NATO STO

Based on a commitment to the democratic principles that underpin the Alliance itself, the purpose of the Partnership for Peace is to increase stability, diminish threats to peace and build strengthened security relationships between individual Euro-Atlantic partners and NATO, as well as among partner countries.

Activities on offer under the PfP programme touch on virtually every field of NATO activity, including defence-related work, defence reform, defence policy and planning, civil-military relations, education and training, military-to-military cooperation and exercises, civil emergency planning and disaster-response, and cooperation on science and environmental issues.

The essence of the PfP programme is a partnership formed individually between each Euro-Atlantic partner and NATO, tailored to individual needs and jointly implemented at the level and pace chosen by each participating government.

Over the years, a range of PfP tools and mechanisms have been developed to support cooperation through a mix of policies, programmes, action plans and arrangements. At the Lisbon Summit in November 2010, as part of a focused reform effort to develop a more efficient and flexible partnership policy, Allied leaders, decide to take steps to streamline NATO’s partnership tools in order to open all cooperative activities and exercises to partners and to harmonise partnership programmes. The new partnerships policy approved by Allied foreign ministers in Berlin in April opened all cooperative activities and exercises offered to PfP partners and some programmes offered in the PfP “toolbox” to all partners, whether they be Euro-Atlantic partners, countries participating in the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, or global partners.

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council provides the overall political framework for NATO’s cooperation with Euro-Atlantic partners and the bilateral relationships developed between NATO and individual partner countries within the Partnership for Peace programme.

There are currently 22 countries in the Partnership for Peace Programme.

STO’s Partnership Programmes

The STO actively pursues defence science and technology (S&T) co-operation with NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) Partners, including the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and with the nations of the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD).

 

21 Non-NATO nations are participating in NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) Programme:

• Armenia,
• Austria,
• Azerbaijan,
• Belarus,
• Bosnia and Herzegowina,
• Finland,
• Georgia,
• Ireland,
• Kazakhstan,
• Kyrgyz Republic,
• Malta,
• Moldova,
• Russian Federation,
• Serbia,
• Sweden,
• Switzerland,
• Tajikistan,
• The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)*,
• Turkmenistan,
• Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Work Programme (EAPWP) lists all activities offered by NATO for participation to PfP nations, including all STO activities open to PfP nations. EAPWP activities are, in principle, open to all PfP nations. The EAPWP serves as the basic menu for the preparation of the yearly Individual Partnership Programmes (IPPs) of each PfP nation. * Turkey recognises The Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.

The principal structure for advancing the relationship between the Russian Federation and NATO is the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). Defence S&T co-operation is an important element in the yearly NRC Work Plan. Several STO activities are undertaken in areas that have been identified as reflecting common NATO and Russian interests, in particular in Defence against Terrorism (DAT). However, all NATO-Russian defence S&T co-operation takes place in the framework of the EAPWP.

The relation between NATO and Ukraine is based on the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership. Implementation of the provisions of the Charter is overseen by NATO-Ukraine Commission. Defence S&T co-operation between NATO and Ukraine takes also place in the framework of the EAPWP.

Mediterranean Dialogue (MD). 7 Nations (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) are participating in the MD Programme. Practical co-operation activities between NATO and MD nations, including STO activities, are included in the annual Mediterranean Dialogue Work Programme (MDWP). All MD nations are offered the same basis for co-operation with NATO. Within this non-discriminatory framework, MD countries are free to choose the extent and intensity of their participation (self-differentiation), including the establishment of Individual Co-operation Programmes (ICPs).

NATO’s EAPWP and MDWP can also be consulted by certified users in the Partnership Real-Time Information, Management and Exchange System (ePRIME) (https://PRIME.hq.nato.int). More information about ePRIME can be obtained from the ePrime flyer.

STO Partnership Policy

Defence S&T is an important subject area that offers opportunities for beneficial contributions in the Partnership context. The STO is the single focus in NATO for defence S&T activities and has to play an integral role in this context by promoting and conducting the required co-operative research and information exchange with Partners in the S&T area. The STB has established a Partnership Policy for the STO, which provides guidance for the implementation of the STO Partnership Programmes.

Further information:

For further information, please contact the CSO Executive Partner Activities.

1. The partnerships with Afghanistan, Belarus and Russia are currently suspended following North Atlantic Council decisions related to the security environment.