Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, Western Europe, Volume IV

740.5/2–1951

Report of the Working Group on Organization, to the North Atlantic Council ¹

confidential

[Washington, undated.]

I

organization

The Council is the principal body in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In accordance with the Treaty, the Council is charged with the responsibility of considering all matters concerning the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty. Such subsidiary bodies as are set up under Article 9 of the Treaty are subordinate to the Council.

The organization established under the North Atlantic Treaty should be operated with as much flexibility as possible and be subject to review from time to time. The establishment of this machinery does not preclude the use of other means for consultation and cooperation between any or all of the Parties on matters relating to the Treaty.

II

council

As decided on April 2, the Council will normally be composed of Foreign Ministers. Should the latter be unable to attend, their places shall be taken by plenipotentiary representatives designated by the Parties. To enable the Council to meet promptly at any time the diplomatic representatives in Washington of the Parties shall be empowered to act as their Governments’ representatives whenever necessary.

Terms of Reference

The North Atlantic Treaty shall constitute the terms of reference of the Council.

Time and Frequency of Sessions

The Council shall be convened by the Chairman and shall meet in ordinary session annually and at such other times as may be deemed desirable by the majority of the Parties. Extraordinary sessions under Articles 4 and 5 of the Treaty may be called at the request of any Party invoking one of these Articles.

Location of the Council Sessions

The location of each session of the Council shall be determined by the Chairman after consultation with the other members of the Council. For general convenience the ordinary annual session should normally be held at about the same time and in the same general geographical area as the annual session of the General Assembly. Other ordinary sessions should whenever practicable be held at some convenient location in Europe.

Nature of Sessions

The Council shall meet in closed session unless it decides otherwise.

Chairmanship

Chairmanship shall be held in turn by the Parties according to the alphabetical order in the English language beginning with the United States. Each Party shall hold the office from the beginning of one ordinary annual session until the appointment of the new Chairman at the following ordinary annual session. If any Party does not wish to accept the Chairmanship, it shall pass to the next Party in alphabetical order.

Languages

English and French shall be the official languages for the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Secretariat

No formal international secretariat shall be established unless and until the need for one is demonstrated. For the present the United States, as the depository government, will furnish such administrative secretarial services as may be required in the United States.

Budget

No international budget for the organization is now considered necessary. Until other arrangements are made, each Party shall pay the expenses of such of its nationals as may be employed in any capacity by the organization.

Permanent Coordination

Additional political bodies shall not be established unless and until experience has demonstrated their need. However, the existing informal arrangement for consultation between representatives in Washington of the Parties shall be maintained.

III

defense committee

The Council shall establish a Defense Committee composed of one representative from each Party. These representatives shall normally be Defense Ministers. In any case where this is not possible, another representative may be designated.

Terms of Reference

The Defense Committee shall recommend measures for the implementation of Articles 3 and 5 in accordance with general policy guidance given by the Council.

Time and Frequency of Sessions

The Defense Committee shall be convened by the Chairman and shall meet in ordinary session annually and at such other times as it may be requested to meet by the Council or as may be deemed desirable by the majority of the members of the Defense Committee.

Location

The location of each session of the Defense Committee shall be determined by the Chairman in consultation with the members of the Committee.

Nature of Sessions

The Defense Committee shall meet in closed session unless it decides otherwise.

Chairmanship

Chairmanship shall be held in turn by the Parties according to the alphabetical order in the English language beginning with the United States. Each Party shall hold the office from the beginning of one ordinary annual session until the appointment of the new Chairman at the following ordinary annual session. If any Party does not wish to accept the Chairmanship, it shall pass to the next Party in alphabetical order.

Staff and Secretarial Services

The Defense Committee and its subsidiary bodies shall each make such arrangements for their staff and secretarial services as they consider necessary, bearing in mind the desirability of restricting as far as possible the number of persons so employed.

Security of Information

The Defense Committee shall recommend for adoption appropriate regulations for the security of information for the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

IV

military committee

The Defense Committee shall establish a Military Committee composed of one military representative from each Party. These representatives shall be Chiefs of Staff or their representatives. (Iceland, having no military establishment, may, if it so desires, be represented by a civilian official.)

Terms of Reference

The Military Committee shall:

provide general policy guidance of a military nature to its Standing Group;

advise the Defense Committee and other agencies on military matters as appropriate;

recommend to the Defense Committee military measures for the unified defense of the North Atlantic area.

Location

The Military Committee shall normally meet in Washington.

Nature of Sessions

The Military Committee shall meet in closed session.

Procedural Matters

All other procedural and organizational questions shall be resolved by the Defense Committee or the Military Committee itself.

V

standing group

In order to facilitate the rapid and efficient conduct of the work of the Military Committee, there shall be set up a sub-committee of that body to be known as the “Standing Group”. The Standing Group shall be composed of one representative each of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Terms of Reference

The Standing Group, in accordance with general policy guidance provided by the Military Committee, shall provide such specific policy guidance and information of a military nature to the Regional Planning Groups and any other bodies of the organization as is necessary for their work.

