FOREWORD
Throughout 2023, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has continued to carry the voice of the Alliance’s parliamentarians on all the key priorities for Euro-Atlantic security and cooperation.
On Ukraine they have continued to mobilize the support of national governments, parliaments and populations and stood by their Ukrainian counterparts of the Verkhovna Rada and by the Ukrainian people. On NATO’s own adaptation, they have continued to put forward recommendations for supporting the greatest and most comprehensive strengthening of the Alliance’s deterrence and defence since the Cold War.
They have continued to insist that NATO’s adaptation will not be complete until the Alliance operationalises its commitment to defend democratic values through the establishment, at NATO Headquarters, of a Democratic Resilience Centre. NATO parliamentarians have helped complete the process of Finland’s accession as NATO’s 31st member and they continue to advocate for the prompt completion of Sweden’s accession.
This report highlights these and many other aspects of the work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and its main bodies, including:
- its leadership – President, Bureau, Standing Committee,
- its five Committees – Democracy and Security, Defence and Security, Political, Economics and Security, Science and Technology, and
- its partnership structures – Georgia-NATO Interparliamentary Council, Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council and Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group.
For 69 years, the Assembly has helped influence Alliance policies, strengthen the unique transatlantic bond and further the Alliance’s values through parliamentary dialogue, diplomacy and partnerships. For 69 years now, its work has continued to provide a rich source of in-depth information about the Alliance’s adaption and policies for the benefit of the Alliance’s parliamentarians and citizens.
Led by President Michal Szczerba of Poland, its 274 members representing the 31 parliaments of the Alliance are determined to continue to play their part in helping defend the security of NATO’s one billion citizens at a time when NATO, as it marks its 75th anniversary, faces the gravest threat and most complex set of challenges since the Cold War.