THEY

THE ROLE OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC CRVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY

1

BERKELEY

PREPARED FOR THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

UNITED STATES SENATE

BY

THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND NATIONAL

DEFENSE DIVISION
CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

FRANK CHURCH, Idaho, Chairman

CLAIBORNE PELL, Rhode Island
GEORGE MCGOVERN, South Dakota
JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware
JOHN GLENN, Ohio
RICHARD STONE, Florida
PAUL S. SARBANES, Maryland
EDMUND S. MUSKIE, Maine
EDWARD ZORINSKY, Nebraska

JACOB K. JAVITS, New York
CHARLES H. PERCY, Illinois
HOWARD H. BAKER, JR., Tennessee
JESSE HELMS, North Carolina
S. I. HAYAKAWA, California
RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana

WILLIAM B. BADER, Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware, Chairman
CLAIBORNE PELL, Rhode Island
JOHN GLENN, Ohio

JACOB K. JAVITS, New York
HOWARD H. BAKER, JR., Tennessee

Staff

JOHN B. RITCH III
ALFRED FRIENDLY, JR.

FOREWORD

In September of 1977, I attended for the first time a meeting of the North Atlantic Assembly. My dominant impressions were two-fold: First, that the Assembly provides a valuable means for the exchange and reconciliation of views among parliamentarians of the NATOmember countries; second, that the Assembly's potential contribution in this regard is not being fully realized. To fulfill this potential, I sensed that improvements were needed both in Assembly procedures and in the composition and participation of country delegations, perhaps most importantly that of the United States. As a first step toward the goal of constructive reform, I requested that the Congressional Re- search Service conduct a study to elicit and analyze a range of proposals. Prepared by Stan Sloan, a CRS Specialist in European Affairs, this report offers in my judgment a useful guide for those interested in strengthening the Assembly's role as a substantial institution of the Atlantic Alliance. Holding this goal myself and having become one of the Assembly's elected officials, I intend to take the earliest opportunity to begin serious discussion, among my colleagues in the Senate and among Assembly members, concerning the Assembly's future, which I hope can be made one of increasing impor

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR.; Chairman, Subcommittee on European Affairs.

tance.

(III)