OTHER INTER-
GOVERNMENTAL AND
NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANISATIONS
92. THE NORTH ATLANTIC ASSEMBLY
Alliance cohesion is substantially enhanced by the sup-
port of freely elected parliamentary representatives. The
North Atlantic Assembly (NAA) is the inter-parliamentary
forum of the 16 member countries of the Alliance. It
brings together European and North American legislators
to debate and discuss issues of common interest and
concern. The Assembly is completely independent of
NATO but constitutes a link between national parliaments
and the Alliance which encourages governments to take
Alliance concerns into account when framing national
legislation. It also acts as a permanent reminder that
intergovernmental decisions reached within NATO are ulti-
mately dependent on political endorsement in accordance
with the due constitutional process of democratically
elected parliaments.
Delegates to the North Atlantic Assembly are nomi-
nated 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. It comprises 188 parlia-
mentarians, the size of each country's delegation
being mainly determined by the size of its population.
The membership is drawn from different political parties
but serving members of governments cannot act as
delegates.
There are five Assembly officers elected each year by
delegates in Plenary Session, namely the President, three
Vice-Presidents and the Treasurer. A Secretary General is
elected every two years by a Standing Committee com-
posed of the heads of each delegation. The Assembly
meets twice a year in Plenary Session. Meetings are held
in national capitals on a rotational basis at the invitation
of national parliaments. The Assembly functions through
five committees, i.e. Political; Defence and Security;
Economic; Scientific and Technical; and Civilian Affairs.
These are both study groups and major forums for
discussion. The committees study and examine all major
contemporary issues arising in their respective fields of
interest. They meet regularly throughout the year and
report to the Plenary Sessions of the Assembly.
The primary purpose of the Assembly is educative and
consensus-building. It allows Alliance legislators to
convey national preoccupations and concerns and to
inform each other of the very different national and
regional perspectives that exist on many key issues of
mutual interest. Similarly, members of the Assembly
are able to use the experience and information gained
through participation in its activities when exercising
their roles within national parliaments, and thus ensure
that Alliance interests and considerations are given maxi-
mum visibility in national discussions. The Assembly also
constitutes an important touchstone for assessing parlia-
mentary and public opinion on Alliance issues and
through its deliberations provides a clear indication of
public and parliamentary concerns regarding Alliance
policies. In this sense the Assembly plays an indirect but
important role in policy formation. Recommendations
and resolutions of the Assembly are forwarded to na-
tional governments, parliaments, other relevant organisa-
tions and to the Secretary General of NATO who formu-
lates replies based on discussions within the North Atlan-
tic Council.
Relations between the Assembly and the countries of
Central and Eastern Europe were placed on a formal
basis in 1990 when parliamentary representatives from
these countries were invited to participate in the full
range of Assembly activities as ``Associate Delegates''.
The Assembly has also organised a number of seminars
in which representatives from other countries including
Sweden, Finland, Austria, Yugoslavia and Switzerland
have also participated.
The Assembly is developing a programme of specialised
seminars aimed at assisting the development of parliamen-
tary democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and in the
Commonwealth of Independent States. These will focus
on areas where the Assembly has particular competence
and experience or, as a multilateral forum, is uniquely
placed to make an effective contribution, such as the
question of parliamentary oversight and control of de-
fence expenditure and of the armed forces. In addition,
the Assembly is focussing its efforts and resources on
other ways of assisting the development of democracy in
Central and Eastern Europe, including the creation of a
Special Committee comprising Assembly members and
Associate Delegates on an equal basis to discuss and
exchange views on security requirements.
Further information on the North Atlantic Assembly
may be obtained from its International Secretariat -
Place du Petit Sablon 3, B-1000 Brussels. Tel.:
513.28.65.
93. THE ATLANTIC TREATY ASSOCIATION (ATA)
Voluntary associations affiliated to the Atlantic Treaty
Association (ATA) support the activities of NATO and
of individual governments to promote the objectives of
the North Atlantic Treaty.
The objectives of the Atlantic Treaty Association are:
(a) to educate and inform the public concerning the
aims and goals of the North Atlantic Treaty Organis-
ation;
(b) to conduct research in the various purposes and
activities related to the Organisation;
(c) to promote the solidarity of the peoples in the North
Atlantic area;
(d) to develop permanent relations and cooperation
between its national member committees or associa-
tions.
