NATO Parliamentary Assembly - How The Assembly Works

How The Assembly Works

The NATO PA consists of 257 delegates from the 28 NATO member countries. Delegates from 14 associate countries; the European Parliament; 4 regional partner and Mediterranean associate member countries; as well as parliamentary observers from 7 other countries and 3 inter-parliamentary assemblies also take part in its activities.

Delegates to the Assembly are nominated by their parliaments according to their national procedures, on the basis of party representation in the parliaments. The Assembly therefore represents a broad spectrum of political opinion.

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 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.

The headquarters of the Assembly’s 30-strong International Secretariat is located in central Brussels.

Financing

The Assembly is directly funded by member parliaments and governments, and is financially and administratively separate from NATO itself. Each country’s contribution is based on the NATO Civil Budget formula.

Committee Structure

The five Committees are: Civil Dimension of Security; Defence and Security; Economics and Security; Political; Science and Technology. They are charged with examining all major contemporary issues in their fields.

The Committees and Sub-Committees produce reports, which are discussed in draft form at the Assembly’s Spring Session. The reports are then revised and up-dated for discussion, amendment and adoption at the Assembly’s Annual Session in the Autumn.

At the Annual Session, the Committees also produce policy recommendations - which are voted on by the full Assembly and forwarded to the North Atlantic Council and the NATO Secretary General and posted on the Assembly's website. The NATO Secretary General responds in writing to the Assembly's recommendations.

Members of the Assembly's Committees undertake regular visits and meetings where they receive briefings from leading government and parliamentary representatives, as well as senior academics and experts. NATO-PA Delegations also undertake visits to NATO mission areas such as Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Other Assembly bodies

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 Interparliamentary Council, the NATO-Russia Parliamentary Committee, and the NATO-Georgia Interparliamentary Council.

The Rose-Roth Programme

The Rose-Roth Programme of partnership and co-operation is designed to extend assistance to countries undergoing transition through difficult political and economic reforms. The program was initially designed to support Central and Eastern European countries but has subsequently focused mainly on the Balkans and the South Caucasus.

Under this Programme, every year two to three Rose-Roth seminars are organized in a non-NATO country in partnership with the host nation parliament. These events, attended by members of parliament from member and partner states as well as independent experts, focus on regional and topical security issues. Along with additional training programmes for parliamentary staff and members of parliament, these events emphasize issues such as effective parliamentary oversight of defence and the military.

The New Parliamentarians Programme

The New Parliamentarians programme is focused primarily on young or newly elected members of parliament from NATO and Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) nations, as well as those newly assigned to security or foreign affairs responsibilities. The programme aims at providing an in-depth overview of the functioning and policies of NATO and SHAPE as well as of the Alliance’s evolving relationships with its many partners. The Programme was launched in 2000 and is held annually in Brussels.

The Parliamentary Transatlantic Forum

In 2001, growing concern about the apparent drift in transatlantic attitudes, perceptions and policies, the Assembly launched an annual "Parliamentary Transatlantic Forum" which brings together members of the Assembly with senior US administration figures and academic experts. The Forum is held annually in Washington DC in co-operation with the U.S. National Defense University and the Atlantic Council of the United States.