Assembly Structure

NATO PA Delegates

The NATO PA is made up of 281 delegates from the 32 NATO member countries. Each delegation is based on the country's size and reflects the political composition of the parliament, therefore representing a broad spectrum of political opinion. Delegates are nominated by their parliaments according to their national procedures.

In addition to NATO country delegates, delegates from 22 Partners for Comprehensive Security including 3 NATO candidates and Partners for Stability also take part in its activities, bringing the total number of delegates to approximately 355.

More information on the status of each category can be found in the Assembly Rules of Procedure.

Standing Committee

The Assembly’s governing body is the Standing Committee, which is composed of the Head of each member delegation, the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer and the Secretary General.

The voting members on this committee are the heads of the member delegations, each with one vote. The Assembly’s President, five Vice-Presidents and the Treasurer only vote if they also serve as the head of their delegation.

The Chairmen of the Assembly’s five committees and the Chairman of the Mediterranean Special Group are ex-officio members of the Standing Committee. Each delegation can also appoint one non-voting alternate member.

The Standing Committee performs a wide range of both political and administrative tasks. For instance, it determines the rights and obligations of non-member delegations and evaluates applications for non-member status which, if approved, are forwarded for the consideration of the full Assembly. It also co-ordinates the overall work of the Assembly: it must approve all planned meetings and provides guidance to the committees on the treatment of subjects to avoid duplication and ensure that the overall work of the Assembly is co-ordinated. The Standing Committee also serves as the Assembly’s finance committee.

The Bureau 

The Bureau of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly is composed of the President, five Vice Presidents and the Treasurer. The Bureau’s main function is to ensure the overall guidance and coherence of the Assembly’s policies and activities in the interval between meetings of the Standing Committee; it also acts as the “first responder” when internal or external events require a decision or statement by the Assembly. It meets three times per year prior to the Standing Committee meetings and can hold additional meetings if deemed necessary.  

The International Secretariat

The International Secretariat under its Secretary General, is responsible for all administration and the bulk of research and analysis that supports the Assembly’s Committees, Sub-Committees and other groups.

Committees and other bodies

The five Committees are: Committee on Democracy and Security; Defence and Security; Economics and Security; Political; Science and Technology. They are divided in eight Sub‑Committees and charged with examining all security and policy challenges confronting Allied countries.

Other Assembly bodies include the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group to enhance parliamentary dialogue and understanding with countries of the Middle East and the North African region, the Ukraine-NATO Inter-parliamentary Council and the Georgia-NATO Inter-parliamentary Council. The NATO-Russia Parliamentary Committee was discontinued in April 2014 following Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and decision to annex the Ukrainian province of Crimea in March 2014.

Two sessions are held each year - in the Spring and Autumn (‘Annual’) - in different countries.