Eng. / Fr. / Ru. /
The Comprehensive Political Guidance, endorsed at NATO’s 2006 Riga Summit, is a major policy document that sets out the framework and priorities for all Alliance capability issues, planning disciplines and intelligence for the next 10 to 15 years.
The Guidance analyses the probable future security environment, but acknowledges the possibility of unpredictable events.
Against that analysis, it sets out the kinds of operations the Alliance must be able to perform in light of the Alliance’s Strategic Concept and the kinds of capabilities the Alliance will need.
How specifically these capabilities will be filled is left open, since that is for nations to determine both individually and collectively through NATO’s defence planning processes. Subordinate documents, such as Ministerial Guidance, provide more detailed, quantitative and qualitative guidance.
The Guidance was agreed on 21 December 2005 by the 26 NATO member countries. It was endorsed by NATO Defence Ministers at their June 2006 meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, and – at the highest political level – by NATO Heads of State and Government at the November 2006 Riga Summit.
