This set out NATO's undertaking to consult with any active Partner country that perceived a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence or security. It also outlined the specific undertakings each participant would need to make in its cooperation with NATO to help fulfil the objectives of the programme as a whole. These include introducing greater transparency in national defence planning and budgeting as a way of building confidence in the peaceful intentions of all participants; promoting effective democratic control of defence forces; working towards becoming a potential contributor to NATO-led peacekeeping, search and rescue or humanitarian missions; and enhancing the ability of Partners’ military forces to operate with NATO units. PfP is a dynamic process which progressively draws NATO and Partners closer to each other and continues to evolve. The Partnership programme was enhanced in 1997, when virtually the entire range of NATO activities was opened to Partner participation, subject to the agreement of the Allies and individual Partners in each case. Partner countries have subsequently taken on a greater role in developing PfP programmes. A Partnership Coordination Cell was established in Mons, Belgium, where the headquarters of NATO’s European military command is located, to enable activities to be coordinated directly with the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and his staff. At the Washington summit in April 1999, Allied leaders paid tribute to the successful first five years of the Partnership and endorsed a scheme to make the Partnership still more effective, as well as more operational in character. Partner countries which contribute to the NATO-led peacekeeping operations in the Balkans - the Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Kosovo force (KFOR) - are now participating more actively in planning and overseeing the conduct of such operations. As a result of these changes, the Partnership has become an ever more important part of the evolving European security system.

Currently, 26 countries participate in the Partnership for Peace. Its biennial programme now contains more than 2,000 activities, ranging from large military exercises to small workshops. Based on practical cooperation and commitment to democratic principles, it has become an important and permanent feature of the European security architecture and is helping to expand and intensify political and military cooperation throughout Europe.