Eng. / Fr. / Ru. /The North Atlantic Council (NAC) has effective political authority and powers of decision. It is the only body that was established by the North Atlantic Treaty, under Article 9, invested with the authority to set up "such subsidiary bodies as may be necessary" for the purposes of implementing the Treaty.
It is the principal decision-making body and oversees the political and military process relating to security issues affecting the whole Alliance. The Defence Planning Committee and the Nuclear Planning Group have comparable authority for matters within their specific areas of competence.
Items discussed and decisions taken at meetings of the Council cover all aspects of the Organisation's activities and are frequently based on reports and recommendations prepared by subordinate committees at the Council's request. Equally, subjects may be raised by any one of the national representatives or by the Secretary General.
