Issue
The world is changing. We live in times of fiscal austerity, new threats, and a developing operational focuses. So NATO needs to keep evolving to continue delivering common security around the globe. The UK Joint Delegation to NATO is at the forefront of working to ensure the Alliance remains modern, efficient, and effective with the necessary structures, capabilities, forces, and resources.
Actions
· Structures: The UK Joint Delegation to NATO (UKDel) is pushing for full delivery of the NATO reform agenda, which seeks to generate future savings and make the Alliance more modern, efficient, and effective. We are leading by example on the co-location of NATO’s civilian and military staff (UKDel is a joint military and civilian committee).
· Capabilities: UKDel is working closely with all NATO members to develop the Alliance’s defence capabilities and doctrines in support of UK objectives and to respond to security threats to its Members. We work to ensure NATO’s capabilities are modern, efficient and cost-efficient by promoting multinational projects such as the NATO Smart Defence initiative.
· Forces: UKDel is working to ensure NATO meets the NATO Forces 2020 goal, to have modern, tightly connected forces that are modern, equipped, interoperable, and exercised to meet developing security challenges. The Connected Forces Initiative (CFI) will help maintain NATO’s readiness and combat effectiveness through expanded education and training, increased exercises and the better use of technology.
· Resources: The UK meets its commitment to spend at least 2 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product on defence. NATO has 3 common budgets to which Allies contribute. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) pays the UK contribution to the NATO common budgets that support operations – mainly ISAF, the military command structure and certain common infrastructure. The cost share is 11.5% of these budgets, roughly £212 million in 2012. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) pays UK common costs for the NATO HQ and international civilian personnel in Brussels.