Mediterranean Group of NATO Assembly In Morocco

The Mediterranean group of the Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is expected in Morocco this Wednesday on a five-day work visit destined to enhance partnership with the Kingdom.

The NATO assembly is the inter-parliamentary forum of the member countries of the Alliance. It brings together European and North American legislators to debate and discuss issues of common interest and concern.

The Assembly is completely independent of NATO but constitutes a link between national parliaments and the Alliance which encourages governments to take Alliance concerns into account when framing national legislation. It also acts as a permanent reminder that intergovernmental decisions reached within NATO are ultimately dependent on political endorsement in accordance with the due constitutional process of democratically elected parliaments.

Delegates to the North Atlantic Assembly are nominated by their parliaments according to their national procedures on the basis of party representation in the parliaments. The Assembly therefore represents a broad spectrum of political opinion. It comprises 188 parliamentarians, each country's delegation being mainly determined by the size of its population.

The Assembly meets twice a year and functions through five committees (Political; Defence and Security; Economic; Scientific and Technical; and Civilian Affairs).

The committees study and examine all major contemporary issues arising in their respective fields of interest.

The primary purpose of the Assembly is educative and consensus-building.

During the last three years, the Assembly has opened its doors to the parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

A number of other countries also send delegations of parliamentary observers to meetings of the Assembly, notably Australia, Japan and Morocco.