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NATO handbook09 uploaded March 25, 1993

PART IV

INTERLOCKING INSTITUTIONS

``The challenges we will face in this new Europe cannot be comprehensively addressed by one institution alone, but only in a framework of interlocking institutions tying together the countries of Europe and North America. Conse- quently, we are working towards a new European security architecture in which NATO, the CSCE, the European Community, the WEU and the Council of Europe comple- ment each other. Regional frameworks of cooperation will also be important. This interaction will be of the greatest significance in preventing instability and divisions that could result from various causes, such as economic disparities and violent nationalism.''

Extract from the Rome Declaration on Peace and

Cooperation issued by the Heads of State and

Government participating in the meeting of the North

Atlantic Council in Rome on 7-8 November 1991.

88. THE CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (CSCE)

The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) is a process involving all European States, all members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Georgia, Canada and the United States.

Launched in 1972, the CSCE process led to the adoption of the Helsinki Final Act (1975). This document en- compassed a wide range of commitments on principles governing relations between participating states, on measures designed to build confidence between them, on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and on cooperation in economic, cultural, technical and scientific fields.

In accordance with the Helsinki Final Act it was decided to continue and deepen the CSCE process. Follow-up meetings were held in Belgrade (1977-1978), Madrid (1980-1983), Vienna (1986-1989) and Helsinki (March- July 1992). Meetings of experts have also taken place on a number of different topics.

The CSCE has provided a pan-European/transatlantic framework for negotiations in the field of security. The participating states agreed in 1986 in Stockholm on a Document on Confidence and Security Building Meas- ures (CSBMs), completed and improved in 1990 by the Vienna Document on CSBMs and subsequently by the Vienna 1992 Document. On 19 November 1990, at the opening of the CSCE Summit in Paris, 22 participating states signed the far reaching CFE Treaty which limits conventional forces in Europe from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains.

On 21 November 1990, the CSCE Summit Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the then 34 participat- ing states adopted the Charter of Paris for a New Europe. The Charter established the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSCE as the central forum for regular political consultations; the Committee of Senior Officials, which reviews current issues, prepares the work of the Council and carries out its decisions; and three permanent institu- tions of the CSCE, namely the Secretariat in Prague; the Conflict Prevention Centre in Vienna; and the Office for Free Elections in Warsaw (subsequently renamed Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)). The new institutions of the CSCE started work in early 1991.

On 19 June 1991, the Berlin Meeting of the CSCE Council of Foreign Affairs accepted Albania as a new participating state and adopted an emergency mechanism to deal with crisis situations in the area covered by the CSCE. On 10 September 1991, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Moscow accepted Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as participating states. All members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (i.e. all republics of the former Soviet Union less Georgia) became mem- bers on 30 January 1992. Croatia, Slovenia and Georgia became members on 24 March 1992.

The decisions relating to security cooperation taken at the conclusion of the Follow-Up Meeting in July 1992 by CSCE Heads of State and Government represented a significant qualitative improvement in the consultative and negotiating machinery available to the participating states. In the concluding document of the Helsinki Summit Meeting (``The Challenges of Change'') the crea- tion was announced, inter alia, of a permanent CSCE Forum for Security Cooperation to commence its activi- ties from 22 September 1992 in Vienna. The Helsinki Document established the objectives of the Forum, under whose auspices new negotiations on arms control, disar- mament and confidence- and security-building will take place; and set out the constitutional arrangements for the work of the Forum including the creation of a Special Committee and a Consultative Committee. The participat- ing states also agreed on a fourteen-point Programme for Immediate Action addressing, inter alia, the development of the Vienna Document 1992, exchange of military infor- mation, non-proliferation, regional issues, conflict preven- tion and verification issues.

Further information: CSCE Secretariat, Thunovska 12, Mala Strana, 110 00 Prague 1, Czechoslovakia. Tel: 42- 2-311 97 93 - 96; Fax: 42-2-34 6215.

89. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (EC)

The European Community was established on the basis of the Treaty of Rome signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 1973 they were joined by Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, in 1981 by Greece and in 1986 by Spain and Portugal.

The European Community (EC) has developed from the merger of the European Coal and Steel Community, founded on 18 April 1951, with the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) founded in 1957 under the Treaty of Rome.

Intergovernmental Conferences on Economic and Mon- etary Union and Political Union took place from 15 December 1990 to 11 December 1991. At the Maastricht European Council on 9 and 10 December 1991, the Heads of State and Government of the Community countries adopted a Treaty on Political Union, and a Treaty on Economic and Monetary Union, which together form the Treaty on European Union. The Treaty is subject to ratification by all member states.

