Extracts from the Final Communiqué
of the NATO Berlin Summit
3-4 June 1996
* * *
We have today given new impetus to the process of
the Alliance's adaptation and reform, which began in 1990 at the
NATO Summit meeting in London and was carried forward at the 1994
Brussels Summit. Taking into account the sweeping changes in the
security environment in Europe as new democracies have taken root
and following the adoption of our new Strategic Concept in 1991,
we have reorganised and streamlined our political and military
structures and procedures; reduced significantly our force and
readiness levels; and reconfigured our forces to make them better
able to carry out the new missions of crisis management, while
preserving the capability for collective defence. In addition,
we have been conducting an expanding array of outreach activities
with our Partners. We want to make our adapted Alliance better
able to fulfil its main purpose: peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic
area.
* * *
Today we welcome the progress achieved in the internal
adaptation of our Alliance, building on the decisions taken at
the 1994 Brussels Summit, in particular:
- the completion of the CJTF concept. By permitting
a more flexible and mobile deployment of forces, including for
new missions, this concept will facilitate the mounting of NATO
contingency operations, the use of separable but not separate
military capabilities in operations led by the WEU, and the participation
of nations outside the Alliance in operations such as IFOR. We
now request the Military Committee to make recommendations to
the Council for the implementation of this concept to the satisfaction
of all Allies, taking into account ongoing work to adapt military
structures and procedures;
* * *
In our adaptation efforts to improve the Alliance's
capability to fulfil its roles and missions, with the participation
of all Allies, we will be guided by three fundamental objectives.
The first objective is to ensure the Alliance's military
effectiveness so that it is able, in the changing security environment
facing Europe, to perform its traditional mission of collective
defence and through flexible and agreed procedures to undertake
new roles in changing circumstances, based on:
- situation in Europe and enables all Allies to
participate fully and which is able to undertake all missions
through procedures to be defined in accordance with decisions
by the Council;
- HQ structures which are more deployable and forces
which are more mobile, both capable of being sustained for extended
periods;
- the ability to provide for increased participation
of Partner countries and to integrate new members into the Alliance's
military structure;
- the ability to mount NATO non-Article 5 operations,
guided by the concept of one system capable of performing multiple
functions. We will further develop flexible arrangements capable
of undertaking a variety of missions and taking into account national
decisions on participation in each operation, building upon the
strength of NATO's existing arrangements. These operations may
differ from one another in contributions by Allies and, as a result
of Council decision on a case-by-case basis, aspects of military
command and control. The CJTF concept is central to our approach
for assembling forces for contingency operations and organising
their command within the Alliance. Consistent with the goal of
building the European Security and Defence Identity within NATO,
these arrangements should permit all European Allies to play a
larger role in NATO's military and command structures and, as
appropriate, in contingency operations undertaken by the Alliance.
* * *
The second objective is to preserve the transatlantic
link, based on:
- maintenance of the Alliance as the essential
forum for consultation among its members and the venue for agreement
on policies bearing on the security and defence commitments of
Allies under the Washington Treaty;
- further development of the strong partnership
between North American and European Allies, both politically and
militarily, and including a continued involvement of the North
American Allies across the command and force structure;
- readiness to pursue common security objectives
through the Alliance, wherever possible;
- full transparency between NATO and WEU in crisis
management, including as necessary through joint consultations
on how to address contingencies.
The third objective is the development of the European
Security and Defence Identity within the Alliance. Taking full
advantage of the approved CJTF concept, this identity will be
grounded on sound military principles and supported by appropriate
military planning and permit the creation of militarily coherent
and effective forces capable of operating under the political
control and strategic direction of the WEU.
As an essential element of the development of this
identity, we will prepare, with the involvement of NATO and the
WEU, for WEU-led operations (including planning and exercising
of command elements and forces). Such preparations within the
Alliance should take into account the participation, including
in European command arrangements, of all European Allies if they
were so to choose. It will be based on:
- identification, within the Alliance, of the types
of separable but not separate capabilities, assets and support
assets, as well as, in order to prepare for WEU-led operations,
separable but not separate HQs, HQ elements and command positions,
that would be required to command and conduct WEU-led operations
and which could be made available, subject to decision by the
NAC;
- elaboration of appropriate multinational European
command arrangements within NATO, consistent with and taking full
advantage of the CJTF concept, able to prepare, support, command
and conduct the WEU-led operations. This implies double-hatting
appropriate personnel within the NATO command structure to perform
these functions. Such European command arrangements should be
identifiable and the arrangements should be sufficiently well
articulated to permit the rapid constitution of a militarily coherent
and effective operational force.
Further, the Alliance will support the development
of the ESDI within NATO by conducting at the request of and in
coordination with the WEU, military planning and exercises for
illustrative WEU missions identified by the WEU. On the basis
of political guidance to be provided by the WEU Council and the
NAC, such planning would, at a minimum:
- prepare relevant information on objectives, scope
and participation for illustrative WEU missions;
- identify requirements for planning and exercising
of command elements and forces for illustrative WEU-led operations;
- develop appropriate plans for submission through
the MC and NAC to the WEU for review and approval.
NATO and the WEU should agree on arrangements for
implementing such plans. The NAC will approve the release of NATO
assets and capabilities for WEU-led operations, keep itself informed
on their use through monitoring with the advice of the NATO Military
Authorities and through regular consultations with the WEU Council,
and keep their use under review.
On the basis of the guidelines agreed today, we have
tasked the Council in Permanent Session, with the advice of NATO's
Military Authorities:
- to provide guidance and develop specific proposals
for further adapting the Alliance's structures and procedures;
- to develop, with regard to the European Security
and Defence Identity within the Alliance, appropriate measures
and arrangements for implementing the provisions of paragraph
7. Among the arrangements which require detailed elaboration will
be provisions for the identification and release for use by the
WEU of NATO capabilities, assets, and HQs and HQ elements for
missions to be performed by the WEU; any necessary supplement
to existing information- sharing arrangements for the conduct
of WEU operations; and how consultations will be conducted with
the NAC on the use of NATO assets and capabilities, including
the NATO monitoring of the use of these assets;
* * *
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