NATO-Ukraine relations
NATO-Ukraine Action Plan
The NATO-Ukraine Action Plan was adopted by Ukrainian and Allied foreign ministers at Prague on 22 November 2002. Building on the Charter for a Distinctive Partnership, which remains the basic foundation underpinning NATO-Ukraine relations, the Action Plan identifies a set of long-term strategic objectives designed to bring Ukraine closer to its Euro-Atlantic integration goals and provides a framework for ongoing and future NATO-Ukraine cooperation.
What does it mean in practice?
The Action Plan sets out specific goals and objectives, covering political and economic issues; information issues; security, defence and military issues; information protection and security; and legal issues.
The responsibility for implementation falls primarily on Ukraine, which is being urged to take the reform process forward vigorously in order to strengthen democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the market economy. Helping Ukraine achieve a far-reaching transformation of the defence and security sectors is a key priority of NATO-Ukraine cooperation.
To support the implementation of the Action Plan’s objectives, Annual Target Plans are agreed in which Ukraine sets its own targets in terms of the activities it wishes to pursue both internally and in cooperation with NATO. These Annual Target plans are developed jointly by Ukraine and NATO and approved at the highest level, with the Ukrainian President being the final authority to approve the plan. Once approved, these plans are made public and published on the NATO and Ukraine web sites.
Officials meet twice a year to assess progress, and NATO prepares an annual report on implementation. This process of fixing benchmarks and assessing progress annually serves as the backbone for NATO-Ukraine cooperation.