The Treaty on Political Union establishes inter alia a common foreign and security policy governed by specific provisions. The latter include reference to the Western European Union as an integral part of the development of the European Union; and request the WEU to elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications.

At the meeting of WEU Member States which took place in Maastricht at the same time as the meeting of the European Council, a declaration was issued inviting members of the European Union to accede to the WEU or to become observers, and inviting other European mem- bers of NATO to become associate members of the WEU.

The Treaty on European Union also makes provision for a further inter-governmental conference to evaluate achievement made in both spheres; and for a report evaluating the progress made and experience gained in the field of foreign and security policy to be presented to the European Council in 1996.

Hungary, Poland and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic have signed association agreements with the EC. Talks are currently underway with Bulgaria and Romania. Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey have formally applied for membership.

The main institutions of the Community are the Coun- cil of Ministers, the Commission, the European Parlia- ment and the Court of Justice. The Council consists of one Minister from each member state. It acts mainly on proposals from the Commission, a policy planning and executive body whose 17 members, each appointed for four years by the common consent of the member govern- ments, act in the interests of the Community as a whole. As well as drawing up policy proposals for approval by the Council, the Commission also acts as the guardian of Community laws and ensures their application in all member states.

The European Parliament has 518 members. Until 1979 these were nominated by national legislative bodies from among their own members. Direct elections to the Parlia- ment commenced in June 1979. The Parliament considers proposals from the Commission and has the right to question individual Commissioners and, ultimately to dismiss the Commission itself. These elements of demo- cratic control have gradually been extended and the Parlia- ment now has increased control over the Community budget.

The final arbiter on Community law is the Court of Justice. Its 12 judges, one from each member state, settle disputes over the interpretation and application of Com- munity law and have the power to overturn decisions deemed to be contrary to the Treaties establishing the Community. Its judgements are binding on the Commis- sion, on national governments, on firms and individuals.

A major Community aim is greater integration of the economies of its member states. The first step in this direction was the introduction of a customs union, involv- ing the elimination of the tariffs and quotas on trade between member countries and the introduction of a common tariff in dealings with non-member countries. Establishment of a common agricultural policy was an important aspect in setting up the customs union.

In 1985, the Commission proposed an ambitious pro- gramme of legislative proposals designated to create a single European market enabling goods, services, capital and people to move freely within and between member states. The Single European Act creating the Internal Market comes into effect at the beginning of 1993 on completion of this programme.

In the international context, agreements have been made between the Community and other countries of the Mediterranean area, in the Middle East, in South America and in Asia. Sixty-eight African, Caribbean and Pacific countries now belong to the Lome Convention. Relations are being developed with the EFTA countries and with the newly democratic countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The Community also maintains a con- tinuing dialogue on political and economic issues of mutual interest and engages in direct negotiations on trade and investment issues with the United States, par- ticularly in the context of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Since the outbreak of the crisis in the former Yugosla- via and the disintegration of the federal state, the Euro- pean Community has played an important role in efforts to bring about peace to the region and to channel humani- tarian aid to the war-stricken communities of the country. The London Conference on Yugoslavia held in August 1992, chaired jointly by the Secretary General of the United Nations and by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (as current President of the European Council), represented a new departure for the EC in the field of foreign policy and the first combined EC-United Nations international operation. Senior officials nominated by the United Nations and the EC are acting jointly as peace negotiators and chairmen of the continuing Geneva Con- ference on the former Yugoslavia established at the London Conference.

Further information: The Director-General for Infor- mation and Communication (DG 10), 200 rue de la Loi, 1049 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: 299 11 11; Fax: 235 01 38 39 040.

90. THE WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION (WEU)

The Western European Union has existed in its present form since 1954 and today includes nine European coun- tries - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United King- dom. It has a Council and Secretariat currently based in London and a Parliamentary Assembly in Paris. The WEU has its origins in the Brussels Treaty of economic, social and cultural collaboration and collective self-de- fence of 1948, signed by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. With the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, the exer- cise of the military responsibilities of the Brussels Treaty Organisation or Western Union, was transferred to the North Atlantic Alliance.

Under the Paris Agreements of 1954, the Federal Re- public of Germany and Italy acceded to the Brussels Treaty and the Organisation was renamed the Western European Union. The latter continued in being in fulfil- ment of the conditions and tasks laid down in the Paris Agreements.

The Western European Union was reactivated in 1984 with a view to developing a common European defence identity through cooperation among its members in the security field and to strengthening the European pillar of the North Atlantic Alliance.

