The 39 nato Committees

There are thirty-nine committees within the structure of the NATO. They can be classified in three categories : decision-making structures, advisory and preparatory structures and those serving to strengthen the integration of the member states’ resources.

The North Atlantic Council is the principal decision-making structure. There are two additional important decision-making bodies, both created in 1966, in order to enable France to remain in the North Atlantic Council without participating in the integrated military command : the Defence Planning Committee and the Nuclear Planning Group. Certain other committees have several decision-making capacities in specific areas. The Verification Co-ordinating Committee also manages issues relating to the coordination of the implementation and verification of controls on conventional weapons.

The advisory and preparatory structures are the most numerous. They serve to guide the decision-making bodies in their decisions by focussing their work on precise areas. For example, the Economic Committee provides assistance to the North Atlantic Council when it is faced with decisions linked to the economy.

Lastly, there are several committees aimed at integrating the Alliance’s resources ; however, these are relatively few. The Air Command and Control System is an example. It acts to integrate the aerial control of NATO countries. Incidentally, it is noteworthy that France has never withdrawn from this committee.

The Military Committee (MC) is somewhat special insofar it concerns the highest military authority of the Alliance. It is placed under the authority of the decision-making bodies and is principally charged with providing them with recommendations. These committees meet regularly (often weekly) and rely at times on other subordinate bodies. All member states are, in general, represented in each committee. The decisions are always made according to the principle of consensus, never following a vote where the majority would impose its decisions.

France is already part of thirty-five of the committees. Today it is absent from the Defence Planning Committee and from its advisory committee, the Defence Review Committee, as well as from the Nuclear Planning Group and its advisory committee, the High Level Group.

Chapter 13: Key to the Principal nato Committees and to the Institutions of Cooperation, Partnership and Dialogue

Key to the Principal NATO Committees

1. North Atlantic Council (NAC)

2. Defence Planning Committee (DPC)

3. Nuclear Planning Group (NPG)

4. Military Committee (MC)

5. Executive Working Group (EWG)

6. High Level Task Force on Conventional Arms Control (HLTF)

7. Joint Committee on Proliferation (JCP)

8. Political-Military Steering Committee on Partnership for Peace (PMSC/PfP)

9. NATO Air Defence Committee (NADC)

10. NATO Consultation Command and Control Board (NC3B)

11. NATO Air Command and Control System (ACCS) Management Organisation (NACMO) Board of Directors

12. Political Committee at Senior Level (SPC)

13. Atlantic Policy Advisory Group (APAG)

14. Political Committee (PC)

15. Mediterranean Cooperation Group (MCG)

16. Senior Politico-Military Group on Proliferation (SGP)

17. Verification Coordinating Committee (VCC)

18. Policy Coordination Group (PCG)

19. Defence Review Committee (DRC)

20. Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD)

21. NATO Committee for Standardisation (NCS)

22. Infrastructure Committee

23. Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee (SCEPC)

24. Senior NATO Logisticians' Conference (SNLC)

25. Science Committee (SCOM)

26. Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS)

27. Civil and Military Budget Committees (CBC/MBC)

28. Senior Resource Board (SRB)

29. Senior Defence Group on Proliferation (DGP)

30. High Level Group (NPG/HLG)

31. Economic Committee (EC)

32. Committee on Information and Cultural Relations (CICR)

33. Council Operations and Exercises Committee (COEC)

34. NATO Air Traffic Management Committee (NATMC)

35. Central Europe Pipeline Management Organisation Board of Directors (CEPMO/BOD)

36. NATO Pipeline Committee (NPC)

37. NATO Security Committee (NSC)

38. Special Committee

39. Archives Committee