An Atlantic Education Committee (AEC) and an Atlan-
tic Association of Young Political Leaders (AAYPL) are
active in their own fields.
The following national voluntary organisations are
members of the ATA:
BELGIUM
The Belgian Atlantic Association
24 rue des Petits Carmes
1000 Brussels
LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg Atlantic Association
BP 805
Luxembourg
CANADA
The Atlantic Council of Canada
6 Hoskin Avenue
Toronto
Ontario M5S 1H8
NETHERLANDS
Netherlands Atlantic Committee
Laan van Meerdervoort 96
2517 AR The Hague
DENMARK
Danish Atlantic Association
Ryvangs Alle 1
Postbox 2521
DK-2100 Copenhagen 0
NORWAY
Norwegian Atlantic Committee
Fridtjof Nansens Plass 6
0160 Oslo 1
FRANCE
French Association for the
Atlantic Community
185 rue de la Pompe
75116 Paris
PORTUGAL
Portuguese Atlantic Committee
Av. Infante Santo 42, 6e
1300 Lisbon
GERMANY
The German Atlantic Society
Am Burgweiher 12
5300 Bonn 1
SPAIN
Spanish Atlantic Association
Fernaflor 6-5B.
28014 Madrid
GREECE
Greek Association for Atlantic and
European Cooperation
160A Ioannou Drossopoulou Str
112 56 Athens
ICELAND
Association of Western
Cooperation
PO Box 28
121 Reykjavik
ITALY
Italian Atlantic Committee
Piazza di Firenze 27
00186 Rome
UNITED KINGDOM
The British Atlantic Commitee
154 Buckingham Palace Road
London W5 4VB
UNITED STATES
The Atlantic Council of the United
States
1616 H. Street NW
Washington DC 20006
>From October 1992 The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria has
been associated with the Atlantic Treaty Association as
an observer (Address: 29 Slavyanska Street, Sofia 1000).
Further information concerning the Atlantic Treaty
Association may be obtained from the Secretary General
of the ATA at 185, rue de la Pompe, 75116 Paris.
94. THE INTERALLIED CONFEDERATION OF
RESERVE OFFICERS (CIOR)
The Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers is a
non-governmental, non-political, non-profit organisation.
Known by its French acronym CIOR, the Confeder-
ation was formed in 1948 by the Reserve Officers Associa-
tions of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. All exist-
ing national reserve officer associations of NATO-
member nations now belong to the Confederation. It
represents more than 800,000 reserve officers and aims
to inculcate and maintain an interallied spirit among its
members and to provide them with information about
NATO developments and activities. It also aims to con-
tribute to the organisation, administration and training
of reserve forces in NATO countries and to improve their
motivation, capabilities, interoperability and mutual con-
fidence through common and exchange training pro-
grammes.
The Confederation maintains close liaison with appro-
priate national defence organisations and with NATO
military authorities and develops international contacts
between reserve officers. Its members are active in profes-
sional, business, industrial, academic and political circles
in their respective countries and contribute individually
to the improvement of public understanding of NATO
and the strengthening of public support for its policies.
The chief executive of the Confederation is an elected
President who serves in that office for a period of two
years. He is assisted by a Secretary General and an
Executive Committee composed of delegates from all
national member associations. The head of each national
delegation is also a Vice-President of the Confederation.
The Interallied Confederation of the Medical Reserve
Officers (CIOMR) is affiliated to the CIOR.
