The NATO Parliamentary Assembly and UK delegations

Since being formed in 1965, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has provided a forum for parliamentarians from the NATO Member States to promote debate on key security challenges, facilitate mutual understanding and support national parliamentary oversight of defence matters. The Assembly also helps to strengthen the transatlantic relationship and provides many opportunities for North American and European parliamentarians to discuss their concerns, interests and differences.

NATO Parliamentary Assembly in brief

Background

• This first Conference of Members of Parliament from the NATO Countries soon became the NATO Parliamentarians Conference.
• In 1966 delegates at the 12th Conference unanimously agreed to rename the organisation the North Atlantic Assembly.
• Meanwhile, with France withdrawing from NATOs military structure that year, NATO moved its headquarters from Paris to Brussels.
• The North Atlantic Assembly was renamed the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) in 1999.

Membership

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly consists of 269 delegates from the 30 NATO Member States.  Each delegation is based on the country’s size and the UK has 18 seats in the Assembly. In addition to delegations from NATO Member States, delegates from associate countries and parliamentary observer delegations take part in Assembly activities and bring the total number of delegates to approximately 360.

Structure

• Seven UK delegates have served as President since the organisation was founded.
• The Assembly has five Committees the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security; Defence and Security Committee; Economics and Security Committee; Political Committee; and the Science and Technology Committee and eight sub-committees.
• Much of the Assemblys work is carried out by these committees, whose remit is to examine the major security and policy challenges confronting the Alliance.

Assembly activities

• The Assembly meets as a whole twice a year: a Spring Session and an Annual Session in the autumn.
• There are some 40 other activities held each year, with most of the Assemblys substantive work carried out by its five committees and eight sub-committees.
• The NATO PA also has an extensive outreach programme with non-member parliaments and activities such as election monitoring.

Relations with NATO

• Although institutionally separate from NATO, the Assembly is an essential link between NATO and the parliaments of NATO Member States.
• The NATO Secretary General addresses members of the Assembly at the Spring and Annual Sessions and the NATO PA President addresses Summit meetings of NATO Heads of State and Government.

The UK Delegation

• The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is one of three interparliamentary assemblies to which the UK Parliament sends delegations.
• The UK has 18 seats in the NATO PA and delegation members are formally appointed in a Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
• One member is also appointed to be leader of the UK delegation.
• The UK delegation represents the UK Parliament, not the Government, and plays an active role in the activities of the Assembly, through membership of its Committees and groups and participation in plenary meetings.