The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was established in April 1949 by the Treaty of Washington NATOs basic legal and conventional text which was concluded pursuant to article 51 of the UN Charter and signed by 12 countries (Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal and the United States, plus the contracting parties of the Brussels Treaty). Greece and Turkey joined the Alliance in 1952. The Federal Republic of Germany joined in 1955 and Spain in 1982. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined in 1999, and seven new members joined in 2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

NATO's primary objective is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members by political and military means, pursuant to the North-Atlantic Treaty and the principles of the UN Charter. As stipulated in the Treaty's preamble, the Alliances aim is to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.

The above-mentioned transformation and the successful implementation of NATO's operation in Afghanistan were at the heart of the Riga Summit proceedings (28-29 November 2006).

The Alliance is based on the principle that the security of each member state is dependent on the security of all members. As signatories to the Washington Treaty, NATO members have a commitment to the other members to respect this principle, by collectively facing threats, as well as sharing responsibilities and collective defense benefits. Article 5 is the core of NATO's founding Treaty and stipulates that an armed attack against a member state shall be considered an attack against them all. This article was invoked for the first time in the event of the terrorist attacks against New York and Washington D.C.

In order to face the changing global security environment and the challenges of the post-Cold War era - particularly in the wake of the 9/11 attacks - as effectively as possible, NATO launched a process of comprehensive review of its role and missions. NATO's political and military transformation is the most fundamental parameter in its effort to improve its forces' operational preparedness and effectiveness. Today, 50,000 troops take part in NATO operations and missions (ISAF, KFOR, Active Endeavour, Darfur, NTM-I) on three different continents. The most important is NATO's operation in Afghanistan, which was the focus of the Riga Summit (28-29 November 2006).

For at least the next 10 years, the operation in Afghanistan will be the biggest challenge facing the Alliance in its course toward transformation. The ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) has, since October 2006, taken over control of Afghanistan's entire territory. NATO cooperates with the UN, the EU, the G8 and several NGOs on stabilisation and reconstruction. The ultimate objective of the reconstruction of Afghanistan is to pass on complete control over, and responsibility for, the country's domestic affairs to the Afghan authorities (Afghan ownership). The nationally-administered and -funded Provincial Reconstruction Teams are already playing a role in this direction.

Within the framework of NATO's involvement in Afghanistan, the Alliance decided to contribute to the training and armament of Afghan Armed Forces, and the formulation of a comprehensive strategy with Afghanistan's neighbouring countries, most of all Pakistan, making them part of the solution rather than the problem.

Greece - within the framework of its NATO obligations - contributes to Afghanistan's reconstruction and stabilisation: a 174-member special battalion with infrastructure work as its basic mission, 56 vehicles, one C-130 aircraft, 2 officials to the ISAF staff, 3 officials to Kabul airport, a 50-member medical unit (Role 2) and 14 persons to Composite HQ. The forces in question are operating in Afghanistan's capital and in a 30- to 65-km radius outside Kabul. Also, in the period 01/12/2005 to 31/03/2006, Greece headed the administration of Kabul airport with 39 personnel. Moreover, at the informal summit meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers held in Brussels on 26 January 2007, Greece announced its intention to provide 500,000 to co-fund four programmes (agriculture, education, water management and healthcare) to the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team in northeast Afghanistan's Baghlan Province.

Apart from Afghanistan, the summit meeting in question also addressed the issue of NATO's future presence in Kosovo. NATOs contribution to the United Nations mission in Kosovo is provided through KFOR, a 16,694-strong multinational military force.

KFOR's mission consists in the supervision of Kosovo's external borders, the prevention of incidents of nationalist violence, the protection of cultural heritage monuments and the deterrence of threats against international organisations operating in Kosovo and their installations there.

Greece believes that KFOR's presence in the region will still be needed in order to guarantee security in the near future.

Our country participates in KFOR with two Mechanised Infantry Battalions (576-strong and 173 vehicles) and it has also provided a C-130 cargo aircraft based in Elefsina for the transport of supplies.

At the Riga Summit, the issues discussed by the heads of state and government included a review of NATOs partnerships and NATO's future enlargement.

With regard to the summit's main issue, discussions focused on finding ways to strengthen the Alliance's existing partnerships, i.e., the Partnership for Peace programme, the Mediterranean Dialogue, and the Istanbul Cooperation initiative, as well as to strengthen the Alliance's cooperation in practice with the Contact Countries: countries that are not NATO members, members of the Partnership for Peace programme or of the Mediterranean Dialogue. However, these countries take part in various NATO missions and operations. They include Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

At the Riga Summit, Greece supported the need to maintain and strengthen the Alliance's politically and geographically delimited partnership programmes and to strengthen NATO's practical cooperation with Contact Countries by offering partnership mechanisms to these countries, following a decision of the North-Atlantic Council.

The Riga Summit affirmed the Alliance's satisfaction with the considerable reform progress of the three countries that are members of the MAP (Membership Action Plan) pre-accession programme, i.e., Albania, Croatia and FYROM, and set the 2008 Summit Meeting as the target-date for sending accession invitations, subject to fulfilment of the political and military accession criteria. Our country, of course, sets particular store by the fulfilment of the criteria of good neighbourly relations and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The Riga Summit decided to welcome the accession of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro to the PfP (Partnership for Peace) programme.

The 2006 Summit was yet another opportunity to stress NATO solidarity, and an initial step toward fulfilment of the Alliance's strategic vision of continual enlargement to those countries that fulfil the necessary criteria, and at the same time reinforce the capabilities at its disposal to effectively tackle today's complex threats to security in the Euroatlantic region through the acquisition of additional assets. In this light, NATO's political cohesion, planning ability, integrated military structure, common training and adoption of similar operational criteria are an important legacy that will help NATO adapt as necessary in order to eliminate security threats facing the US and European countries.

Greece - one of NATO's most consistent supporters - is devoted to international multilateralism, to the preservation of peace and security, to respect for international law and human rights, and to democracy. Therefore, Greece identifies itself with the Alliance's efforts to proceed with reforms dictated by the need to address new challenges and threats, such as terrorism, humanitarian crises, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and natural disasters.

Last updated: February 2007