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Frequently Asked Questions
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Before
you ask...
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Welcome
to NATO - Essential facts about the Alliance |
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NATO
Xperience
An online multimedia experience explaining what NATO is and what it does
(Best viewed over a broadband connection) |
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About
NATO:
Working for NATO:
About
the NATO Website
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Q:
What does NATO do?
A: The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is
an alliance of 26 countries from North America and
Europe committed to fulfilling
the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on 4
April 1949. In accordance with the Treaty, the fundamental
role of NATO is
to safeguard the freedom and security of its member
countries by political and military means. NATO is playing
an increasingly important role in crisis management and peacekeeping.
For more information, please see: Welcome
to NATO
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Q:
Does NATO have its own armed forces?
A: All member countries that participate in the military
aspect of the Alliance contribute forces and equipment, which
together constitute the integrated military structure of the
Alliance. These forces and assets remain under national command
and control until a time when they are required by NATO a specific
purpose (i.e. conflict or crisis, peacekeeping). NATO, however,
does possess some common capabilities owned and operated by the
Alliance, such as the AWACS early warning radar aircraft.
For more information, please see: NATO
Handbook
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Q:
What are the conditions for joining NATO? Which countries
are eligible?
A: NATO has an open door policy with regard to enlargement.
Any European country in a position to further the principles
of the Washington Treaty and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic
area can become a member of the Alliance at the invitation of
the North Atlantic Council.
Countries aspiring for NATO membership
are also expected to meet certain political, economic and military
goals in order to ensure
that they will become contributors to Alliance security as well
as beneficiaries of it.
NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP)
is designed to assist aspirant partner countries in their preparations
by providing
a framework which enables NATO to channel assistance and practical
support to them on all aspects of NATO membership.
For more information, please see: NATO
Enlargement
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Q:
What is NATO’s position on Iraq?
A: The campaign against Iraq in 2003 was conducted by a coalition
of forces from different countries, some of which were NATO member
countries and some were not. NATO as an organisation had no role
in the campaign but undertook a number of measures in accordance
with Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, to ensure the security
of one of its members, Turkey, in the event of a threat to it
resulting from the war in Iraq. On 21 May 2003, the Alliance also
agreed to support Poland, a member of NATO, in its leadership
of a sector in the stabilization force in Iraq.
In August 2004, in response to a request by the Iraqi Interim
Government, NATO established a Training Implementation Mission
in Iraq. NATO is involved in training, equipping, and technical
assistance - not combat. The aim of the Mission is to help Iraq
build the capability of its Government to address the security
needs of the Iraqi people.
For more information, please see: NATO
and Iraq
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Q:
What is NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism?
A: On 12 September 2001, less than 24 hours after the terrorist
attacks against the United States, NATO declared the attacks
to be an attack against all the 19 NATO member countries within
the terms of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
This landmark
decision was followed by practical measures aimed at assisting
the United States in different fields, in relation
to its campaign against terrorism.
For more information, please see: NATO's
contribution to the fight against terrorism
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Q:
Is NATO involved in Afghanistan?
A: Yes. Through its leadership of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), NATO is helping establish the conditions
in which
Afghanistan can enjoy a representative government and self-sustaining
peace and security.
NATO took over command and coordination of
ISAF in August 2003. This is the first mission outside the Euro-Atlantic
area in NATO’s
history. Initially restricted to providing security in and around
Kabul, the Alliance is now in the process of expanding the mission
to cover other parts of the country.
For more information, please see: NATO
in Afghanistan
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Q:
What is Russia’s status – is it a partner
country?
A: Yes. NATO and Russia made a reciprocal commitment to work
together to build a stable, secure and undivided continent on
the basis of partnership and common interest in 1997.
This commitment was strengthened in May 2002, with the establishment
of the NATO-Russia Council, which brings together the 26 NATO
Allies and Russia to identify and pursue opportunities for joint
action at 27 as equal partners.
For more information, please see: NATO-Russia
relations
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Q:
How much does NATO cost and who pays for it?
A: NATO is an intergovernmental organisation to which member
nations allocate the resources needed to enable it to function
on a day-to-day basis. There are three budgets: one civil and
two military. Each NATO member country pays an amount into the
budgets based on an agreed cost-sharing formula. Taken together,
these budgets represent less than half of one percent of the
total defence budget expenditures of NATO countries.
For more information, please see: NATO
Handbook
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Q:
How do I apply for a job at NATO? Who can apply?
A: Nationals of NATO member countries may apply for all posts
on NATO’s international staff. Appointments to most posts
are made on the basis of interview panels and written tests.
Details
of vacancies, procedures and application forms are available
on the NATO Recruitment website.
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Q:
How do I apply an internship at NATO? Who can apply?
A: For information on how to apply for an internship at NATO, please visit the NATO Internship Programme Web site.
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Q:
Does NATO sponsor research projects? How do I apply?
A: There are various fellowship programmes available, including
a number of science fellowships, the NATO-EAPC, and the Manfred
Worner Fellowship. NATO also co-sponsors conferences, seminars,
workshops and roundtables with NATO and partner countries on
security-related issues.
For more information, please see: Fellowship
and sponsorship programmes at NATO
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Q:
I need of basic information on NATO for a presentation/report,
where do I look?
A: The best place to start is the ‘Welcome to
NATO’ section of the NATO website, which provides
an easy and quick overview of basic facts about the
Alliance. It also provides links to other key sources
of information, including primary sources such as official
decisions or declarations, analysis and opinion, speeches
and articles.
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Q:
I am looking for a specific document but cannot find it. Where should
I look?
A: Most NATO public documents are available online
on the NATO website. This includes:
- basic texts (the North Atlantic Treaty and other major
documents agreed to by the member states);
- communiqués (declarations
and decisions from summits and ministerial meetings),
- speeches and statements by senior officials;
- standardization
agreements (agreements on standards
for NATO equipment and assets);
- articles
and opinions on NATO-related issues in the
NATO Review;
- the
NATO Handbook (a comprehensive reference book on
NATO, explaining what the organisation is
and what it does);
- the
NATO Update (a complete chronology of all past
and upcoming NATO-related events and activities).
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Q:
Why do you spell ‘organisation’ with an ‘s’and
not a ‘z’?
A: By tradition, NATO uses European English spellings in all
public information documents. Common examples where differences
occur between European and North American usage are the words “defence” and “defense”,
and “Organisation” and “Organization”.
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Q:
Can you provide a link to my organisation’s/company’s
website from the NATO website?
A: As a general rule, the NATO website does not provide links
to external commercial sites. Relevant links to independent non-commercial
sites are provided wherever possible but the list of sites is
non-exhaustive.
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Q:
I would like to subscribe/unsubscribe to/from your
e-mail distribution list.
A: To unsubscribe from our e-mail list, send a SIGNOFF
NATODATA or SIGNOFF NATOPRES command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE More details about how to subscribe and unsubscribe
to services available from the NATO website can be
found in the “Services and Links” drop-down
menu on the homepage.
Please send an e-mail to natodoc@hq.nato.int if you
experience any difficulties.
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