NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The consultation process

Meeting of the NATO-Georgia Council (NGC) Left to right: Robert Gates (US Secretary of Defense) talking with NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero (Deputy Secretary General)

All NATO decisions are made by consensus, after discussion and consultation among member countries. Consultation among member states is a key part of the decision-making process at NATO, allowing Allies to exchange views and information, and to discuss issues prior to reaching agreement and taking action.

The process is continuous and takes place both on an informal and a formal basis with a minimum of delay or inconvenience, due to the fact that all member states have permanent delegations at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

The practice of regularly exchanging information and consulting together ensures that governments can come together at short notice whenever necessary, often with prior knowledge of their respective preoccupations, in order to agree on common policies or take action on the basis of consensus.

There are different forms of consultation, including the possibility of bringing an issue to the attention of the North Atlantic Council under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty. The consultation process therefore gives NATO an active role in preventive diplomacy by providing the means to help avoid military conflict; it also reinforces the Alliance’s political dimension.

Different forms of consultation

Consultation takes many forms. At its most basic level it involves simply the exchange of information and opinions either among individual delegations or in the context of the Council or its subordinate committees. At another level it covers the communication of national actions or decisions which governments have already taken or may be about to take. Finally, it can encompass discussion with the aim of reaching a consensus on policies to be adopted or actions to be taken by the Alliance. The Council meets regularly to discuss matters of common interest.

Article 4

Under Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, any member country can bring an issue that, in its view, threatens the territorial integrity, political independence or security of it or any other Ally to the attention of the Council for consultation among the Allies. The article states:

“The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”

Consultations under Article 4

Any member country can formally call for consultation within the framework of Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. For instance, Turkey has recently requested that the North Atlantic Council (NAC) convene under Article 4 after one of its fighter jets was shot down by Syrian air defence forces on 22 June 2012. Previously, on 10 February 2003, Turkey called for Article 4 consultations on defensive assistance from NATO in the event of a threat to its population or territory resulting from armed conflict in neighbouring Iraq.

The fora for political consultation

The principal forum for political consultation is the NAC, NATO’s principal political decision-making committee. The Secretary General, by virtue of his chairmanship, plays an essential part in this process. Consultation also takes place on a regular basis in other fora (committees, working groups etc.), all of which derive their authority from the Council.

Setting up a consultation system
Consultation and consensus were accepted as the basis for all NATO decisions when the Alliance was created in 1949.

However, it was only gradually that NATO set up a consultation system. This was done in three stages:
- 1949-1952: at the signing of the Treaty NATO introduced the consultation process as a key principle in its working mechanisms. This was reinforced at the 1952 Lisbon Conference where the contours of today’s NATO were put into place: the NAC was made permanent and the position of Secretary General was created, together with an international staff that would support Council decisions on a permanent basis;
- 1952-1956: between 1952 and the publishing of the Committee of Three’s report on non-military cooperation, attempts had been made to encourage political consultation beyond the geographical limitations defined in 1949. With regard to consultation, 1956 was a pivotal year: the Committee of Three's report was published and focused heavily on political consultation and the political dimension of NATO; by coincidence, the publication came out at the time of the Suez crisis, where a lack of consultation severely divided NATO member countries. The Suez crisis brought France and the United Kingdom to loggerheads with the United States, undercutting Alliance unity and solidarity;
- From 1956: the principles of the Report of the Committee of Three were further developed and implemented.

''Animus in consulendo liber''

When NATO moved to its headquarters at the Porte Dauphine in Paris, December 1959, the Secretary General, M. Paul-Henri Spaak, enlisted the help of the Dean of the Council in finding a suitable Latin maxim which would capture the spirit of consultation between Allies to which he attached so much importance. The Dean, Belgian Ambassador André de Staercke, recalled a visit he had made to the Tuscan town of San Gimignano. There, in the Palazzo del Podestà, engraved on the back of the seat reserved for the man who presided over the destinies of the city, he had seen the motto "Animus in Consulendo Liber".

It seems that no entirely satisfactory translation of the phrase has been found, although a French version - "l'esprit libre dans la consultation" - comes close. Renderings in English have ranged from the cryptic "in discussion a free mind" to the more complex "Man's mind ranges unrestrained in counsel".

The motto adorned the conference area at the Porte Dauphine for several years and, in 1967, was moved to NATO's new home in Brussels, where it has since graced the wall of the Council room.