Vol. 5 nr. 10 | 2012 – Smart Defense: An Empowered and United NATO Playing a Strategic Role
Between the 20th and the 21st May in Chicago took place the NATO summit, in the presence of heads of states or governments of over 50 countries and international organizations. The summit took place in the framework of three official meetings with distinct formations – The North-Atlantic Council (28 member states with the participation of the President of the European Council Van Rompuy and of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso), the ISAF format (with the main contributors and transit states for the retreat from theatre, with the participation of ISAF non-NATO contributors, Afghanistan, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the UN Secretary General, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the President of the World Bank) and the NATO and relevant partners formula. The latter was also in an ad hoc format, with the participation of heads of states or governments from Australia, Austria, Finland, Georgia, Japan, Jordan, Korean Republic, Morocco, New Zealand, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Arab Emirates. Also, the ministers of foreign affairs and the ministers of defense had distinct meeting formats on specific topics. For instance, the NATO ministers of foreign affairs met their counterparts from the 4 partner nations aspiring to become full members of the Alliance – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia and Montenegro.
Five documents have officially been published: the Chicago Summit Declaration, the Chicago Summit Declaration on Afghanistan, the Summit Declaration on Defense Capabilities, the Deterrence and Defense Posture Review and NATO’s Policy Guidelines on Counter-Terrorism.