexible and deployable armed forces.  Thus, there is no need to make a false choice between the capabilities required to perform Article 5 missions and the capabilities necessary to perform operations outside NATO’s geographical borders.
• The nature of today’s threats is more varied and so NATO should be prepared to act in new ways with national and institutional partners to respond appropriately to challenges to cyber-security, energy supplies, maritime communications and WMD proliferation.
• The Alliance should be the forum for transatlantic discussion on a comprehensive approach to security, which depends upon the use of economic, financial, political, legal, and defence resources.  It should therefore work with organizations such as the UN and the EU which each have their own unique competences and comparative advantages in preventing crises and building stability.  NATO should not simply be a military “toolkit” to be called upon as necessary by other “players” in the international community, but should have an active role in orchestrating a comprehensive approach.
• It is often noted in discussions about EU-NATO relations that the member states of both organizations only have one set of armed forces.  They also have one set of taxpayers who have the right to expect that the resources allocated to them are used to maximum effect.
• NATO should take a completely fresh look at Article 2 of the Washington Treaty and fully explore the scope for Alliance co-operation that this would allow.  Article 2 is an undertaking to promote “conditions of stability and well-being” and underlines the notion of the Alliance as a values-based community.  It implies a mandate for a broader concept of security in line with the comprehensive approach, and supports the notion of the Alliance as an active promoter of security.
• NATO and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly should continue to deepen their co‑operation to better communicate with the general public to enhance understanding of the Alliance ’s policies and missions and build vital parliamentary support for NATO.
• Article 10, which specifies that NATO membership is open only to European States, should be reiterated to end speculation about potential NATO enlargement beyond Europe ’s borders.

Vice-President Mikser said “The Assembly’s goal was to produce a concise, timely set of ideas and considerations that we feel should help to guide Alliance leaders as they formulate the Strategic Concept itself.  We hope that this will complement the work of NATO’s Group of Experts and augment their proposals by providing an essential parliamentary perspective.”

According to Secretary General Hobbs “The Assembly’s contribution has been produced by parliamentarians representing a cross-section of political opinion in all Alliance nations.  It demonstrates strong support for NATO’s plan to produce a new Strategic Concept and provides ideas and proposals about how NATO could and should adapt to the security challenges of the 21st century.”

Follow the link to the Assembly’s report.