Member associations of the CIOR:
BELGIUM
Union Royale Nationale des
Officiers de Reserve de Belgique
(URNOR/KNVRO-BE)
Rue des Petits Carmes 24
B-1000 Bruxelles
CANADA
The Conference of Defence
Associations of Canada (CDA)
PO Box 893
Ottawa
Ontario K1P 5P9
DENMARK
Reserve officers Foreningen i
Danmark (ROID)
GL. Hovedragt
Kastellet,
DK-2100 Copenhagen
GERMANY
Verband der Reservisten der
Deutschen Bundeswehr (VdRBw)
Pfarrer Byns Strasse 1
D-5300 Bonn - Endenich
GREECE
The Supreme Pan-Hellenic
Federation of Reserve Officers
(SPFRO)
100 Solonos Street
GR-10680 Athens 144
FRANCE
Union Nationale des Officiers de
Reserve France (UNOR/FR)
17 Avenue de l'Opera
F-75001 Paris
LUXEMBOURG
Amicale des Anciens Officiers de
Reserve Luxembourgeois
(ANORL)
124 A Kiem
L-8030 Strassen
THE NETHERLANDS
Koninklijke Vereniging van
Nederlandse Reserve Officieren
(KVNRO)
Postbus 96820
NL-2509 s'Gravenhage
NORWAY
Norske Reserveoffiserers Forbund
(NROF)
Oslo Mil. Akershus
NO-0015 Oslo 1
SPAIN
Federation of Spanish Reserve
Associations (FORE)
Aerodromo de La Nava
Corral de Ayllon
Segovia 28018
UNITED KINGDOM
The Reserve Forces Association of
the United Kingdom (RFA)
Centre Block
Duke of York's Headquarters
Chelsea
GB-London SW3 4SG
UNITED STATES
The Reserve Officers Association
of the United States (ROA)
1 Constitution Avenue NE
Washington DC 20002
The CIOR and CIOMR have a liaison office at NATO
Headquarters situated within the International Military
Staff. Further information about the Confederations may
be obtained from this office (CIOR/CIOMR Liaison
Office, NATO/IMS/P&P, B-1110 Brussels).
95. THE EUROGROUP/
The EUROGROUP is a grouping of European govern-
ments within the framework of NATO, open to all Euro-
pean members of the Alliance. Its aim is to help
strengthen the whole Alliance by seeking to ensure that
the European contribution to the common defence is as
strong and cohesive as possible. It provides a forum in
which European Defence Ministers can exchange views
on major political and security issues and foster practical
cooperation through the work of specialist sub-groups on
tactical communications, logistics, long-term concepts of
operation, military medicine, and joint training.
Meetings of Defence Ministers take place twice a year,
just before the regular half-yearly Ministerial session of
NATO's Defence Planning Committee. They include a
working dinner which provides an important opportunity
for informal discussion. The chairmanship of the EURO-
GROUP rotates each year. The work is overseen and
Ministerial meetings prepared by an ad hoc committee of
EUROGROUP Ambassadors at NATO Headquarters.
For day-to-day affairs, the main working body is the
Staff Group, which is composed of officials from the
national delegations at NATO Headquarters. A Secre-
tariat is provided by the United Kingdom.
The EUROGROUP regularly sends panels to North
America in order to increase understanding of the scale
of the European defence effort and arranges for North
American legislators and journalists to see European
defence forces at first hand. It also organises an annual
conference in Washington and an annual seminar hosted
by the chairing nation.
96. THE INDEPENDENT EUROPEAN PROGRAMME
GROUP/
The Independent European Programme Group (IEPG),
formed in 1976, is the forum through which all European
member nations of NATO (except Iceland) discuss and
formulate policies designed to achieve greater cooperation
in armaments procurement. The Group meets at the level
of Defence Ministers and National Armaments Directors
and works through three Panels. Panel I, chaired by
Norway, is responsible for the harmonisation of opera-
tional requirements and the identification of opportunities
for collaboration. Panel II, chaired by France, overseas
research and technology cooperation and is chiefly con-
cerned with managing the EUCLID programme (Euro-
pean Cooperation for the Long-term in Defence). Panel
III, chaired by Germany, is responsible for defence equip-
ment market matters including the liberalisation of de-
fence trade in Europe.
The Panels report to biannual meetings of National
Armaments Directors, who report in turn to Defence
Ministers. The latter meet at least once a year. The
chairmanship of the IEPG rotates every two years be-
tween member states. The current chair nation, Belgium,
is due to be succeeded by Denmark at the beginning of
1993. The IEPG is not a formal body and apart from a
small administrative Permanent Secretariat based in
Lisbon, the work of the Group falls to the nations who
share the duties between them.
/ The future roles of the Eurogroup and the IEPG are under
discussion.