Meeting in The Hague in October 1987, the Ministerial Council of the Western European Union, made up of Foreign and Defence Ministers of the nine member coun- tries, adopted a ``Platform on European Security Inter- ests'' in which they solemnly affirmed their determination both to strengthen the European pillar of NATO and to provide an integrated Europe with a security and defence dimension. The Platform defined the Western European Union's relations with NATO and with other organisa- tions, as well as the enlargement of the WEU and the conditions for the further development of its role as a forum for regular discussion of defence and security issues affecting Europe.

In August 1987 during the Iran-Iraq War, Western European Union experts met in The Hague to consider joint action in the Gulf to ensure freedom of navigation in the oil shipping lanes of the region; and in October 1987 WEU countries met again to coordinate their military presence in the Gulf following attacks on shipping in the area.

Following the ratification of the Treaty of Accession signed in November 1988, Portugal and Spain became members of the Western European Union, in accordance with the decisions taken the previous year to facilitate its enlargement. A further step was taken in November 1989 when the Council decided to create an Institute for Secu- rity Studies, based in Paris, with the task of assisting in the development of a European security identity and in the implementation of The Hague Platform.

At the end of 1990 and during the Gulf War in January and February 1991, coordinated action took place among WEU nations contributing forces and other forms of support to the coalition forces involved in the liberation of Kuwait.

A number of decisions were taken by the European Council at Maastricht on 9-10 December 1991 on the common foreign and security policy of the European Union, and by the member states of the Western Euro- pean Union on the role of the WEU and its relations with the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance. These decisions were welcomed by the North Atlantic Council when it met in Ministerial Session on 19 Decem- ber. They included extending invitations to members of the European Union to accede to the WEU or to seek observer status, as well as invitations to European member states of NATO to become associate members; agreement on the objective of the WEU of building up the organisation in stages, as the defence component of the European Union, and on elaborating and implementing decisions and actions of the Union with defence implica- tions; agreement on the objective of strengthening the European pillar of the Atlantic Alliance and the role, responsibilities and contributions of WEU member states in the Alliance; affirmation of the intention of the WEU to act in conformity with positions adopted in the Alliance; the strengthening of the WEU's operational role; and the relocation of the WEU Council and Secretariat from London to Brussels. A number of other proposals are also under examination, including a new role for the WEU in armaments cooperation.

Provisions established in accordance with the decisions reached at Maastricht will be re-examined in 1996 in the light of the progress and experience acquired, including the evolution of the relationship between the WEU and the Atlantic Alliance.

On 21 May 1992, the Council of the Western European Union held its first formal meeting with the North Atlan- tic Council at NATO Headquarters. In accordance with decisions taken by both organisations, the meeting was held to discuss the relationship between them and ways of strengthening practical cooperation as well as establish- ing closer working ties between them.

In July 1992 the member countries of the WEU decided to make available naval forces for monitoring compliance in the Adriatic with UN Security Council Resolutions against Serbia and Montenegro. Similar measures were also taken by the North Atlantic Council in Ministerial Session in Helsinki on 10 July 1992, in coordination and cooperation with the operation decided by the WEU.

Further information: Western European Union, Secretariat-General, 9 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7HL. Tel: 071 235 5351; Fax: 071 259 6102.

91. THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

The Council of Europe was set up on 5 May 1949, ``to achieve a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitat- ing their economic and social progress''.

The Council has 27 member countries including Hungary which joined in 1990 and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic in 1991. Other Central and Eastern European countries have special guest status. Some of the Council's activities are open to non-member states. The organisation is composed of a Committee of Minis- ters, in which agreements are reached on common action by Governments; and a 192-strong Assembly, which makes proposals for new activities and serves, more generally, as a parliamentary forum (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Russia have special guest status with the Parliamen- tary Assembly).

The Council's overall aim is to maintain the basic principles of human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law and enhance the quality of life for European citizens.

Around 140 inter-governmental conventions and agree- ments have been concluded by the Council, chief among which are the Convention on Human Rights, the Euro- pean Cultural Convention, and the European Social Char- ter. The organisation further promotes cooperation to improve education; the safeguarding of the urban and natural environment; social services, public health, sport and youth activities; the development of local democracy; the harmonization of legislation, particularly in the light of technical developments, and the prevention of compu- ter crime.

Further information: Information Directorate, Council of Europe, BP341, R6-67006 Strasbourg, France, Tel: Strasbourg (88) 412033; Fax: (88) 412780/(88) 412790.