From the outset, NATO's CEP cooperation activities have therefore been aimed at involving all levels and branches of government in practical cooperation, firstly within each country; secondly, among NATO and Partner countries; and thirdly, with other relevant international organisations. Objectives have included the following:

- transforming the focus from civil defence and wartime mobilisation to the protection of civilian populations from the effects of all kinds of civil emergencies;
- developing effective crisis management and response capabilities;
- fostering regional cooperation and interoperability; and
- promoting civil-military cooperation.

Establishment of the EADRCC

In 1998, EAPC Foreign Ministers approved a Russian proposal to create a Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Capability, to serve as the focal point for the coordination of international assistance among member countries of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in the event of a major disaster within the EAPC region. Inaugurated on 3 June 1998, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) is located at NATO HQ and is staffed by personnel seconded from EAPC countries. A Liaison Officer from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) is also attached to the Centre. NATO staff work closely with the UN-OCHA in their efforts to improve international disaster response coordination mechanisms. NATO is also an active participant in the Core Group of the UN's European Coordination Programme. This focuses on improving the coordination of humanitarian assistance and disaster response in Europe and the Newly Independent States - an area which corresponds to the membership of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

The EADRCC was called into service only days after opening in 1998, when it received a request for assistance from UNHCR, following the large influx of refugees from Kosovo into Albania. The Centre arranged an emergency airlift to Tirana - with aircraft provided by Belgium and Norway - of 16 flights carrying 161 tons of essential humanitarian aid. Subsequently, the EADRCC actively monitored the humanitarian situation in and around Kosovo and, in April 1999, stepped up its coordination of humanitarian assistance from NATO and Partner countries to alleviate the plight of the Kosovar refugees.