To achieve the unified defense of the North Atlantic area, the Standing Group shall coordinate and integrate the defense plans originating in the Regional Planning Groups, and shall make appropriate recommendations thereon to the Military Committee.

The Standing Group shall recommend to the Military Committee those matters on which the Standing Group should be authorized to take action in the name of the Military Committee within the framework of approved policy.

It is recognized that it is the responsibility of individual governments to provide for the implementation of plans to which they have agreed. It is further recognized that it is the primary responsibility of the Regional Planning Groups to prepare plans for the defense of their respective regions. Subject to these principles, it is understood that before the Standing Group makes recommendations on any plan or course of action involving the use of forces, facilities, or resources of a Party not represented on the Standing Group, going beyond or differing from arrangements previously agreed by the Party concerned, the Party shall have the right to participate in the Standing Group in the work of formulating such recommendations. It is also understood that when communicating their regional plans to the Standing Group, the Regional Planning Groups shall be entitled to have their plans presented and explained by any one of their members and not necessarily by a member of the Standing Group.

Time and Frequency of Sessions

The Standing Group shall be so organized as to function continuously.

Location

The permanent site of the Standing Group shall be in Washington.

Permanent Representation

In order to maintain close contact with the Standing Group, a Party not represented thereon may appoint a special representative to provide permanent liaison with the Standing Group.

VI

regional planning groups

The security of the whole North Atlantic area is of vital concern to all the Parties. It must, however, be recognized that some of the Parties are more directly interested in, or can make a greater contribution to, the defense of certain parts of the North Atlantic area than other parts. It would, therefore, seem that the speedy and efficient planning of the unified defense of the whole North Atlantic area would be facilitated by the setting up of certain Regional Planning Groups.

The question of which Parties should be members of which particular groups depends on geographical, political, and military considerations. While some parties are not only directly interested in but in a position to contribute to the defense of the whole North Atlantic area, the contribution which others can make must be restricted to the regions in which they are physically situated. In view of the difficulty of evaluating the political and military considerations involved, the membership of the different Regional Planning Groups shall be established on a geographical basis. At the some time, it is agreed that:

(1) before any Regional Planning Group makes any recommendations affecting the defense of the territory or involving the use of forces, facilities, or resources of any party not a member of the Group, that Party shall have the right to participate in the Group in the work of formulating such recommendations;

(2) any Group which considers that a Party not a member of the Group can contribute to the defense planning of that Group’s region, can call upon that Party to join in the planning as appropriate.

Composition

Northern European Regional Planning Group

Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

The United States has been requested and has agreed to participate actively in the defense planning as appropriate.

Other Parties may participate under the provisions listed above.

Western European Regional Planning Group

Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Canada and the United States have been requested and have agreed to participate actively in the defense planning as appropriate.

Other Parties may, and in particular Denmark and Italy will, participate under the provisions listed above.

Southern European-Western Mediterranean Regional Planning Group

France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The United States has been requested and has agreed to participate actively in the defense planning as appropriate.

Other Parties may participate under the provisions listed above.

It is recognized that there are problems which are clearly common to the defense of the areas covered by the three European regional groups. It is therefore important that arrangements be made by the Defense Committee, with a view to ensuring full cooperation between two, or if the need arises, all three groups.

Canadian-United States Regional Planning Group

Canada and the United States.

Other Parties may participate under the provisions listed above.

North Atlantic Ocean Regional Planning Group

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The responsibilities for planning the defenses in the North Atlantic Ocean cannot be shared equally by all members of the Group. On the other hand, these responsibilities can to some extent be divided along functional lines and allocated to those Parties who are best able to perform the respective defense functions. Therefore, the North Atlantic Ocean Regional Planning Group, when it meets, shall establish a series of planning sub-groups related to specific functions of defense. The Group shall determine on which sub-group or sub-groups each Party shall sit, and the arrangements necessary to ensure coordination between these sub-groups in the interest of speedy and effective planning.

Terms of Reference

Each Regional Planning Group shall:

develop and recommend to the Military Committee through the Standing Group plans for the defense of the region;

cooperate with the other Regional Planning Groups with a view to eliminating conflict in, and ensuring harmony among, the various regional plans.

Location

The Defense Committee shall consider the question of the location of the Regional Planning Groups.

Procedural Matters

All questions of procedure and organization shall be left to the decision of each individual Group.

VII

The Council recognizes that the question of military production and supply is an integral part of the whole problem of the defense of the North Atlantic area. Consequently, there shall be established as soon as possible appropriate machinery to consider these matters. The details of organization of this machinery, terms of reference, etc., shall be studied forthwith by a working group which shall submit recommendations to the Defense Committee or to the Council.

VIII

The Council recognizes the importance of economic and financial factors in the development and implementation of military plans for the defense of the North Atlantic area. Consequently, there shall be established as soon as possible appropriate machinery to consider these matters. The details of organization of this machinery, terms of reference, etc., shall be studied forthwith by a working group which shall submit recommendations to the Council.

1. This report was submitted to the First Session of the North Atlantic Council on September 17, 1949, as Council Document D–1/1 of that date and was approved by the Council during the course of the meeting.