The deployment of some US nuclear weapons in Europe also helps to preserve a strong security link between the United States and the European members of the Alliance. NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group is a forum in which Defence Ministers discuss nuclear issues and nuclear and non-nuclear member countries take part in the formulation of NATO’s policies in this field.

In the context of NATO’s decision to invite new countries to join the Alliance, it was important to demonstrate, firstly that NATO’s policies with regard to nuclear forces and nuclear arms reductions remained unchanged; and secondly that no countries outside NATO needed to fear that nuclear weapons would be moved closer to their territory or would represent any threat to them. NATO countries therefore announced that they had “no intention, no plan and no reason” to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of any new member countries.

The biggest risk from nuclear weapons and from other weapons with the potential to cause mass destruction, such as chemical and biological weapons, comes from the spread of these weapons to additional states, in areas of the world where regional conflicts pose a serious threat that they might be used. NATO and many of its Partner countries are therefore working intensively to develop new initiatives to halt this dangerous trend and to establish effective non-proliferation agreements.


CIVIL EMERGENCIES AND DISASTER RESPONSE

In 1992, in support of the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, NATO hosted an international workshop on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief. This workshop - in which 20 international organisations and 40 nations participated - provided the foundation for subsequent Civil Emergency Planning (CEP) cooperation activities with NATO's Partner countries, primarily in the field of disaster management and response.

In 1994, after the launching of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme (PfP), four CEP disaster-related cooperation activities were conducted. Since then, the scope of these activities has broadened to include the entire spectrum of civil emergency planning. CEP activities in the framework of PfP have increased dramatically. With 75 activities in 1999, CEP now constitutes the largest non-military component of PfP.

In most countries civil emergency planning is a responsibility which affects all levels of government, to varying degrees.